The Bonneville Salt Flats are such a cool destination for any road trip through Utah. After doing a 13 mile hike to the summit of Mount Timpanagos, we didn’t want to do anything active the next day so a drive out to Bonneville was a perfect weekend expedition. And let me tell you, the Bonneville Salt Flats did not disappoint!
The Bonneville Salt Flats are one of the most impressive salt flats in the world and largest in North America. I can only imagine how confounded early explorers in the early 1800s must have been when they stumbled upon this eerie Mars like landscape with white salt bordered with red mountains. Here’s what to know about planning your trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Getting to the Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats are about a 2-hour drive west of Salt Lake City on I-80. Literally nothing exists on the drive so make sure you fill up on gas before you go. There are only a handful of exits on the way so make sure you don’t miss the turn off because you might end up in Nevada before you can turn around again!
About the Bonneville Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats were formed after an ancient lake that evaporated in Utah thousands of years ago. The salt is potassium chloride which is different than your typical table salt. It’s got a metallic taste and not good for cooking.
The Bonneville Salt Flats rest stop has some shaded covering, restrooms and picnic tables. It also has a fountain to rinse off your shoes. The salt sediment looks and feels like slushy snow that doesn’t melt! Turquoise lagoons and canals crisscross the flats. In the summer, the salt gets super hot and causes mirages in the distance. It was easily 100+ degrees when we were there in July. In the wintertime, the salt flats get marshy and create fabulous reflections that mirror the sky and mountains, however you can’t drive on it.
Driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats
Since 1935, Bonneville has been the primary venue for land speed record attempts, including the 1970 land speed record that was over 630mph!! The Bonneville Speedway hosts Speed Week each August. As an amateur, you can take your car out onto the salt flats and race the 10 mile track if you want to. I drove out on the salt flats a little bit, but didn’t get above 60 mph because I was nervous I might get stuck in the marsh—it happens!!
After adventuring on the flats my car was COATED in salt. It was all over the tires, wheel wells, running boards and floor mats from our shoes. We took the car to get washed that week in Salt Lake, but somehow, I still have salt sediment that made it to the floor in my garage here in Texas.
Kayaking the Bonneville Salt Flats
Unfortunately, you cannot kayak in the Bonneville. Earlier in the summer a series of photos went viral of people swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking in the Bonneville Salt Flats. The images are truly striking with vibrant turquoise canals contrasted against the bright white salt formations and are what initially drew me to the place. However, it turns out these canals are irrigation ditches filled with chemicals and technically private property so rather illegal and dangerous in many ways. Additionally, finding out that the salt found on the Bonneville Salt Flats is the third ingredient in a capital punishment makes me even less interested in enveloping myself in that water. Also, you’re literally in the middle of the desert, so logistically getting a kayak to that location would require a lot of work.
Here’s some more good information about planning your trip.
Taking Pictures on the Salt Flats
From what I can tell, there is no bad time to take pictures on the salt flats. If you go at sunrise or sunset you can capture some amazing hues of color across the sky and mountains. And if you go during the day you get that bright blue bird snow day effect. Since it was a 2-hour drive and waking up in the wee hours of the morning to catch sunrise at 6am was not in the cards, we caught the clear skies around lunch time. It was hot for sure, but super fun! We brought lots of water and dressed in breathable clothes.
COVID Considerations for the Salt Flats
So long as you avoid other people, visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats is a rather solitary activity. Bring your mask in case you decide to use the restroom at the Bonneville rest stop. We packed water in a cooler which was clutch so we didn’t need to stop anywhere on the drive.
Get the Look
