Ephraim, Utah

Life in Ephraim, Utah, explained by people who’ve lived in Ephraim:

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*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Ephraim)

Ephraim Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Ephraim?

Everyone is extremely friendly and approachable. (Victoria, 4 months)
Wholesome small town feel. (Melissa, 5 months)
Safety for my children. (Taylor, 5 months)
Everywhere you go is very family friendly. (Andrea, 7 months)
Small town country living. (Kuulei, 1 year)
Snow College. (Maxwell, 1 year)
Small town away from crowds and traffic and polluted air. (Melissa, 1 year)
It’s cheap and I love the building I live in with all the people. (Abbey, 14 months)
School events. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
The social life and the Ephraim culture. (Kala, 1.5 years)
The people. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Safety. Manti temple. (Alicia, 2 years)
Rock climbing in Maple Canyon. (Rachel, 2 years of school)
Easy to get places. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Peaceful nature. (Alexandria, 4 years)
Scenery. (Rebekah, 4 years)
The small town feel. (Tristen, 5 years)
The people. (Clinton, 9 years)
No traffic, letting my kids walk to school and roam the neighborhood without worry. (Sandra, 9 years)
Ephraim Church of the Bible. (Felicia, 10 years)
Close to jobs. (Penny, 10.5 years)
The atmosphere. (Rhett, 13 years)
It is safe for my kids. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
EVERYTHING. (Morgan, 19 years)
Small town life. (Kim, 25 years)
Size and people. (Randi, 32 years)
Everything. (Anonymous, 31 years)
Small town. (Anonymous, 33 years)

Ephraim Least Favorites

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Ephraim?

It’s far away from my family and my hometown. (Victoria, 4 months)
Distance to medical specialists/urgent care and lack of options for extracurriculars, such as dance schools. (Melissa, 5 months)
Lack of shopping and places to eat. (Taylor, 5 months)
No Taco Bell. (Andrea, 7 months)
The lack of support from the community! (Kuulei, 1 year)
Super small. (Maxwell, 1 year)
Lack of restaurants (Zupas, Olive Garden, etc.). (Melissa, 1 year)
There is so little to do you have to get really creative or drive far away to have fun. (Abbey, 14 months)
Country music. Country dancing. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
Not much to do. (Kala, 1.5 years)
There are not so many things to do when you’re a poor college student. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Sometimes nothing to do, since it is so small. (Alicia, 2 years)
Not a lot to do. (Rachel, 2 years)
Lack of sidewalks. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Can be inconvenient. (Alexandria, 4 years)
The smell. (Rebekah, 4 years)
Not much to do, especially for toddlers. (Tristen, 5 years)
Shopping options are limited in some ways. (Clinton, 9 years)
Restaurant and shopping options. (Sandra, 9 years)
Allergy season. (Felicia, 10 years)
Busy main street. (Penny, 10.5 years)
Everyone knows everything about you. (Rhett, 13 years)
The cops here a complete joke. One of my neighbors called the police when their car was being broken into (they could see the guy out their window) and the cops said ” Well I’m sure he’ll be gone by the time we get there, so we’ll just send somebody to take your statement tomorrow”. Then the next day my neighbor tracked his stolen laptop and determined it was at the hotel. He showed the police and they said “We would have to get a warrant for that and those take some time, so we can’t do anything.” Oh, but they will ticket you for the smallest driving offenses, and if you’re a kid in skateboard or BMX bike they’ll follow you around town to be sure you don’t cause trouble. Case in point, the bank was once robbed by a guy on a quad and he got away. They never found him or the money. 😂. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
Snow College. (Morgan, 19 years)
Politics, crazy conservative Trump supporters. (Charity, 20 years)
Inconsistent laws and regulations. (Kim, 25 years)
Not much. (Anonymous, 31 years)
No night life. (Randi, 32 years)
New people trying to change my town. (Anonymous, 33 years)

