Bonneville Salt Flats

Even during Labor Day long weekend there were very few campers here. There is tons of wide open desert available for exploring, mountain climbing, biking, off roading, etc, etc. There are many campsites dispersed over a large amount of land so you don't have to be next to anyone if you don't want to be. Any size rig will have no problem and there are probably a thousand places to pitch a tent.

The views of the Great Salt Lake Desert and surrounding mountain ranges are 360 degrees and go on forever. I was here during one of the windiest nights of the year (there were hurricane force winds not too far away in Salt Lake City) and it was a bit scary with the motorhome rocking back and forth all night, but the other six days that I was here in September 2020 were not very windy at all.

Over my week long stay I had somewhat close encounters with a lynx, a tarantula and a tarantula hawk wasp (featuring the second most painful sting in the known universe!!!). There were also many lizards ranging from a few inches long to about a foot long.

The Verizon 4G signal was strong enough to stream movies at 1080p all day and all night.

The only negatives were ultra-low humidity getting below 10% at times and the flies were annoying because they kept getting inside, but they were just house flies, nothing that bites, and they weren't around whenever there was a breeze of any kind. It was also very challenging to get level because the entire area is on a gradual slope from the mountains to the desert.

Nearby Wendover has a Starbucks and a Miller's Truck Stop (which is convenient for diesel, laundry, showers, etc).

NOTE: ...and I didn't even go more than a few hundred feet beyond the GPS coordinates at the top of this Campendium page. Based on other reviews, there are at least several more miles of camping options beyond here. Not to mention the Silver Island Mountains Scenic Byway starts here as well.

The main camping area was 1/5 mile down a good dirt road off the paved road from the interstate. It was clean and flat, but sloped down towards the south. It was a big lot that could probably accommodate a dozen rigs.

I explored 3 miles down the excellent dirt road to the east from here, and passed 4 huge campsites with fire rings, and numerous small sites for tents and vans. Some of the photos on this page are of sites down there. If you don't find what you want, there is plenty of space to turn the biggest rig around at the 3 mile point. I also drove up into the mountains behind and passed the Silver Island Mountains Dry Lake location. The road to there is paved and in good shape.

Verizon 4G was excellent with 5 bars, 20 Mbps up and 11 down. The Sinclair truck stop was RV friendly, but the gas price was exorbitant. It was much cheaper in town (on the Utah side; Nevada gas was expensive).

Any size rig can fit here. The road is flat and you won’t have any problems. The cell service is perfect (Verizon). The only draw back is the high winds that showed up over night. Our rig leaned so much that our stabilizers came off the ground and we lost one of our LEGO blocks.

Down the road, they race cars across the salt flats. You won’t hear them and they won’t bother you.

The Bonneville Salt Flats are amazing! The flat boondocking area is perfect for self-contained travelers but I wish it was closer to the speedway. No facilities, amenities or shade in the campground. Verizon service is strong. T-mobile needed the WeBoost but had amazing speeds once boosted. Some road noise from the interstate but not to bad.

First right onto gravel road from paved road. You’ll see a sign for Silver Island Mountains with rules and a guestbook.

Parked near a rock fire pit. Trash in our campsite, but we picked it up. Shotgun shells and minor trash throughout the area. Not very bad.

The area is scrub-like. Small bushery and few little cacti. 95% gravel throughout, which is a huge plus. No getting stuck unless you try.
It rained the entire week we were here, and we’d track small bits of gravel in instead of mud, which is nice.
Wonderful views surrounding. Mountains and salt flats on the horizon.

We hiked right up the side of the mountain with our doggos. About a 10min walk from rig to base of mountain. Beautiful views of the Salt Flats at the top.

A few other campers while we were here. One seemed to be a permanent resident. All quiet. The area is large so we had plenty of space.

The clearing we stayed in was obviously designated for camping, but there are roads that go two or three ways from the clearing, so there’s potentially more campsites back between the mountains if searching for solitude.

Location to Wendover is good, in that you’re 10 min away from town, but Wendover is meh. Small, no amenities, a few fast food places, no restaurants (worth trying). Don’t try the casinos, they are scummy.

Local KOA is the only water and dump I found - $15.

Cell signal is the best we’ve had so far. 4-5 bars Verizon LTE. Able to work, stream, surf no problem.