Overview
Hill Air Force Base is Air Force Materiel Command's biggest footprint in the Mountain West. The 75th Air Base Wing hosts the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, one of three Air Force depots, which repairs and modernizes the F-35, F-16, A-10, C-130 and the Minuteman III missile force, plus two fighter wings that fly the F-35A: the active-duty 388th FW and the Reserve 419th FW. The workforce runs to roughly 26,900 people, including about 5,600 active-duty Airmen, 900 Reservists and Guardsmen, 14,000 government civilians and 6,200 contractors, which makes Hill the largest single employer in Utah and puts $12.8 billion a year into the state economy. Fighter pilots, maintainers, engineers, program managers, inspectors and auditors all cycle through on TDY.
The base sits on a bench above the Great Salt Lake between Layton and Ogden, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City on I-15, with the Wasatch Range rising directly to the east. Winters are cold and snowy in the mountains, and the valley gets its own snow plus the infamous inversion, when a lid of cold air traps haze over the Wasatch Front for days. Summers are dry, sunny and hot in the afternoons. For a TDY traveler that means a car with decent tires, layers, sunscreen and a clear plan for which gate you are using at 0600.
Weather
Ogden averages a January high near 33°F and a July high around 84°F, with roughly 65 inches of snow a year in the valley and far more in the mountains. Winter inversions can park cold, hazy air over the valley for a week at a time, while summer afternoons are dry and hot with quick mountain thunderstorms.
Best months
May-June and September-October, when the valley is mild and the canyons are open
Tough months
December-February for snow, ice and inversion haze; late July-August for afternoon heat in the high 90s
Getting there
- Fly into Salt Lake City International (SLC), about 34 miles and 40 minutes south. Rent a car: take I-80 East to I-215 North, merge onto I-15 North, and exit at Hill Field Road (SR-232) for the South Gate or SR-193 for the West Gate. UTA's FrontRunner train stops at Clearfield and Layton but you will still need a car for base and the mountains.
- The South Gate (Hill Field Road, Layton) and West Gate (SR-193, Clearfield) are listed as open 24/7. The Roy Gate on the north side runs weekdays only (roughly 0400-2000) and the Southwest Gate opens only for weekday commute windows. Hours change with staffing, so confirm on the hill.af.mil gate fact sheet before you drive.
- The Visitor Center is at the South Gate. Recent base announcements list it open 0600-1700 daily and closed on federal holidays and family days; 801-777-8631 is the number Military OneSource publishes. Anyone without a DoD ID needs a sponsor, a valid ID and a background check for a pass.
- I-15 through Davis County is the busiest stretch of freeway in northern Utah. Expect slowdowns southbound toward Salt Lake from 0630-0830 and northbound from 1600-1800, and the Hill Field Road exit backs up at shift change. In winter, a snowstorm can double any drive time.
TDY lodging
On base
On-base rates · FY2027
$99 per night · VOQ/VQ
October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027. Confirm your authorized allowance before booking.
The Mountain View Inn
- Phone
- 801-777-1844
- Phone 2
- 385-831-1430
- DSN
- 777-1844
- Front desk
- 24/7
- Pets
- Limited pet-friendly units
- TLF (families)
- Available
- The Mountain View Inn (Air Force Inns) is at 7420 W.
- Miller St., Bldg 450, Hill AFB, UT 84056; call 801-777-1844 or 385-831-1430 (DSN 777-1844).
- The front desk at The Landing runs about 0600-2200 with 24-hour check-in.
- The inn has TLF units for PCS families and a limited number of pet-friendly rooms (cats and dogs, two per unit, $10/night, current shot records required).
- The FY2027 DAF sheet lists $99 for VOQ/VQ (DoD Preferred Rate) and $110 for DVQ and TLF; confirm your room category when you book.
- If they cannot house you, get the non-availability number before you go commercial.
Off-base per diem
- Confirm the current lodging allowance for your duty location and travel dates with the official rate lookup and your travel office.
- No current rate is quoted here.
- Alaska and Hawaii use DoD OCONUS rates.
- A published ceiling is not proof of reimbursement eligibility.
The crashpad option
We're expanding at Hill AFB. Tell us your dates and we'll line up a furnished room in Layton, Clearfield or Roy priced inside the $110 rate, with a kitchen, fast Wi-Fi and receipts your finance office will accept.
Hill AFB crashpadsHousing & BAH
Housing
- Family housing is privatized under Boyer Hill Military Housing, which built about 1,090 new homes and renovated 350 more; leasing is at 4114 Charlestown, Ste B, 801-784-5600, and the government Military Housing Office is next door in Ste A at 801-777-1840.
