Michelle H.

Salt Lake City, UT

Joined March 2018

Come for the AMAZING DARK SKIES, avoid Mayfly season

Antelope Island is NOT for the faint of heart. 

To be clear there are 2 reservable campgrounds here. The first is Bridger Bay which is basically Utah's Mad Max campground. If you don't own an RV why would you even? The second is Lady Finger with 5 walk in sites. The walk is less than 2 minutes for all 5.  

In early spring you have thousands of biting flies. Some are HUGE Midges and they will bite several times- wear very tight long sleeves. Others are teeny and crawl all over your scalp and only the finest mesh hats will keep most at bay- they are very creative in getting past protective clothing. 

We camped in late July to see the Perseid Meteor Shower which I HIGHLY recommend. We stayed in site 5 which is off on it's own little trail but still close to the parking. Eeach site gets 1 reserved parking.. which may be occupied by sunset chasers so come early to stake your claim. Once inside Antelope Island Park you have until 10pm before the gates close- you can leave anytime but you can't get back inside after 10pm.

If you come late summer you WILL be accosted by thousands upon THOUSANDS of Orb Spiders. They can weave their webs overnight and they will be right across your path as you go to the bathroom- SURPRISE! They are there for the hideous flies so PLEASE leave them alone. They are not poisonous or aggressive but their webs will be all over the picnic table and on all the tall grass going to your campsite and to the bathroom. These spiders are only in LadyFinger- the RV campground is exposed to the elements and spider free. This is a dry camp but there are 2 rest stations which are cleaned out on Saturday so THANKFULLY smells are not a major issue.

I cannot recommend sky and bird watching here enough.  Skies here are open in all directions- it's amazing to see satellites pass and look west and see city lights as well. It's also nice and quiet. Campsite reservations have been easy anytime I go as it's not a very well known campsite- yet. PS- no fires allowed and if allergic you'll want to bring plenty of meds- this area has all the major allergens- mites, grass seed and Sagebrush.

Fantastic area to visit- pretty campground

Been to this campground 3 times. The spots near the eastern part of the campground are really close together. In the past we snagged a spot in the grass under a Cottonwood tree and that was great. This most recent time we got site 04 which is very convenient and sunny. Not suitable for large tents- the designated space is TINY and boxed in. My extended family was offered a temporary spot right next to the lake.. and the road. They still enjoyed their stay. The Reservoir is amazing- in the past there have been vendors to rent canoes and rafts from but we went on Memorial Day this year and they weren't around yet. 

In late June the Cottonwood trees release their floating fluffy seed. If you are allergic this will be a problem but for me it was absolutely magical. There are stores nearby and the entry station has a small store that sells stickers and maps but not food. Stores in this area close early and on Sunday, come prepared.

The bathrooms are clean and the staff is friendly and informative. It can get VERY cold in early season May- we left early due to a major snow storm on Memorial Day so it's a good idea to check the local forecasts. There is also a fantastic hiking trail onsite which is great for the younger kids.

Only go if you can get there early to roust campsite squatters

When my family showed up Friday August 23rd there was no Camp Host.  We arrived at 11pm to claim site 6 which I had reserved 5 weeks prior and there was a large family with all their crap all over our site.  I spoke to the family and was told they had been given permission by someone who worked there. I went looking for the Camp Host but there was no one around and no contact information was listed in any of the information boards. Rather than get into a fight we camped in the  designated Camp Host spot for the night and managed to snag OUR SITE the next day. The family there hadn't even paid a fee as no ticket had been issued for the site. Tthey just stole ours. 

Other than that it's a pretty area. There is a very short trail in the back of the campsite between 2 bathrooms where you can see the sun rise over Bear Lake. I'd camp here just for that.  

This is my third visit to this campsite- previous 2 visits were in 2017 & 18 and both times the hosts were WONDERFUL and kept guests in check. 

This time, the bathrooms were dirty, very smelly and many trees showed signs of people chopping them for firewood so it's probably only a matter of time before someone gets hurt by a tree fall. The Host campsite was out of wood- because there was no one around to provide pest free local wood in a US FOREST CAMPGROUND. 

Further down the road in Idaho you can find Porcupine and St Charles which are much less expensive and have a nice little river running through them- go there instead.

Too close to a major city- noisy and unsafe.

Stayed here for Father's Day. Everything that could go wrong did. First someone took our campsite. I spoke to the male adult putting up the tent he told me the "guy" said it was ok for him to camp there. I went to speak to the Camp Host who said he had actually told them it was "ok if no one showed up". Possibly the stupidest thing to tell a family with several young children as guests can show up at any time during the night; something CLEARLY evidenced by all the motorcycle noise and car lights that night. I asked the host if he could help me vacate the campsite but he refused. So I had to have an totally uncomfortable conversation with a Dad who was very upset. He kept asking how did I reserve the site so I told him that it was listed on Recreation.org and that anyone could reserve it months ahead of time.  Next morning we also had people shooting in the woods behind the campground- apparently shooting the trees is a thing people do for fun here. Try to play this game- people having fun or mass shooter? Who knows! There were also a LOT of flies everywhere this time of year and they just kept going on our clothes and hair- it was disgusting. People were chopping  trees to make firewood. The Squirrels are pretty aggressive getting really close and jumping on our table while we ate, several managed to chew holes in our our gear. OH and the water was shut off because they had just tested it and it was positive for E.Coli- FUN!  I don't recommend at all. Go further into the canyon if you seek some quiet.