If you’re looking for a daytrip from Salt Lake City to spend some time in nature, check out Antelope Island State Park. Less than an hour north of downtown Salt Lake City, Antelope Island is the largest of 10 islands in the Great Salt Lake. It was named for the pronghorn antelope that early explorers found in this region.
There are so many activities to do on Antelope Island. You can camp, hike, bike, swim, and take a scenic drive. You enter the island via a causeway from Syracuse, Utah. As you arrive on the island, there are numerous painted bison statues that greet you. We passed two and headed up the hill to the Visitor’s Center. The Visitor’s Center is full of information about the Great Salt Lake along with the wildlife and geology of the region. There is a video as well as numerous displays and a ranger on site to answer your questions. The Visitor’s Center is also a great scenic viewpoint. Although this is a state park, they offer a Junior Ranger Program comparable to the National Park programs and the boys really enjoyed doing it.
From the Visitor’s Center we drove down to the nearby beach parking area and walked down to the water’s edge. The day we visited was the lowest the lake has been in recorded history, so the walk was very long. It was fascinating to see how the sand changed as we got closer to the water. You could tell which parts had been the lake bottom in the past. As you can imagine, the sand was mixed with large salt deposits.
It was pretty hot and buggy as we walked. The boys took their shoes off and waded into the water. It was so salty that later when their legs dried, they were caked in salt! The water was cool and got colder as they waded deeper. We didn’t have towels, so they didn’t jump in, but several other people were swimming and floating in the lake.
Antelope Island is home to nearly 700 bison. The bison have been roaming the island since 1893 and is notable because it’s one of the largest and oldest publicly owned bison herds in the nation. When we were at the Visitor’s Center the Ranger told us that we could see the bison near the Fielding Garr Ranch, so we headed there next. It’s a few miles down the main road on the island and the drive there is very scenic. We stopped a few times to take pictures. When we got close to the ranch we could see hundreds of them grazing down by the water. We parked at the ranch and walked down through the barn and into the field. It was really amazing to see! They are such massive creatures. A family of four walked right by us. It was fun to see the young bison running through the fields. We were at a safe distance, so I was never worried, but there was nothing standing between us and them. That made for some great pictures though!
Before we left, we returned to the Visitor’s Center to get the boys’ Junior Ranger badges. It was a great day to get in the lake and see the bison.
Have you seen bison? Let us know where in the comments.
Things to Know Before You Go
- Antelope Island is one of the Utah State Parks. Admission is $15 per car for the day and is paid at the entrance to the causeway.