Ephraim Things To Do

What are fun things to do in Ephraim?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. (Madison, 4 months)
Bowling, concerts at Snow College, musicals/plays at Snow College, hiking to the S, seeing a movie, going to the Malt Shop. (Victoria, 4 months)
Go to performances at the college, go out to eat, community events like parades, Co-op events (nativity display, Santa Lucia, etc.). (Melissa, 5 months)
Movies, outdoor activities. (Taylor, 5 months)
Movie Theaters and Bowling Alley. (Andrea, 7 months)
The Scandinavian Festival. (Kuulei, 1 year)
Bowling. (Maxwell, 1 year)
Drive up the canyon, visit with friends, movie theater. (Melissa, 1 year)
Game nights, and concerts and plays, but those aren’t until later in the semester. Sometimes school-sponsored activities are fun. (Abbey, 14 months)
Go bowling. Hang out with friends. Go to school events. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
Canyon going shooting. (Kala, 1.5 years)
Bowling, going to the mountains. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Hike, go exploring the mountains, go to Walmart. (Alicia, 2 years)
Rock climbing, hiking, going to school. (Rachel, 2 years)
Swing dancing above Roy’s pizza, Yocrazy frozen yogurt, and walking down main street. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Hot pots hiking, four-wheeling, shooting, eating, movies, sports, hike the s, camp, hot tubing, lakes, picture taking and more! (Alexandria, 4 years)
Movie or game nights. (Rebekah, 4 years)
Not a whole lot. Grocery shopping is my activity. (Tristen, 5 years)
Bowling, going up into the mountains. (Clinton, 9 years)
Easy access to nature. Hikes, camping, biking, fishing. (Sandra, 9 years)
Hike, walk, family, friends, you make your fun and there are plenty of ways to do so. (Felicia, 10 years)
Ride horses, drive up the canyon, bowling, fishing, hiking, walking, parks, sports, swimming. (Penny, 10.5 years)
Visit the library, go thrift shopping, stop by the local coffee shop, see a movie, drive through the canyon. (Rhett, 13 years)
Outdoors activities, hiking, camping, exploring. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
Kill bunnies, go mudding, hunt, fish. (Morgan, 19 years)
Hiking, being with friends, events at the college or local schools. (Charity, 20 years)
Mountains and outdoors. (Kim, 25 years)
City sports, club sports, 4H, A.C., mountain biking. (Anonymous, 31 years)
Bowling, swimming, athletics. (Randi, 32 years)

Ephraim’s Reputation

What’s Ephraim known for?

Snow College. (Madison, 4 months)
Snow College. (Victoria, 4 months)
Snow College, Scandinavian Festival. (Melissa, 5 months)
Snow College. (Taylor, 5 months)
Snow College. (Andrea, 7 months)
Scandinavian History. (Kuulei, 1 year)
Snow College. (Maxwell, 1 year)
Herding sheep up college avenue. And Snow College. (Melissa, 1 year)
Turkey. (Abbey, 14 months)
Nothing. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
No idea. (Kala, 1.5 years)
Being small, Snow College, turkeys/country. (Alicia, 2 years)
Snow College. (Rachel, 2 years)
snow College. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Snow College, Manti pageant. (Alexandria, 4 years)
Turkeys. (Rebekah, 4 years)
Snow College. (Tristen, 5 years)
Snow College. (Clinton, 9 years)
Snow College and Scandinavian heritage. (Sandra, 9 years)
Scandinavian festival and Snow College. (Felicia, 10 years)
Scandinavian Days, Little Denmark. (Penny, 10.5 years)
Snow College, the residents and being safe place to live. (Rhett, 13 years)
Scandinavian heritage, Snow College, beautiful quiet summers. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
The only one stop light town in Sanpete County. (Morgan, 19 years)
Snow College. (Kim, 25 years)
Little Scandinavia. (Anonymous, 31 years)
Snow College. (Randi, 32 years)
Good people. (Anonymous, 33 years)

Ephraim Crime

What’s the crime like in Ephraim?

It’s fairly low. Other than a few incidents (some sexual assault and a robbery or two), I don’t know of any huge crimes. (Victoria, 4 months)
Low levels of crime. (Melissa, 5 months)
Minimal. (Taylor, 5 months)
I’ve never heard anything about crime in this town. (Andrea, 7 months)
Minor crimes. (Kuulei, 1 year)
I haven’t seen any. (Maxwell, 1 year)
People here don’t even lock their doors. Very little crime that I know of. (Melissa, 1 year)
There have been some sex-related crimes around campus (that’s what I’ve heard, anyway). Drugs like pot, drinking. . . those are more on-campus or in housing. But all in all the most amount of crimes are speeding tickets, lol. (Abbey, 14 months)
None. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
Sip it or Sodalicous. (Kala, 1.5 years)
Not sure. I haven’t seen very much crime. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Not as high as where I’m from. Crime happens most over in the Park Place apartments. (Alicia, 2 years)
Pretty nonexistent unless you count people smoking weed. (Rachel, 2 years)
I have no idea. I have walked streets at 2am and seen no crime. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Not too shabby. (Alexandria, 4 years)
Tire slasher, rapist. (Rebekah, 4 years)
In some areas I can tell what houses mean trouble. (Tristen, 5 years)
Low crime. (Clinton, 9 years)
Not sure, I never see it. Great I guess. (Sandra, 9 years)
Meh. Live with wisdom – keep things locked and put away. Not much to worry about otherwise. (Felicia, 10 years)
Lots of drugs, theft, tire slashings. (Penny, 10.5 years)
A whole lot of drugs. (Rhett, 13 years)
Very little real crime. Some vandalism issues near the college. Drug use scattered around town, but rarely turns dangerous for anyone else. Occasional robbery, usually just stuff stolen out of cars that get left unlocked. Or a bike that gets left in the front yard at night might get taken. Usually the criminals aren’t brave enough to do anything too crazy. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
I don’t know. (Morgan, 19 years)
No idea. (Kim, 25 years)
Not too bad, but a lot of drugs. (Anonymous, 31 years)
The college has some issues and the trailer parks. (Randi, 32 years)
Snow students bring crime and drugs. (Anonymous, 33 years)

Ephraim Advice

Any advice for people moving to Ephraim?

