Salt places to visit · Northern Utah

Great Salt Lake

By The Salt AlmanacUpdated November 8, 2026

The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, nicknamed “America's Dead Sea.”

Great Salt Lake seen from the International Space Station, with different colours on either side of a railway causeway — Great Salt Lake from the International Space Station, 2003.NASA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

At a glance

Where	Great Salt Lake State Park, Magna, Northern Utah
Type of place	Salt lake and state park
What you'll see	Briny water you can float in, and millions of birds.
Where to start	Great Salt Lake State Park, on the south shore 16 miles (26 km) west of Salt Lake City, has a marina, boat ramp and swimming.
Size	About 1,700 square miles (4,400 km²) on average, but it rises and falls a great deal: a record low of 950 square miles in 2021.
Why it's salty	Rivers bring in about 1.1 million tons of minerals a year, and the lake's only outlet is evaporation.

The salt story

The lake is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville. Because it is so shallow, averaging 16 feet (4.9 m) deep, drought and upstream water use shrink it quickly. Its health matters well beyond Utah: it shapes the region's weather and is a key stop for migrating birds. Researchers at the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University study and teach about it.

Hours, seasons and prices change. Check with the site before you travel.

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Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Great salt lake. https://saltalmanac.com/places/great-salt-lake

Original sources

Wikipedia. Great Salt Lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake
Wikipedia. Great Salt Lake State Park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake_State_Park
Westminster University. Great Salt Lake Institute. https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/great-salt-lake-institute/index.html