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We couldn’t visit Salt Lake City without seeing the Great Salt Lake. We decided to make a day trip out to Antelope Island State Park. The park has miles of hiking, camping, and beaches on the lake as well as a historic ranch. There are also plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and spotting wildlife.
Visiting
We drove to Antelope Island and paid the admission fee at the tollbooth at the beginning of the causeway leading to the island. Admission is US$15 per carload (as of April 2024). The park is open daily from 6am to 10pm.
If you plan on camping, reservations are highly recommended. There are four developed campgrounds and one backcountry campground. The developed campgrounds are Bridger Bay (64 sites, US$30 per night for no hookups or US$40 for water and electrical hookups); White Rock Bay (20 sites, US$40 per night covering two vehicles); Ladyfinger (5 sites, US$20 per night); and Lakeside Group Campsite (US$180 per night for up to 80 people and 20 vehicles). All have vault toilets except Bridger Bay, which has flush toilets and showers. The backcountry campground is Split Rock Bay, which has 4 sites by reservation only for US$20 per night. It’s a five mile hike to this primitive site. All fees are current as of April 2024.
Lady Finger Point
When we arrived at Antelope Island, we passed the small marina and headed for Lady Finger Point. There’s an easy ¼ mile trail (one way) where you can get great views of the lake and Bridger Bay.
Visitor Center
Next, we went to the visitor center to learn more about the park. It’s open daily from 10am to 4pm. There were interesting displays on the wildlife and the history of the lake as well as a short film. The film was overly dramatic and turned us off a bit. Outside of the building are a few sculptures.
Bridger Bay
From there, we drove to Bridger Bay to dip our feet in the lake. We parked the car, walked down a soft sandy beach, and then had to walk quite a long way on a harder surface to the edge of the water. The water was comfortable but the smell was horrible (probably due to the hundreds of birds floating nearby). I couldn’t wait to get back to the parking lot.
The Great Salt Lake is too salty to support fish, but brine shrimp thrive in the waters. These shrimp support several different species of migrating birds.
We had a quick picnic and rested a while at Bridger Bay. We noticed a restaurant called Island Buffalo Grill located in the next parking lot. It serves real buffalo burgers and is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Buffalo Point
After lunch, we went to Buffalo Point, which overlooks White Rock Bay. There’s also a short but steep ½ mile one way trail there which we decided not to do.
Bison Crossing
Next was a scenic drive to the southern half of the island. On the way, we were surprised by a herd of bison crossing the road. It was incredible how the adult bison blocked the road and waited for the calves to cross first.
Fielding Garr Ranch
Our last stop on the island was the Fielding Garr Ranch. The story of the ranch is equally as interesting as the nature on the island. It was built in 1848 by the LDS Church for their herds of sheep and cattle. The church sent Fielding Garr, a War of 1812 veteran who was born in Culpepper, Virginia, in 1794, to manage the ranch. Garr joined the LDS Church in 1842 and made the journey to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The ranch is the oldest remaining Anglo settlement in Utah and was in use until 1981. It was once one of the largest sheep ranches in the country.
The ranch had a few buildings open to visitors and lots of antique farming equipment on display. We started with a mercantile building where we examined some of this equipment.
Next, we visited the large barn followed by the blacksmith’s workshop.
The last part of the ranch we visited was the living quarters. The Garr family home was filled with authentic furniture and decorations.
The rooms where the ranch hands lived were much simpler and a bit less comfortable.
Conclusion
Antelope Island State Park is a wonderful opportunity to get close to the Great Salt Lake and see firsthand the fantastic scenery and abundant wildlife that many wouldn’t expect to see in such a salty place.
2 Comments
Antelope Island looks amazing! We’ve visited the National Parks and SLC but have never stopped at Antelope Island. After reading your post, I’m definitely putting it on the list for this summer. Never realized how much wildlife and hiking is available there–looks like a wonderful stop!
Yes, it’s worth a day or 2! We didn’t know about it until we got SLC and wish we had found it earlier. We definitely would’ve camped there for a night and hiked on a couple of the longer trails.