Ephraim is lovely, but it is near some Turkey farms. The smell is not too pleasant, but manageable. It is not very close to major hospitals, so take note of the location of local healthcare places. There are only two major grocery stores, so learn to tolerate Wal-Mart, if you’re like me and are not a big fan of the company. (Victoria, 4 months)
Be mentally prepared for the quiet, the slower pace and the relative isolation. Plan to engage in the community. Be prepared to go to Utah Valley for anything beyond basic shopping and medical care. (Melissa, 5 months)
Real Estate follows no rules. (Taylor, 5 months)
Walk around the neighborhood to make easy friends. (Andrea, 7 months)
Have a plan before hand! This is 90% a college town. (Kuulei, 1 year)
Come with a positive attitude. It’s as great as you make it. (Maxwell, 1 year)
Must eat at Roy’s. And also learn to watch for deer on the roads. (Melissa, 1 year)
There are like five restaurants so plan accordingly, and get creative on things to do. Don’t just get stuck watching a movie every night or you’ll hate life and want to leave. (Abbey, 14 months)
Be active, and talk to people. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
Before you move down, find a job prior. (Kala, 1.5 years)
Love the outdoors. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Living here is what you make it. (Alicia, 2 years)
Find some friends or risk wasting your life away on Netflix. (Rachel, 2 years)
It seems small, and seems like there is nothing to do. There is TONS to do, you just have to be proactive and look for it. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Be prepared to get out of the city. (Alexandria, 4 years)
Get used to small town atmosphere. (Rebekah, 4 years)
It’s a fun and mostly safe community. (Tristen, 5 years)
Go out of your way to make friends. (Clinton, 9 years)
Hard at first, because of amenities, but once you make friends, you won’t want to leave. (Sandra, 9 years)
Enjoy your experience with small town life and take time to get to know your community. (Felicia, 10 years)
It’s a beautiful place with wonderful people. Get to know your neighbors, get involved with the community through the Lion’s club, Scandinavian days, the CO-OP building, the pioneer park, senior citizens, political office, EMT’s. Service is fun. (Penny, 10.5 years)
Lower your expectations of a typical small town and you will be surprised. Ephraim isn’t a typical small town. (Rhett, 13 years)
I would let them know that people here are small minded but they generally have good intentions. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
Good luck trying to find housing. (Morgan, 19 years)
Be friendly and willing to love small town life. (Kim, 25 years)
Buy a house, renting is impossible especially with pets. (Anonymous, 31 years)
Go somewhere else. (Anonymous, 33 years)

Ephraim Stories

Share an experience you’ve had in Ephraim (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

My friends and I went on a group date to a concert at the Eccles Center, then to an institute dance. It was super fun! I’ve never been to a bad concert at Snow. (Victoria, 4 months)
Sometime in the first week of October, traffic was stopped for several minutes at a time while thousands of sheep were driven down 100 North. I’ve also had a couple of turkeys spend a day on my porch, and once had to wait while a chicken literally crossed the road! (Melissa, 5 months)
We were able to cut down our own Christmas tree for the first time! (Taylor, 5 months)
People really go out of their way to serve others, and I’ve experienced that on several occasions. (Andrea, 7 months)
I’ve met many wonderful people. (Kuulei, 1 year)
I scored 192 in bowling. (Maxwell, 1 year)
The mines are fun to explore. Dangerous? Probably. Fun? Definitely. Also some friends and I went camping up Ephraim canyon a couple of months ago and it was amazing! (Abbey, 14 months)
Went to the abandoned mines. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
Loved going up behind the elk farm and going shooting and having fires :). (Kala, 1.5 years)
Off reading with friends. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Hiking the S at night. (Alexandria, 4 years)
Going in the tunnels under the school. (Rebekah, 4 years)
This past fall, a large tree fell over in my disabled neighbor’s yard. His neighbor to the east generously arranged to have a tree service come over to take care of much of it, and I cut up almost all of the rest for firewood. One evening while we were moving this very green (and thus heavy) wood, some college students were walking past and started helping us carry logs. (Clinton, 9 years)
My entire life has changed several times here and the church body of Ephraim Church of the Bible has been incredible the entire time, showing me so much love and compassion. (Felicia, 10 years)
Love going to Scandinavian Days and hearing the stories and going to the dinner. (Penny, 10.5 years)
I went to a bonfire out west that had a bouncy castle. (Rhett, 13 years)
Running around town in the middle of the night in high school. Running through sprinklers, jumping over stuff. Not causing trouble just having fun and feeling completely safe. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
All night softball tournaments. (Morgan, 19 years)
Too many to share just one, but I love all the community activities (parades, Scandinavian festival, service). We have great people here! (Kim, 25 years)