- Off base, 2026 rent snapshots put a two-bedroom apartment around $1,300 in Clearfield, $1,500-1,560 in Layton and Ogden, and $1,700 or more in Syracuse.
- Davis County home prices have climbed hard since 2020, so many families buy in Syracuse, West Point or Roy where new construction is still going up.
BAH 2026
- Published 2026 tables for the Hill AFB military housing area show approximately $2,118 for an E-5 with dependents ($1,668 without) and $2,361 for an O-3 with dependents ($2,181 without).
- Confirm on the DTMO BAH calculator.
Layton
The default choice: big-box shopping, the Layton Hills Mall corridor, Davis School District schools and a spread of 1990s-2010s subdivisions, all within a few minutes of the South Gate.
Clearfield / Sunset
Older, cheaper and closest to the West Gate; apartments and starter homes with a FrontRunner station, good for single TDY travelers and junior enlisted families.
Syracuse / West Point
Newer subdivisions west of the freeway near Antelope Island with bigger lots and strong elementary schools, but you pay for it and traffic funnels through SR-193 and Antelope Drive.
Roy / South Ogden
Working-class and unfussy, right outside the Roy Gate and the Aerospace Museum; Weber School District, older homes, quick access to Ogden's canyons.
Kaysville / Farmington
Leafy, established bench towns south of Layton with top-rated schools, Lagoon amusement park and easy I-15 access to Salt Lake; prices and HOA culture run higher.
Schools & childcare
- There are no DoDEA schools on base. Hill Field Elementary (K-6) sits just outside the east side of base in the Davis School District and serves base housing; about 95 percent of its students have a military parent.
- Base housing and Layton, Clearfield, Syracuse and Kaysville are in the Davis School District; Roy and Ogden are in Weber and Ogden districts. Utah's Purple Star program has military support teams in the Davis, Weber, Ogden and Tooele districts.
- School Liaison Program: 801-775-5960 or 801-775-5959, 75FSS.HillSchool.Liaison@us.af.mil, Bldg 150 Rm 30 at 5837 D Ave, weekdays 0800-1630.
- Two Child Development Centers (CDC East 801-777-6321, CDC West 801-777-6223) plus Family Child Care homes. Waitlists are real for infants and toddlers, so request care on MilitaryChildCare.com as soon as you have orders.
Healthcare
- The 75th Medical Group is an outpatient clinic (7321 Balmer St., Bldg 570), open weekdays roughly 0700-1600 with no emergency room. Book through the appointment line at 801-728-2600 or the MHS GENESIS patient portal.
- For emergencies go to Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, a few minutes from the South Gate, or McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden for trauma and specialty care. Ogden Regional Medical Center is another option.
- Utah is in the TRICARE West Region, administered by TriWest Healthcare Alliance since January 2025 (888-874-9378, tricare.mil/west).
On base
- Commissary
7451 6th St., open daily about 0900-1900 with a deli and bakery
- Exchange
Main BX with food court, plus 24-hour gas pumps and an Express near housing
- Fitness
Warrior Fitness Center (7250 Balmer St., Bldg 533, 801-777-2761) with indoor track, climbing wall and pool access; Hess Fitness Center on the west side
- Dining
Hillcrest Dining Facility (Bldg 519) serves breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekdays; check hillfss.com for weekend and UTA hours
- MWR
The Landing club, Outdoor Recreation gear rental and ski/snowboard packages, Hubbard Memorial Golf Course, auto hobby shop and ITT tickets for Utah resorts
- Newcomers
Military & Family Readiness Center, 801-777-4681, runs newcomer orientation and the 'Arrive and Thrive' spouse briefing
Off duty
Hill Aerospace Museum
Seventy-plus aircraft from a P-38 to an SR-71 sit just outside the Roy Gate, no base access required. Free admission, open Tuesday-Saturday 0900-1600. A good first stop for families and the easiest lunch-hour break on a long TDY.
Official site ↗Photo by Alex Lloyd, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · source
Snowbasin Resort
The 2002 Olympic downhill venue is about 30 minutes east of base via Ogden Canyon or Trappers Loop. Ski in winter, ride the gondola for hikes and mountain biking in summer. Outdoor Rec sells discounted lift tickets.
Official site ↗Photo by Gyejournal, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · source
Historic 25th Street, Ogden
Ogden's old railroad row is now the best food and beer strip in northern Utah, 20 minutes up I-15. Start at Union Station, then work your way east past the breweries and the Saturday farmers market in summer.
