The Park Where the Bison and Antelope Play
Written: Aug 31 '04 (Updated Sep 07 '04)
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Pros: You can float on the salty water; children will like Garr Ranch
Cons: The flies; no shade; uninviting beach; concessions closed.
The Bottom Line: Antelope Island is somewhat unique. Your experience will depend on the time of year you go. Stay away from 90 degree temps!
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| jo.com's Full Review: Antelope Island State Park |
We recently spent time in Salt Lake City, Utah and visited Antelope Island State Park.
About Antelope Island:
The Great Salt Lake has 10 islands. Antelope is one of them. We got there by taking a very nice 7.8-mile causeway with bike lanes. It is called Highway 108. The Park is about 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. Although there are antelope as well as bobcats, coyotes, elk and a lot of birds about 600 American Bison live on Antelope Island. Antelope Island State Park’s claim to fame, in my opinion, though is the water. Because of the high salt content you can float in the water like nowhere in the world except the Dead Sea in Israel.
Antelope Islands summer hours are 7:00AM-10:00PM and dawn to dusk in the winter. It costs $8.00 a car to get in. If you walk in or ride a bike in it will cost you $4.00. After I give you an overview of this island I will tell you my experience at Antelope Island. I have never perceived anywhere from afar as differently as I experienced Antelope Island close up!
There seems to be a lot to do here.
~You can bike the causeway; you can also bike on 25 miles of backcountry trails.
~You can hike on a variety of trails. One, called Elephant Head Trail, is 1.42 miles while Mountain View Trail is 11.4 miles. There is no water on the backcountry trails.(Backcountry trails usually don’t have water anyway.)
~You can also hike along the shoreline.
~You can float in the salty, buoyant waters of the Great Salt Lake.
~You can drive the 8 mile paved loop to scenic overlooks.
~You can launch your boat at the Antelope Island Marina.
~You can visit the Park Visitor Center and Historic Fielding Garr Ranch.
~You can camp in one of the two campgrounds. Bridger Bay has 26 primitive campsites. Wheelchair accessible campsites are available by reservation. White Rock Bay Group Campground has 5 primitive campsites for groups up to 70 people.
~Guided horseback and wagon rides are available by reservation. The general phone number is 801-773-2941. Camping reservations can be made via 1800-32-3770.
The literature says that "from the mainland the 28,022 acres appear barren and deserted. But Antelope Island is home to a variety of flora and fauna native to the Great Basin region. The island was without its namesake antelope for many years, but they were reintroduced in 1993 and can now be seen in many areas of the park. Deer, bobcats, coyotes, many varieties of birds and waterfowl, and a small herd of elk also call the island home. But most famous are Antelope Island's American Bison, introduced to the island in 1893 and now numbering some 600 animals. The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation manages the world-renowned herd and visitors are welcome at the island's buffalo corral and management facilities. During the annual bison roundup each November, visitors can get a close-up look at the bison and the techniques used on a working buffalo ranch." (from a brochure I have)
My experiences:
As we drove in I saw what looked to be a beautiful island. The sand looked white, the water blue. Huge mountains rose on the southern side of the island and we figured we would be hiking there. I couldn’t understand why there were so few people on the island, no one was sitting on the beach and there may have been one occupied campsite. The campsites are close to the lake so they looked ideal. This was a hot mid July day.
The first thing we did and I would recommend is stopping at the visitor center. A very nice couple talked with us about the island and gave us a hiking map. You’ll find t-shirts and books for sale here. We drove around a bit to get a feel of the northern part of the island and saw some penned bison whose round up is mentioned above. This was exciting to me because we hadn’t seen any wild bison yet. (We hadn’t been to Yellowstone!)
I am breaking the island up into the north and south section. This is not a huge island because about 1/3 of the southern portion is inaccessible. You’ll find Buffalo Point Café and Bistro. This was the only place to eat on the island although there were a couple of concession stands on the beach but they were closed and we hadn’t been to the beach yet.
It was quite hot! In fact it was 98 degrees according to our car thermometer, which tends to be accurate. There was no shade at the Café. I mean none whatsoever and outside eating is the only option though there were a couple of other people eating in their cars! It was hard to even sit on the picnic tables. Why they don’t put up umbrellas is beyond my comprehension but there are none. I didn’t eat but my husband had their specialty – bison burger (He is not a meat eater but will try any native food) and didn’t like it.