Ephraim’s Future

How do you think Ephraim will change over the next 10 years?

As Snow College keeps growing and attracting more students, Ephraim will see more traffic, and potentially more young families that choose to settle in lovely Ephraim. (Victoria, 4 months)
I hope that it will stay essentially the same, but get an Instacare and a dialysis center and maybe a couple more restaurants. (Melissa, 5 months)
Snow College will continue to grow. (Taylor, 5 months)
I don’t see the town expanding, I wouldn’t change anything about Ephraim (except maybe a Taco Bell). (Andrea, 7 months)
I’m hoping it doesn’t change! I like it the way it is. (Kuulei, 1 year)
It will get a lot larger. (Maxwell, 1 year)
It will probably grow, but I hope it doesn’t loose its small town charm. (Melissa, 1 year)
I don’t think it will get much bigger; the locals like their small town. (Abbey, 14 months)
It won’t. (Jacob, 1.5 years)
I think the university will go to 4 year and more business will come. (Kala, 1.5 years)
Ephraim will get bigger hopefully. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Not too much. Maybe get a little bigger. (Alicia, 2 years)
I don’t think it’ll change too much. People there like the small town vibe. (Rachel, 2 years)
I think it will expand in terms of restaurants and businesses changing. I do not think it will grow more than 30%. (Rachel, 3.5 years)
The college will grow more restaurants. (Alexandria, 4 years)
It will get more businesses. (Rebekah, 4 years)
Hopefully get more places to eat and a few fun things to do. We could also hope for a Costco, right? (Tristen, 5 years)
Ephraim will continue its slow but steady growth. (Clinton, 9 years)
Hopefully not much. (Sandra, 9 years)
I think it will continue to grow and develop. I hope it doesn’t lose the small town charm. (Felicia, 10 years)
I think Ephraim will continue to grow. Businesses come and go, but I think new ones will come. College is expanding and could be much bigger. (Penny, 10.5 years)
It will expand residentially and Snow College will expand. (Rhett, 13 years)
Considering the people running the city seem to have zero respect for the historical buildings & homes, if they keep going at the current rate of tearing things down, 10 years from now we won’t have many historical buildings left at all, which is very sad. However we will grow a lot in those years either way. I think a lot of new homes will go in on the south end of town & up the canyon. New growth will likely bring new businesses. Growth is good but I wish we were better at preserving our historical charm. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
It will continue to grow as people discover our secret. (Kim, 25 years)
I think it will continue to grow. (Randi, 32 years)

Ephraim Facts

Any other interesting facts about Ephraim?

There are only a few options for eating out, which is friendly to a low budget or to a stricter diet. This is to your advantage! (Victoria, 4 months)
There is a Frisbee Golf Course that I recently learned about. (Andrea, 7 months)
People are judgmental here. (Kuulei, 1 year)
They’re also famous for turkeys. (Maxwell, 1 years)
Apparently over by the firehouse and the volleyball courts that area was flooded thirty years ago, all the way to Main Street and the only way to get to Manti was to go all the way around the mountains to the east. (Abbey, 14 months)
It’s definitely considered country. (Robert, 1.5 years)
Running up on the trails in the mountains in January is equally as cold as it is relaxing and rejuvenating. (Rachel, 2 years)
It’s bigger than you think. The diversity in race is also quite large! (Rachel, 3.5 years)
Ephraim’s current population size is about the same size as Salt Lake City‘s was in 1860. (Clinton, 9 years)
Snow College named after Lorenzo and Erastus Snow who were Mormon settlers. (Penny, 10.5 years)
There are very unique and fun locations and things to do. You just have to know where to find them. (Rhett, 13 years)
Roy’s used to be named Fat Jack’s. Exact same pizza. I think it’s dumb that they changed the name. There’s nothing cool about the name Roy’s, at least Fat Jack’s had character. (Anonymous, 16+ years)
A former NFL player lives here. (Morgan, 19 years)
The blend of the cultural opportunities that come from Snow College and small town quiet life creates the perfect environment to raise kids. (Kim, 25 years)