Antelope Island State Park

The largest island in the Great Salt Lake is reached via a narrow road spanning seven miles from mainland to island. A visitor center orients guests with the biology, geology, history, and backcountry trail system. There is also a gift shop located in the visitor center. The historic Fielding Garr Ranch, located at the southeast end of the island is open year-round. Antelope Island is home to a herd of 600 American bison. Island range lands and shorelines are also home to antelope, deer, coyotes, shorebirds, and waterfowl. This park is an ideal spot for viewing sunsets over Great Salt Lake. The campgrounds are primitive with pit toilets and no shower facilities. (Modern facilities, including hot showers and drinking water are located at the day-use area, approximately one-half mile away).

Location: The Basin and Range Province is centered in Nevada and extends eastward into Utah and southward into Arizona and California. Antelope Island is in the portion of the Basin and Range Province known as the Great Basin. The Great Basin eastern boundary is the Wasatch Range and western boundary is the Sierra Nevada Range in California. The typical pattern of the Basin and Range is of skinny mountain ranges surrounded by a broad valleys or basins. At Antelope Island, the island is the range and the Great Salt Lake spreads across several basins. This is a repeated pattern all the way across western Utah and Nevada to the Sierra Nevada Range. The view to the north and west from the visitor center is a vista of that pattern.

Recreation: Camping, picnicking, sailing, biking, saltwater bathing, bird watching, photography, wildlife viewing and touring Fielding Garr Ranch historical site. Antelope Island is home to a roaming herd of 500 bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, coyote, and a wide variety of birds. Though surrounded by water that is up to five times saltier than the ocean, wildlife viewing opportunities abound on this island of grasslands, wetlands, and miles of shoreline. An annual Bison Roundup is held each fall to check the health of the bison herd and cull excess bison. Check our Activities and Events calendar for more information.