Thank you for visiting Great Salt Lake State Park, the gateway to Great Salt Lake. We hope you have a fun and educational visit!

Tour Markers

Although we suggest following their numerical order, you can stop by each tour post in whatever order you would like. Use the handy map below to guide you. This tour is partially along the beach, so be prepared to get a little sandy!

You may run into a dead bird at some point on the tour. Don’t be concerned if you do, but also do not touch it. Migratory birds fall prey to diseases like Avian Cholera, Avian Botulism, and the West Nile virus each year. This is a natural occurrence, and it’s best to leave them where they are to keep the lake’s environment intact and help researchers conduct accurate studies.

What is that smell? Many people wonder about the odor sometimes present at the lake. The smell is due to the organic reactions of certain organisms within the hyper-saline waters, which produce rotten-egg-smelling hydrogen sulfate. Another culprit is decaying biomass, such as algae and brine fly pupae casings that wash ashore. This type of odor is common around wetlands, beaches, and swamp areas.