swimming and camping near Great Salt Lake

Not sure why you want to swim in the Great Salt Lake. We visisted there last summer and it was buggy and smelly. It was interesting, but swimming in it was not inviting at all.

There is a state camp site at Saltair right on the lake, but there are no trees and it can be windy, buggy, and have a definite odor. We have stayed at every major campground in the area. Lagoon is in Farmington and their sites are decent. Cherry Hill, also Farmington, is a nice place, but the campground is almost all grass and very tight when busy. The SLC KOA is good and we stay there for zoo/city trips. That part of town is not scenic, but the KOA has always been safe, clean, and comfortable. There is a free shuttle to the LDS Temple in central Salt Lake and can be ridden by anyone. The train stop is just down the street. Pony Express is nice as well. It has less mature trees and is very close to the 215 belt loop. It can be pretty loud depending on the site. KOA is our favorite for general stays and Lagoon for going to the amusement park.

As for shower and go, the Great Salt Lake Marina has bathrooms and showers. There is lake access.

Lava Hot Springs!!!!

Here's an excellent blogger's take on the Great Salt Lake and camping. This person does an awesome review on every place they stay. Check it out.

http://wheelingit.us/2013/04/29/a-place-unlike-any-other-oh-and-gnats-antelop-island-state-park-ut/

doesnt bear river have an rv spot as well?
i use to take my dog up there for swan hunting but its been a while.

Antelope island is the best for access to the water, but the lake level has been low the last couple years so it's a fair walk through the former lake bottom to get to the water. Depending on how you look at it the brine flies making the ground almost look like it's moving is really neat, or creepy. Many go out to the water and swim, but being a dead lake I'm not much inclined. The biting nats get really bad by May most years, and tend to stay till the temps regularly hit 90 plus. You still have brine and horse flies after that. Out on the Island the lake smell isn't that bad most of the time. It can be as you first hit the causeway though. The island has some trophy dear, antelope, a large buffalo herd, lots of birds etc. They had a large fire a couple months back that burned a lot of the island so it will be interesting to see where the animals hang out now as opposed to before the fire. The two campgrounds are dry camping. There are shower facilities at the beach.

Willard bay is actually a fresh water reservoir on the edge of the Salt Lake. It's a very popular boating area, but the bugs can be bad on the shore. As far as the campground, it's right off the freeway, and the other side of the exit has a flying J so you hear the semi jake brakes through all hours of the night as the exit for fuel.

I think Willard Bay SP might be a good option for that as well. Some sites have good shade, and most have hookups. It is right by the interstate so it will be noisy (road noise). I would suggest reservations.

its getting a little cooler. i would recommend the stay be at antelope island. you can find info on line. pretty place. but the bugs can make it a miserable time.
the smell..............yea.........that is usually a deal killer

And it can get stinky too

We stopped at a RV park north of SLC because of a wheel bearing problem. The CG was right off the exit to the interstate but I'm not finding it on RVParkReview. There was a State Park within a mile or so of the CG that was on the lake: Willard SP. They have a beach and showers to rinse off, nice park. We got there around sunset and were not tempted to jump in. It was a nice park and I don't recall a lot of flies. The water didn't appear all the tempting to us Floridians.