Antelope Island State Park

The road to Antelope Island State Park, 25 miles north of Salt Lake City, is a 20-minute straight shot west, but it feels like time travel as you leave the bustle of modern civilization behind. Antelope Island is the largest island in the Great Salt Lake. It is a craggy adventure destination home to camping, birding and 36 miles of hiking and mountain bike trails meandering among free-roaming bison and antelope herds who keep watch over alluvial plains and Precambrian rocks that are among the oldest in America. The roads are excellent for auto touring and bicycling. Antelope Island is an oasis in the middle of the lake. It's a Utah state park that was once considered for national park designation. To understand why, you'll have to see it for yourself. Make a reservation on the Utah State Parks reservation site .