Next to this café is a small but nice gift shop. You’ll find some beautiful items for yourself or as gifts. For about $3.00 I bought a bag of salt crystals from the lake. There is a wheelchair accessible ramp up to the café.
From the parking lot at the café we walked/hiked up Buffalo Point. This trail is considered fairly moderate in the trail guide. There are benches and some pretty views from the top especially of the lake. It is the highest point on the north end of the island. This is a short hike though once at the top there are some short trails you can take which will get you farther to the edge and make the trail a bit longer. In general this was an easy walk for us. We did encounter some rocks and a short incline on the way up. In that heat anything would have felt difficult but really just about anyone can do this walk and it is worth the view especially if you don’t plan on any hiking. I had sandals on and managed well.
This is a tip that I wrote in my notes: You will come to a fork. We went to the left which turned out to make sense because it is the steepest part of the trail (coming down a steep grade tends to be more difficult). There appeared to be no shade on this island and this trail was no different so even for this short hike, take water and wear a hat. From here you will look across to the southern side of the island which is truly scary looking from that distance. It appears totally desolate, dark and foreboding. If you hiked up to the left you will make a loop, take some side trails if you want and walk down the easier slope, which isn’t far from the original trail, but it isn’t as steep.
It was then time to test out this water and walk on the beach. There are a couple of free parking lots each of which has picnic tables (covered!) a concession (closed) and showers.
You will have to shower off after you are in the water or your skin will be white and itchy. Since there are outdoor showers at first we didn’t realize that there are enclosed showers as well so I made use of that. For about $1.00 (take quarters) I had a decent shower. (4 1/2 minutes) My husband and Hanna (our dog) showered outside. By the time we got to the beach there were some people around. It is a large beach area so having Hanna with us (dogs aren’t allowed) wasn’t an issue at all. We passed 2 other people the entire time we were on the beach and in the water. You will have to walk about ˝ mile on the sand to the water. The beach on the right is closer to the water so there were more people. We stayed to the left. The first part of this ˝ mile was a walk in deep sand that wasn’t at all any shade of white. It was gray though still considered sand and acceptable.
As we got to the water the flies became unbearable. The only organisms that can live in this water are shrimp brine and that is what the flies come for. Even in the water, the flies were everywhere. You’ll have to walk out a distance to get away from mobs of them but you won’t be free of them. In spite of that it was worth the experience of floating on this salty water. I could tell some people would not go in the water but we did and I floated. It really is amazing. My husband has been to the Dead Sea but I never have so it was a unique experience.
It was then time to head to the southern part of the island. This is where we saw our first herd of buffalo and got out to get a better look at these foreboding mountains. Up close they aren’t as scary as from as distance. Although there is no shade on them, there is some greenery that can’t be seen from a distance. However there was no way we were hiking on the non-maintained trails in that heat.
We stopped at Fielding Garr Ranch, which is located at Garr Springs, one of the strongest and most consistent of the 40 springs on Antelope Island. You can get to it year round and some of it is wheelchair accessible. You will get a booklet at the welcome center, which will allow you to do a self-guided tour of what essentially is now a museum. There are rest rooms here and exhibits. If you have children with you they will surely want to explore this ranch. Make sure you have insect repellent and be careful because there is a lot of old rusty barbed wire, nails and farm equipment.
Jo’s Final Thoughts:
This ends our tour of Antelope Island. Would I go again? No I wouldn’t but if you’ve never floated on salt water then I would say it’s worth the $8.00 just to do that. If you go on a day that isn’t as hot you can enjoy biking the causeway or trails and even hike on some of the trails such as Egg Island Overlook which is an easy trail but you’ll have to climb around some rocks. If you are heading to Yellowstone and don’t see any bison don’t be disappointed because you’ll soon be seeing more than you can count. However if this is your first encounter with these huge creatures they are interesting to watch. Try to catch one running – it’s quite a site. (We did not see any antelope.) I know this review probably makes this island sound awful. It certainly wasn't the highlight of our 3 months but if you find yourself in Salt Lake City on a nice day, especially with children, you should have some fun.
In spite of many cons, I am rating this average and recommending it.
Feel free to leave me a question or comment.
I am keeping track of our 3-month cross-country trip. The reviews are posted below.
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Antelope Island State Park
Recommended:
Yes
Recommended for: Familes
Review Topic: Overview
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