Antelope Island, Utah

DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer: Utah

Antelope Island, Utah

Part of the Great Salt Lake


Rich with scenic beauty and natural features Antelope Island is a perfect place to get close to the Great Salt Lake.
The largest of the ten islands on the Great Salt Lake, it can be reached by boat or driving on a causeway.
White sand beaches, entices swimmers and picnickers. Swimming is popular, in this salty water where you are so buoyant that you float like a cork. The water is very salty at up to 26% but most of the time it is around 13%. Ten times more salty than the ocean. Only the Dead Sea has more salt content than the Great Salt Lake.
Fresh water showers are there to use so you can wash off the salt and change clothes.
The other sports are even more popular, like hiking, biking, and kayaking.
Special motor boats or sail boats are very popular here as well. With thousands of miles of shoreline, there is enough room for everyone.
Many animals and birds live there year-round on the 2800 acre island. Bob cats, coyotes, elk and the famous American Buffalo. The first bison were introduced to the island in 1893. The herd now numbers 600 managed animals. During the annual bison roundup in November of every year, visitors can get a close up look at all 600 bison. They are inspected by a vet, given shots, and culled for sale and the rest are returned to their home on the island.
The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville which covered 20,000 square miles of land which at that time was Utah, Nevada, and Idaho some 30,000 years ago.
Now just 75 miles long and 35 miles wide. Depth of 13 to 20 feet.
The Great Salt Lake has fresh water running into it with 4 rivers and many streams. The lake has no outlet so there is just continual evaporation.
Several businesses extract salt and other chemicals from the lake. One is Morton Salt Company. That is where your table salt comes from.
Antelope Island State Park is 7 miles west of I-15 exit 335 near Layton, Utah