Floating the Great Salt Lake at Antelope Island | Bridger Bay | 12 Utah Staycations

We're super excited to share Davis County with you! We've partnered up with Play in Davis to giveaway this epic Staycation, so be sure to enter here.

We're going to start things off with Utah's most iconic thing; The Great Salt Lake! It's actually been a while since the Salt Project has visited the Great Salt Lake in the summer. Because that summer Utah heat is brutal. Sometimes those biting gnats are so awful, but lucky for us, they apparently are gone for now! (We totally checked before visiting.)

First things first, FOOD. We did take-out from The Bird in Syracuse (it's on the way out.) 

Sadly, there was a TON of wind that literally blew lots of our food away to the sand. It was comical how many times our food blew away. After eating we sat there for a while debating if we should leave the safety of the shady pavilion and make the mile trek out to the Great Salt Lake. Sometimes, the flies are so bad it's kind of gross walking out there but we couldn't see any plumes of flies as people walked out. 

We decided to JUST DO IT. It's actually been MANY years since we actually went swimming in the Great Salt Lake. 

There are bathrooms/showers/changing rooms at the shore, so we quickly changed into our swimsuits and put on a WHOLE bunch of sunscreen. The husbands (AKA The Pepper Project) didn't want to come, so we left the tiny babies with them while we took the other 7 kids for their first Great Salt Lake swim!

Honestly, the trek out wasn't so bad. It was really hot though. Real hot. 

I'd recommend wearing some kind of footgear (I love my Chacos) the sand gets hot and then it's kind of rocky on some spots. 

We finally made it! 

We dropped our bags and walked right out into the water. It's warmer than I was expecting. Don't forget buckets. Our kids really wanted to catch the brine shrimp and inspect them. They LOVED catching them in their hands. 

Stephanie and I literally SAT right down and you'll just FLOAT! For those of you that don't know, there is so much salt in The Great Salt Lake that you can literally FLOAT in the water, without doing anything. 

We just sat right down and floated. Seriously, it's cool. Totally worth adding to your bucket list. 

Now, there are a few downsides to having so much salt in the Great Salt Lake. It's so salty, that if you get some in your mouth, you might just gag, little Orion did. If you have any kind of sores, the salt STINGS. While for adults this isn't so bad, but for kids, it can be slightly traumatic. My young kids were all crying at one point. 

Also, the trek BACK is slightly brutal, it's probably a 10-15 minute walk back to shore and it's HOT. Again, we had crying kids, but the outdoor showers feel so good! Be sure to rinse off that salt!

After changing our clothes we went in search of bison. Antelope Island is famous for the bison, but sometimes, you just plain don't see any! We put all the good vibes out there that we would see them and boy, did we ever! We actually found a dirt road that I've never seen open before. I guess it's open seasonally and you better believe we drove it. It's next to the Fielding Garr Ranch. (Be sure to check out the Field Garr Ranch in a past post.) When I saw that people were driving on it I was like DONE. It's a good thing too. That's where ALL the bison were!

They just hang out there quite a bit, because we saw so many out walking the shores. I've seen a handful of bison but not so many at once. 

We drove the dirt road as far as it would go. Totally worth the drive! 

If you are local to Utah and haven't been to Antelope Island...you need to go. It's open any season and it's awesome in ANY season. 

The Salt Project
This post is sponsored, but The Salt Project's opinions are 100% our own.
Entrance Fee(s)
Utah State Park Fees Apply.
If you have a Utah State Parks Pass you still have to pay $2 to get in.
Helpful Tips

Tips for visiting Antelope Island in the Summer:

  • Don't go when the biting gnats are out. Seriously, you'll need a mask and a hazmat suit. (I'm joking about the suit, but not the mask.) Those suckers are mean and it hurts. Check out the website before going. 
  • Pack plenty of food and water.
  • Sunscreen is a must.
  • Wear sandals or shoes that you don't care about getting sandy.
  • Hats, Sunglasses are all important too. 
  • Be aware that The Great Salt Lake is salty and can sting if you have any sores. It bothers the youngsters more than adults. 
  • There are outdoor showers free and indoor showers (these cost money.)
  • Don't wear anything out to The Great Salt Lake that you don't want to get super salty with salt crystals. 
  • Probably a 15 minute walk out to the actual water at the main beaches.
  • There is a restaurant on the Island, never tried it, so tell us if you do! 
  • Check out our past Antelope Island posts here. 

Melynda (not verified)

Fri, 08/02/2019 - 18:47

How fun! This is totally on my bucket list, I live just a skip and jump away. Oddly enough some of my siblings are going there tonight. I have work, look forward to hearing their stories!

Karen (not verified)

Wed, 08/07/2019 - 11:45

I live close to the Great Salt Lake and my 8 year old has never been there. I would love to take her. How did you check the gnat situation prior to going?

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.