The family and I recently escaped with our RV to a local treasure known as Antelope Island State Park. Antelope Island is a unique location to visit and a key element of the national ecosystem. The week prior I visited for a 20 mile bike ride & was warned to bring a bandana in case the bugs are bad. Checking in for camping this time I noticed the sign that noted the park did not give refunds for bad weather or bugs! No see ems, or gnats were pretty heavy near the water and small horse flies even followed me while I was running. I started carrying a long weed I’d found so I could brush them off as I ran like a horse does with its tail. Despite the bugs we enjoyed watching the ancient bison and learning of the abundant wildlife found here.

Antelope Island is 15 miles long and 5 miles wide and is located just north of Salt Lake City in Davis County. It’s the largest island on the Great Salt Lake and its highest point is Frary Peak at 6,596 feet. John Fremont and Kit Carson were the first Anglo explorers to survey the island and provided the name after enjoying the abudance of antelope found there. Evidence of Native American habitation has also been identified although details are scant.1

The island may seem an odd place to find bison but at any given time you can see 500-700 head roaming free. As the American bison population dwindled in the late 19th Century 12 bison were brought to the island in hopes of replenishing the continental stock and it worked!

Map credit goes to: Justinmorris (talk) – This map was entirely self made using ArcGIS. Map data is from Utah AGRC, ESRI and the USGS., CC BY-SA 3.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3721581

This photo looks southeasterly from the island’s highest point: Frary’s Peak at 6,596 feet. The hike is 3.4 miles one way. We saw one bison early on but the CA big horn sheep alluded us much to our chagrin.

Bison having breakfast, they’re not quiet when they wake up

While our family spent a couple days in the RV at the island I highly recommend a visit ($15/car to enter) if nothing else to see the bison wander closely by your car. It’s quite amazing how close you can get (please remember safety and don’t be the person that gets attacked, it does happen). For the more adventurous you can spend time with your gravel bike on the trails or on a rental from Antelope E-Bikes with a guided tour. The intellectually inclined need to stop at the Visitor’s Center and check out the park podcast. The Visitor’s Center isn’t a bad first stop if you want a quick update on bison location-their rangers provide updates throughout the day. History buffs will need to visit the Garr ranch on the southwest side of the island. For a bison burger you’ve got to stop at the Island Buffalo Grill. The burgers are generous and delicious and the root beer floats are just like you remember them! And finally, check out upcoming events and related Antelope Island links below.