Antelope Island - Great Salt Lake

When: Monday June 7, 2021
Where:  Antelope Island (near Salt Lake City)
Cost: $15/car
Bucket Lists:  Dipping my toes in the Great Salt Lake (not!)

Antelope Island

Because we were visiting Salt Lake City, one thing that I felt like I needed to do was visit the Great Salt Lake and dip my toes in the salty brine water.  I had read several articles and blogs indicating that the best way to do this was to visit Antelope Island.   Thus, we decided to take a day and pay the $15/per car entrance/causeway fee to access this state park on a very hot day in June 2021.

Probably because we visited the park on a Monday, the trails and traffic were beyond light.  The place almost felt desolate at times.   The highlights of our day trip included two hikes where we encountered only a handful of people: 

• Ladyfinger Point Trail is right next to the Visitor’s Center.  This an easy quarter-mile hike to some cool rock formations and views of the lake.  During our visit, the lake was pretty dry but the Visitor Center itself explains how the water levels change annually, as well as over geological time.    

• Fairly close to the entrance is also the Buffalo Point Trail.  This half-mile climb is a little more challenging, but those who make the trek are rewarded with spectacular views of the lake on both sides.  Another vantage point provides an overlook of the White Rock Campground for dry camping.  The campsites contain no shade cover, and all that I could think of was just how much fuel those campers were using running their generators on that 95°F+ weather.    While I enjoyed the hike overall, a good walking stick and extra water would have been good to have.

Antelope Island — Holy Buffalo!

Right next to the Visitor’s Center, we spotted two lone bison.   We were pretty giddy to see buffalo in the wild, but little did we know that we would encounter large herds of bison during our drive on Antelope Island Road, the main road which is on the west side of the park.  Both herds were well off in the distance so bring binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens to the park!

We also stopped by Fielding Garr Ranch on our drive on the main road.  We saw only a couple of other visitors during our half-hour self-guided exploration of the homestead.   Visitors can learn more about the ranch on the Utah state parks website. I wish that I would have read up on the ranch PRIOR to visiting it. There isn’t much signage explaining what you are seeing so overall, the ranch was a little disappointing unless you somehow get cell phone service or read up on the place beforehand.

One other tip. There are not any gas stations on the island so if you do decide to go up and down Antelope Island Road a few times, it is best to fill up the gas tank before heading to the park

Antelope Island — Beware of Brine Flies!

After having a late lunch at the Island Buffalo Grill on the northern part of the island, we opted to venture on to the lake itself and began the 1/3 mile journey through the beachy sands to the shore.   I’ve visited the ocean several times, but never a brine lake so I was excited to check this off my bucket list.   Soon after exiting the boardwalk, however, we encountered a couple of people coming back from the lake who said “DON’T DO IT!” because of the brine flies.  We had learned during our stop at the Visitor’s Center that the island was home to numerous types of flies, but brine flies did not bite.  We dismissed the couple’s advice, thinking “how bad could it be?”  Well, lesson learned.   Twenty yards from to the shoreline, we started to see what we thought was dark haze around black driftwood.  Those black areas were instead clusters of brine flies.   As I filmed the flies, the swarms soon started swarming around my legs, arms, and face and within seconds, became unbearable.   I sprinted away from the shoreline with my Go-Pro as fast as I could, and Kasie did the same.   We saw only a couple of antelope on the island, but at least for me, I think the state park is aptly named because idiots like me develop antelope-like speed during fly encounters.    

Looking back, I’m glad to mark Antelope Island off my “to do” list.  If I ever visit the place again, I’m heading straight to the water on a cool spring morning and wearing a beekeeper suit to ward off those pesky flies.