Tooele: Salt Flats, Wilderness, and History
Accommodation in Tooele
Salt flats, wetlands, alpine terrain, and historic sites give Tooele a surprisingly diverse character. The Bonneville Salt Flats consist of 30,000 acres of hard, white salt crust in Tooele County. Fish Springs, meanwhile, is a spring-fed wetland that provides important habitat for fish, migratory birds, and other wildlife across 10,000 acres. As you plan your trip, you might first consider whether you are most interested in landscapes, wildlife watching, history, or active experiences.
Salt Crust, Wetland, and Mountains
The Bonneville Salt Flats are used for land-speed racing, archery and running competitions, photography, videography, and scientific research projects. This range of uses makes the site relevant to different interests, without implying a single, uniform visitor program. When planning your trip, it therefore matters which of these activities—or the distinctive white salt flats—you are most interested in.
The landscapes around Fish Springs and the Deseret Peak Wilderness each have their own character. The wilderness area encompasses more than 25,212 acres of alpine terrain and includes 11,031-foot Deseret Peak, the highest peak in Tooele County. These two examples represent different landscape types: a spring-fed wetland that provides habitat for wildlife, and alpine terrain with a prominent peak. You can consider these nature-focused options separately when choosing your destinations.
The Onaqui Mountain Herd Management Area encompasses 240,153 acres of BLM land as well as federally, state-, and privately owned land. For directions, the Bureau of Land Management recommends traveling from I-80 via Exit 77, UT-196, and Pony Express Road toward Simpson Springs. A different route is given for Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge: from the east, access is via about 80 miles of gravel roads. These specific directions apply to different destinations, so make sure to match each route to the appropriate outing when planning.
Historic Places and Traces of the Past
Several places tell stories of historic travel routes and settlements. In the early 1860s, a Pony Express and Overland Stage station operated at Fish Springs. The Stagecoach Inn near Camp Floyd was the first station south of Salt Lake City on the Overland Stage Route and also a station on the Pony Express Route. In Tooele Valley, Benson Grist Mill is a water-powered mill dating to 1854.
Danger Cave contains artifacts dating from about 6000 BC to AD 1300, including stone tools, pottery, and baskets. At the Tooele Pioneer Museum, you can learn about early pioneer history; its collection of Indigenous artifacts also includes arrowheads. The museum offers group tours by appointment. Iosepa was a Polynesian settlement in Skull Valley that was inhabited from 1889 to 1917. A gathering is held there each year on Memorial Day. These historical topics range from very early discoveries to more recent settlement and transportation histories.
Active Days and Varied Interests
If you’d like to add some activity to your trip, the Copper Canyon Trail in Tooele City is a paved, multi-use recreational trail with several access points. At the Black Rock Site, the trail continues from the gravel parking lot for the remaining 0.4 miles on foot or by bicycle. Fivemile Pass Recreation Area is associated with activities for OHVs, ATVs, motorcycles, mountain bikes, and horses. These options suit different types of active outings; choose according to which activity interests your travel group.
For motorsports, the 511-acre Utah Motorsports Campus is in Grantsville. The facility has areas for road racing, karting, rock crawling, a skid pad, off-road racing, and rallycross. Bonneville Seabase offers snorkeling and scuba diving among exotic saltwater fish. Sessions are available Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. When planning, you can weigh motorsports against water activities rather than treating them as the same kind of travel experience.
Choose your vacation rental based on the experiences that matter most to you. For more information about the area, you can also explore WendoverWendover, TooeleTooele, and GrantsvilleGrantsville.
For the main travel overview: Utah.
More Destinations
More places within the same destination:
