Antelope Island State Park

Antelope Island State Park occupies the largest island in the Great Salt Lake in Davis County, Utah, connected to the mainland by a 7-mile paved causeway. The island covers 28,000 acres and its highest point, Frary Peak, rises approximately 2,600 feet above the lake surface. The park maintains a free-roaming bison herd of approximately 700 animals — one of the largest publicly accessible bison herds in the United States — that can frequently be spotted grazing near the main park road. The causeway and island provide unique access to the Great Salt Lake itself; Bridger Bay Beach on the island's western shore allows visitors to wade into the hypersaline water, which ranges from 5 to 8 times saltier than ocean water, creating extraordinary buoyancy for floating. Eyes must be protected, as the brine stings intensely. Wildlife beyond bison includes pronghorn antelope, mule deer, coyote, and bighorn sheep on the island's slopes, while the lake's western shoreline is a critical staging area for millions of migratory shorebirds during spring and fall. Species observed during migration include American avocet, Wilson's phalarope, eared grebe, snowy plover, and black-necked stilt in concentrations that can number in the millions. Frary Peak Trail (6.7 miles round-trip, 1,500-foot elevation gain) reaches the island's summit with sweeping views of the entire Great Salt Lake basin and the Wasatch Range. The Fielding Garr Ranch, one of Utah's oldest continuously operating ranches (established 1848), is accessible by paved road within the park and offers historical interpretation. The annual Bison Roundup, typically held in late October or November, is a multi-day public event where cowboys and volunteers drive the herd for veterinary checks and branding, drawing thousands of spectators.