If I am completely transparent, I had never heard of the bonneville salt flats before moving to Utah. The only reason I even discovered them was a quick google search for “the most instagramable places near salt lake city”. When I excitedly told my mom about it she was SHOCKED I had never heard of them. So I hopped in my car and was off on a two hour road trip to see them with a friend!
History of the Salt Flats
Of course I did a little research before going. The Bureau of Land Management manages the entire 46 square mile area. Why? Its history! The Bonneville Salt Flats are where speed records have been broken nearly a century. The first in September 1935. There is a huge draw for amature racers from around the world to drive down the famed 10 mile speedway. And no… we did not test out the speed of my new car. I decide it was better to leave that to the semi-professionals.
Bonneville Salt Flats
There are really two areas that we went to check out. The first is SUPER easy to access from a rest-stop on the side of IH-80. This area features a more honeycomb look to the salt flat and was really cool to walk around and explore. I took Winter with me! With all the salt I had her wear her hiking booties to protect her paw pads.
The second area is where you can actually drive out and access the Bonneville Speedway! Its another 5 minutes or so past the rest stop into the BLM lands. This area does not have the honeycomb look of the area near the rest stop but is still just as unique. On my visit the salt flats were closed to motor vehicles due to the wet conditions.
Before you go
If you just google Bonneville Salt Flats you can get there fairly easily. But I created the little map below to show you exactly where I ended up going!
There is also a lot you can see on the 2 hour drive from Salt Lake City to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The “Tree of Utah”, which I had never heard of, is probably the most unique thing we spotted on the drive. There was also a weird obsession with little alien statues and other things along the side of the interstate on the way there. This makes for a fun little car game.
You are also really close to the Utah/Nevada border town of Wendover. There are casinos to check out and a historic airstrip, if those are your cup of tea. We just grabbed some lunch and headed back to Salt Lake City after exploring.
Catch up on more of my Utah adventures or see where else Winter and I have been!
Winter looks all curious and happy
yup! she is the best!
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