What are Some Outdoor Activities in Salt Lake City, Utah?

Salt Lake City has some of the most unique natural surroundings in the world. It is a city known for its remarkable scenery such as its Great Salt Lake, its mountains and its marshlands. Some of the most spectacular settings for outdoor activities in Salt Lake City include the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island State Park.

The Bonneville Salt Flats are on the Great Salt Lake Desert and contain the only part of prehistoric Lake Bonneville that remains today. The Bonneville Salt Flats are known for Bonneville Speedway racing — one of the most unique and popular outdoor activities in Salt Lake City. The public can attend the speed trial events in which the drivers try to break speed racing records and these events have usually been held in the summer and fall. The Bonneville Salt Flats are also known for another one of the most unique outdoor activities in Salt Lake City — seeing the curve of the Earth due to the close-fitting covering of salt flats on the Earth's crust.

The Great Salt Lake is the Western Hemisphere's biggest salt lake. The Lake is very easy to float in for most people because of the very high salt content in the water. Some other popular activities in the Great Salt Lake area are boating and bird watching. Fishing is pretty much out of the question here since the Great Salt Lake is too salty for any sea life to survive in except algae and brine shrimp.

Antelope Island State Park is known for its white sand beaches and is named for the pronghorn antelope that inhabit the Park. Bison, deer, coyotes, elk and bobcats are also known to live in the Park. Some popular outdoor activities in Salt Lake City's Antelope Island State Park include swimming, camping, sailing, horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.

Skiing is one of the most popular winter outdoor activities in Salt Lake City. There are at least ten ski resorts here and several of them were hosts in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games’ alpine skiing events. Salt Lake City's ski resorts are known for offering slopes for skiers of all skill levels.