Bonneville Salt Flats

A few weeks before Memorial Day Weekend, Dono and I were debating whether or not we wanted to take a quick weekend vacation. We didn’t want to spend a ton of money and wanted to go somewhere sort of cooler than Texas – so we opted for Salt Lake City! The last time we went to Salt Lake we stayed in Draper, UT at an Air B&B and stayed mostly around town. This year, we wanted to get out and about and see things we’ve never seen before.

One of the highlights of the trip was driving to see the Bonneville Salt Flats! I have watched many influencers go to the Salt Flats for photography sessions, and Dono is obsessed with the car racing that happens there, so we wanted to go check it out. The Salt Flats were formed when the salt deposits were left after Lake Bonneville dried up about 15,000 years ago. The area spans over 30,000 acres – it’s huge!

The Salt Flats are about 2.5 hours from Salt Lake City, which isn’t too bad of a drive. Only downside is once you’re out of SLC, it’s pretty darn flat. Even Dono remarked a few times that he could see the curve of the Earth! I will warn you – get whatever gas, snacks, and water you may need before you leave SLC because there is only 1 gas station between SLC and the Salt Flats – it’s pretty barren out there! But don’t worry- you can’t miss the Salt Flats. About 1.5 hours into the drive, you can easily see all the salt deposits on both sides of the interstate.

Once we started getting closer to the Salt Flats, we wanted to stop and take some photos and videos. We weren’t really sure where to go, and clearly didn’t do a lot of research before we got there, so we figured we’d just learn as we went! Fortunately, there was a great rest stop area that is literally on top of the salty ground, and it seemed like a good first place to pull over. We pulled into the parking lot, and immediately, Dono sent his drone up to check out the lay of the land. The rest area was pretty busy, but was convenient for initial photo ops.

The area is so crazy to look at because it’s so white everywhere! At first, when I was looking out the car window, I thought it was snow, and thought it might be chilly outside. Boy, was I wrong! Ha!

After Dono flew his drone for a bit, I thought I’d take a walk out onto the flats and take some more photos. I can’t tell you how hot it was! With the sun reflecting off the white surface, I knew I was going to be sunburned immediately. I was really glad I brought my Columbia SPF shirt with me to help shield the sun a little bit.

Dono had a really good idea to fly his drone and follow me driving in the car. I was really nervous driving on the Salt Flats because the ground is a bit unpredictable and it would be really easy to get stuck in the “mud.” I don’t think I drove faster than 30 mph, but it still seemed so fast to me! There were also a lot of kids and families, and with no real road or guardrails, I felt afraid I was going to run over someone on accident!

After a bit of drone flying, we headed towards the official Bonneville Speedway – another 10 minute drive West. This is where many land speed records have been broken. When Dono told me we were going to a Speedway, I pictured Texas Motor Speedway in my head – a huge stadium in the middle of the desert. Boy, was I wrong…again. Ha! We turned off the interstate, drove down a 2 lane road for about 5 minutes, and then the road ended. Literally, in the middle of the salt flats. No stadium. Nothing. Many people had driven off the road and were racing in the area. It was pretty cool to watch, but also a bit scary because some people were driving a bit fast and wrecklessly. Of course, Dono has a need for speed, so I think we topped out at 80 mph (we were in a rental car! ha!), but even going 80mph, a truck passed us going probably 120+ — both of us were like “whoahhhhh!!!!” – he came out of nowhere!

All the salty air sure got our appetites going, so we drove about 20 minutes further west to Wendover, Utah – which is on the state line between Utah and Nevada. There are several casinos in Wendover, so there is no shortage of places to eat or things to see or do. We opted for a quick fast food lunch so we could return to SLC for dinner with friends.

The Salt Flats are definitely a unique experience, and I’d highly recommend if you’re in the area and have some time. You definitely don’t need to spend a whole day there – just a few hours (if that!) is all you need. Just taking in the geography and scenery was pretty breathtaking and interesting. It’s crazy to think about the area being completely underwater several thousands of years ago and now the conditions are just right for people to achieve record breaking land speeds.