Antelope Island State Park
Evanston, WY to Salt Lake City, UT | Hiking to Frary Peak | Camping on Antelope Island | November 2025
We awoke on this third day of winter vacation in a beautiful location, grateful to be across Wyoming and ready to finally start seeing some new scenery together as we crossed into Utah. However, as we started looking towards the West at where we wanted to go next, I foresaw a problem beginning to arise: While we were having decent weather for our early November drive, we were still heading into the off season as far as recreation goes in the higher mountains — at least, the kind of recreation we’re into, which is hiking and Not Camping in Freezing Weather. Despite there being not much snow on the peaks, some roads into the mountains were already closed for the season, and I knew that these things could all lead to us passing quickly through the region with Curtis lamenting all the peaks he didn’t climb along the way.
And so, I quickly came up with a plan that would keep us both happy, and make it so we were giving the Salt Lake area a little time before continuing West: I suggested the idea of driving to Antelope Island State Park, which was low enough elevation to still be warm, but had a peak on the island that met Curtis’ prominence goal — and even better, it had a real trail so I could hike with him! We had never seen the Great Salt Lake before, and this seemed like the perfect way to experience it with great views, both of the lake and of the mountains surrounding in all directions. Curtis liked my plan, and so we made the drive West into Utah, and straight to the island!
When we arrived at the state park entrance, we were reminded of something we learned in May of 2022, the last time we camped in a Utah state park: they are actually very reasonable when it comes to entrance and camping fees. A day pass was $15, but camping on the island (which also includes the entry fee) was only $20! Take note, Ohio/Indiana/Michigan! We were able to get one of the few remaining campsites reserved, so with that taken care of, we drove down to the trailhead for Frary Peak. On our way, we spotted a bison by the side of the road (bison that are some of the most genetically ‘pure’ bison in North America.)
The trailhead was fairly busy, as was expected for a beautiful Saturday. But we still found a spot to park in the upper lot, then collected snacks and filled up on water. I don’t think I had fully grasped how tall this peak was going to be — I obviously knew the prominence from Curtis, but it was hard to visualize a peak this high standing in the middle of an island, in the middle of a lake. It was intimidating, but we had all afternoon, and so we set a steady pace and took our time. Right away we realized it was going to be warmer than expected, so we immediately shed our layers before beginning our trek.
While the entire trail is basically gradually gaining elevation the entire way up, I’d say the first part was really the only time that it felt steep because we were getting used to it, and the ground was loose rock. Once we cleared the ridge and started getting views to the West and North, it became easier simply because it was so worth it to see the beauty surrounding us. There were a few other steeper sections along the way, but overall the trail followed the ridge and was in very good condition. I started to think this was the perfect season to be here. Since the trail is exposed to the sun the entire way, I imagine it gets much more hot in the summer. Also, everything I read online while quickly planning this part of the trip said that the bugs can be bad, but we didn’t have any trouble with those.
As we were walking along the West slope of the trail, we crossed paths with another hiker who told us to look out for bighorn sheep ahead. Sure enough, we managed to see two bighorns standing high above us on a rocky outcropping! After we passed that point, the trail got a little steeper and more narrow as it weaved around and through a rocky area. Then it continued up to a ridge, and passed by other outcrops as we continued on to the tallest.
We finally arrived at the last ridge before the summit, and this is where I decided to stay back while Curtis hiked the last quarter mile to the peak. I wasn’t a fan of the loss of elevation and the narrow, loose gravel trail that went steeply up and down. But because I’m not a peak bagger, I had no problem with this, and enjoyed sitting in the sun on my ‘almost the peak’ while Curtis had to go down and up, then down and back up to return to me. Of course it was worth it to him, and he assured me I made the right choice and that I wouldn’t have liked it. I did miss out on the better view to the South, but I was quite content with all I had seen today. The Salt Lake spread out beneath us with the high walls of the Wasatch Range to the East. Curtis pointed out the bench lands that marked the waterline of Lake Bonneville. At its deepest, the tip of Frary peak, where we were sitting, would have been just the tiniest island.
We had our snacks at my false summit, then began to make our way back down the mountain. Our return trip went much quicker than our hike up, and we made it back to the van in the late afternoon. Altogether, the hike was 7 miles long and had 2300 feet of elevation gain. If you’re interested, here is the AllTrails recording for this hike.
We drove over to the campground where we found our site, and we began to settle in for the night as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. We would have been content to simply call it a day and rest our tired feet, but then the sky turned pink and we couldn’t help but go for a little sunset walk to enjoy the last light hitting the mountains and lake. Despite being in a campground, it was so incredibly quiet that night, and we slept peacefully on this little island on the Great Salt Lake.
