Salt Lake City Walking Tour
Temple Square, Pioneer Park and the stories behind them, on foot, in three hours.
3 hours
From
$44 per adult
Bonneville Salt Flats Adventure
30,000 acres of blinding white salt, and the land-speed records set on it.
- 6 hours
- Maximum 14 guests
- Hotel pickup included
- Instant online booking
Unveil the surreal beauty of the Bonneville Salt Flats on our half-day adventure! This adventure explores this natural phenomenon unlike any other, taking you across its vast 30,000-acre expanse and into its fascinating history. This tour is perfect for those seeking a unique escape. Walk across the seemingly endless salt crust, capturing panoramic photos and experiencing the awe-inspiring flatness that makes the Bonneville Salt Flats so legendary. Learn about the land speed racing that takes place here, where legendary feats of speed were achieved.
We offer this tour in the morning and afternoon to best suit your schedule. Each tour last six hours and provides ample time to explore the Salt Flats, with stops at Great Salt Lake State Park and the Tree of Life sculpture – a captivating landmark standing amidst the vast desert landscape.
When you purchase this tour, $5 per person will be donated by Southwest Adventure Tours to the preservation of the Great Salt Lake.
The tour includes pickup and drop-off in downtown Salt Lake City, and is limited to 14 people for a more personal experience. This is a family-friendly tour with free hotel pickup and drop-off included.
Your day, hour by hour
This tour runs 3 different schedules. Pick the one that matches your dates.
Morning Tour7:30 AM
7:30 AM
Hotel Pick up in SLC
8:00 AM
Travel to Bonneville Salt Flats, Tree of Life Sculpture and Raceway
9:30 AM
Explore Bonneville Salt Flats
10:30 AM
Travel to Great Salt Lake State Park
11:30 AM
Explore Great Salt Lake State Park
12:00 PM
Return to SLC
1:30 PM
Hotel Drop Offs
Afternoon Tour (November-March)1:30 PM
1:30 PM
Hotel Pick up in SLC
2:00 PM
Travel to Great Salt Lake State Park
2:30 PM
Tour Great Salt Lake State Park
3:00 PM
Travel to Bonneville Salt Flats, Tree of Life Sculpture, and Raceway
4:30 PM
Explore Bonneville Salt Flats
6:00 PM
Return to SLC
7:30 PM
Hotel Drop Offs
Afternoon Tour (April-October)3:00 PM
3:00 PM
Hotel Pick up in SLC
3:30 PM
Travel to Great Salt Lake State Park
4:00 PM
Tour Great Salt Lake State Park
4:30 PM
Travel to Bonneville Salt Flats, Tree of Life Sculpture, and Raceway
6:00 PM
Explore Bonneville Salt Flats
7:30 PM
Return to SLC
9:00 PM
Hotel Drop Offs
What’s included
- Professional Local Tour Guide
- Comfortable Transportation
- Bottled Water
- Applicable Taxes and Fees
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
The three stops, and why each is on the route
Great Salt Lake State Park is fifteen minutes out of the city and takes about half an hour: the marina, the shoreline, and the explanation of how a terminal lake works, which is the piece of context that turns the salt flats from a white expanse into something you can read. On a clear day you can see Antelope Island from here. The morning departure stops here on the way back and the afternoon departures on the way out, so which side of the salt it falls on depends on your slot.
The Tree of Utah stands alone beside I-80 near mile marker 26, and it stops conversation in the vehicle every single time. It is an 87-foot concrete sculpture (six colored spheres on a column, with 'fallen' spheres at its base) built by the Swedish artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and given to the state. Momen wanted to bring bold color and beauty to a landscape that had none of either, and that is exactly what it does.
The salt flats themselves get roughly ninety minutes. The tour goes to the Bonneville Speedway access at the western edge, where a paved road runs out onto the crust and you can walk on it. The salt is hard, faintly damp underfoot, and cracked into hexagonal plates when it’s dry. There is nothing to hold your eye at any distance, which is the entire attraction. People photograph each other from a hundred yards away, or lie down on the salt, or just stand there for a while being quiet.
What to wear and bring
- Sunglasses
- Not optional here. A white surface under a Utah sky reflects an enormous amount of light and people get sore eyes without them. Bring the darkest pair you own.
- Hat and sunscreen
- A brimmed hat and a high-factor sunscreen. You’ll burn from below as well as above, including under your chin and nose, which catches nearly everyone out.
- Footwear
- Closed shoes in dry season, waterproof boots or shoes you don’t care about in wet season. The salt is corrosive. It will crust white on leather and it eats the stitching on good boots. Wear the old pair.
- Water and lip balm
- More water than seems reasonable, and the balm because the crust is dry and the wind never stops.
- A windproof layer
- There’s nothing to break the wind for forty miles, and it can be cold out on the crust even on a hot day.
