Stansbury Island Trail

The trail starts just east of a gun shooting area. There is a trail post in the mouth of the drainage canyon. The single track trail climbs the west face of the Stansbury Island mountain to the top of the ridge. The trail is hard-packed but liberally coated with round quartzite boulders and chunks of limestone. The combination of steep grade (15%) and rocky trail will challenge you. From here, hikers will be looking west over the shallow west end of the Great Salt Lake. The trail descends about 200 feet from the ridge, then hugs the shoulder of a horizontal band of conglomerate as it follows the canyons carved into the south face of the mountain. The canyon walls are rocky and steep, with exposed cliff areas. After following the shoulder where the limestone and dolomite meets the conglomerate layer around two canyons, the trail splits and one branch descends back to the lake shore. Keep left to continue on the shoulder area further around the island. The trail suddenly ends right before cliff with great views to Great Salt Lake. The landscape is very dry and sparse, but the panoramas are beautiful. Sagebrush, a few trees, clumps of grass and cows grazing add charm to the island.