Official site ↗Photo by Ntsimp, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · source
Antelope Island State Park
Drive the seven-mile causeway from Syracuse onto the largest island in the Great Salt Lake, about 30 minutes from base. Free-roaming bison, sunset views and some of the best flat trail running around. Bring bug spray in early summer.
Official site ↗Photo by dconvertini, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · source
Ogden Canyon and Pineview Reservoir
Follow 12th Street east from Ogden into the canyon and you reach Pineview in about 35 minutes: paddleboarding, wakeboarding and beach days in summer, with the Snowbasin and Powder Mountain turnoffs right there.
Wikipedia ↗Powder Mountain
Forty-five minutes northeast of base, Powder Mountain has more skiable acreage than any resort in the country and lift lines that feel like a different decade. Go on a weekday and you will have the powder to yourself.
Official site ↗Salt Lake City
Thirty miles south on I-15 or a FrontRunner ride away: Temple Square, the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, the Natural History Museum of Utah and the big Cottonwood Canyon resorts. Do it on a Saturday and skip the weekday freeway grind.
Wikipedia ↗Insider tips
- 01Winter inversions are the local weather quirk nobody warns you about: a week of cold, gray, gritty air in the valley while it is bluebird at Snowbasin. If you have asthma, pack your inhaler; if you have a free afternoon, drive up.
- 02Snow tires or at least good all-seasons matter from December through March. UDOT restricts canyon roads during storms, and the I-15 bench gets ice at the Hill Field Road ramps.
- 03The South Gate is the safe bet for arrival: 24/7 and home to the Visitor Center. If you pull up to the Roy Gate after 2000 on a weekday or on a Sunday, you will be turning around.
- 04Book the Mountain View Inn the day your orders drop. Big exercises, 419th UTA weekends and depot program reviews fill it, and the non-availability number is your ticket to a crashpad at the $110 rate.
- 05Utah's per diem trap: Davis and Weber counties get the $110 standard CONUS rate while Salt Lake City is $142. Make sure your orders say Hill AFB, not Salt Lake City, or the reverse, and budget accordingly.
- 06Alcohol rules are different here. Grocery stores sell only low-point beer; anything stronger comes from state liquor stores that close early and are shut on Sundays. The Landing on base and the 25th Street breweries are the easy workaround.
- 07Bring a hydration habit and sunscreen. Hill sits at about 4,800 feet in a desert; newcomers get headaches and burned in the first week, especially on the flightline.
- 08For PCS families, put your name on the Boyer Hill and CDC waitlists the moment you have orders, and look at Syracuse and West Point for newer construction if Layton prices scare you.
FAQ
Can I stay off base at Hill AFB and get reimbursed?
What time can I get on base and which gate has the visitor center?
Is there a hospital on Hill AFB?
Where do families live near Hill AFB?
Helpful resources
Official
- Hill AFB newcomers page ↗
- Hill AFB gate hours fact sheet ↗
- 75th Force Support Squadron ↗
- Mountain View Inn (Air Force Inns) reservations ↗
- Boyer Hill Military Housing ↗
- School Liaison Program ↗
- 75th Medical Group ↗
- NWS Salt Lake City forecast office ↗
- Military OneSource — Hill AFB in-depth overview ↗
- Hill AFB — South Gate Visitor Center hours ↗
- GSA — FY2026 Utah per diem rates ↗
- Hill AFB — TRICARE region changes 2025 ↗
- Hill AFB — East Campus groundbreaking ↗
Things to do
List your resource
Run a business, park, church, gym, or service that helps Hill AFB travelers and families? Have a correction? Email basecrashpads@gmail.com with the link and a sentence on why it's useful. We review every submission and list the ones that earn it.
Sources & disclaimer
- Military OneSource — Hill AFB in-depth overview ↗
- hillhousing.com — Hill AFB gate hours ↗
- Hill AFB — South Gate Visitor Center hours ↗
- Hill FSS — Mountain View Inn ↗
- Air Force Inns — Hill AFB ↗
- GSA — FY2026 Utah per diem rates ↗
- hillhousing.com — 2026 BAH rates ↗
- Hill FSS — School Liaison Program ↗
- Northern Utah Economic Alliance — 2024 Hill AFB economic impact ↗
- Hill AFB — TRICARE region changes 2025 ↗
- Hill AFB — East Campus groundbreaking ↗
Photos: U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw, U.S. Air Force (Public domain); Photo by Matthew Dillon from Hollywood, CA, USA, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Full attribution on the photo credits page.
Rates, hours, and policies change — BAH resets every January and per diem every October. Confirm specifics with the official sources above and your orders. This guide is written by Base Crashpads and is not an official Air Force or DoD resource.