- Contact lenses
- If you wear them, bring a spare set. Fine salt dust and wind is an unpleasant combination.
Leave behind anything black and anything you’d be upset to see dusted white. And don’t plan to taste it, though everyone does.
How far is it, and how the six hours break down
The Bonneville Salt Flats are roughly 120 miles west of downtown Salt Lake City, just short of Wendover on the Nevada line. It is about a hundred minutes each way on I-80, which is a straight, fast, empty road. That is the math of this tour: a little over three hours of the six are spent driving.
That sounds like a lot until you do it. The drive west is where the guide covers Lake Bonneville, the shoreline benches you can pick out on the mountains as you pass them, the land-speed history, and the mining and railroad country you’re crossing. It isn’t dead time, and the vehicle is a fourteen-seat maximum rather than a coach.
The morning departure picks up at 7:30 AM, runs straight out to the salt, and returns by about 1:30 PM. The afternoon departure runs 1:30 to 7:30 PM from November to March, and 3:00 to 9:00 PM from April to October. The later one puts you on the salt at golden hour, which is why photographers ask for it specifically.
One detail worth knowing: $5 from every ticket goes to Great Salt Lake preservation. It isn’t a marketing line, it’s a per-person donation the operator makes on your behalf.
Photos
Before you book
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
- Minimum of two guest required
- English, Spanish, Dutch, German, and French
Bonneville Salt Flats Adventure: your questions answered
How far are the Bonneville Salt Flats from Salt Lake City?
About 120 miles due west on I-80, near the Nevada border at Wendover. The drive takes roughly an hour and forty minutes each way, so of the six-hour tour a little over three hours is travel and the rest is on the ground at Great Salt Lake State Park, the Tree of Utah and the salt flats themselves.
Can you walk on the Bonneville Salt Flats?
Yes, and you will. The tour goes to the Bonneville Speedway access on the western edge, where a paved road runs out onto the crust. In dry season, roughly late June to September, the salt is hard enough to walk a long way out on. From October to May a shallow layer of standing water sits on the surface, so you can still walk on it but you’ll want waterproof footwear.
What is the best time of year to visit the salt flats?
Late summer, if you want the classic hard white crust and the cracked salt polygons. September is the best balance of dry salt and tolerable heat. Spring, if you want the mirror effect, which happens when a thin layer of water sits on the perfectly level surface and doubles the mountains and sky. Both are worth doing; they’re simply two different places.
Will we see land-speed racing?
Only if you time it. Speed Week runs on the Bonneville Speedway in mid-August and there are further meets through the late summer and autumn, all subject to salt conditions. Outside those windows the course is empty. Tell us when you book your tour if seeing racing matters to you and we’ll tell you whether your dates line up.
What is the tree sculpture on the way there?
It is called Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, an 87-foot concrete sculpture beside I-80 near mile marker 26, built in the 1980s by the Swedish artist Karl Momen and donated to the state. The tour stops for photographs. Momen wanted to bring bold color and beauty to a landscape that had none of either, and it is the only thing standing in about forty miles of desert.
Is the tour suitable for children?
It works well for older children who are interested in cars, space or geology and can handle a three-hour round trip in a vehicle. It is a harder sell for toddlers: there’s no shade, no playground and a long drive at either end. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and reduced child fares apply on every departure.
Is it hot out there?
In summer, very. There is no shade at all on the salt and the white surface reflects heat back at you. Bring water, a brimmed hat, sunscreen and dark sunglasses. The afternoon departure between April and October starts at 3:00 PM specifically so that your time on the flats falls in the cooler, better-lit end of the day.
Are park fees and pickup included in the price?
Yes. The fare covers your guide, transport, bottled water, all applicable taxes and fees, and hotel pickup and drop-off from selected downtown Salt Lake City hotels. Southwest Adventure Tours also donates $5 per person from this tour to Great Salt Lake preservation.
Pair this with
The tours our guides most often suggest alongside this one, and why.
Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island
The same ancient lakebed with water still in it, and a wild bison herd on top of it.
Salt Lake Antelope Island Dark Sky Experience
If the emptiness is what you came for, the same landscape under a certified dark sky.
Salt Lake City Highlights Driving Tour
Three hours in the city, easy to pair with a morning salt flats departure.
Read before you go
Longer background on where this tour goes, written by the people who run it.
Antelope Island: a visitor's guide
The largest island in the Great Salt Lake carries roughly 500 wild bison and sits 45 minutes from a downtown Salt Lake City hotel. Here is what nobody tells you before you go.
7 min read
The best time to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats
The single most useful thing to know about the salt flats is that they’re underwater for half the year, and that the flooded version might be the better one.
6 min read
Still have a question about the Bonneville Salt Flats Adventure?
Ask us anything the FAQ above did not cover: pickup points, fitness level, what to wear in November. We answer within one business day.
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