Visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats With Your Dog

Driving west of the Great Salt Lake takes you to a place so flat and vast, you wonder if you can see the edge of the planet. 

No, we’re not talking about the ocean — although you would eventually reach it if you went west of Salt Lake. 

We’re talking about the Bonneville Salt Flats, one of the most unique natural features in Utah, stretching over 30,000 acres and one of the coolest places you can visit with your pet! 

Navigating the flats and knowing what you should bring with you can be a little confusing, so to help you out we’ve put together this short guide filled with everything you should know about visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats with your dog. 

About The Bonneville Flats

Found along I-80 on the drive from Salt Lake City to Wendover, NV, the Bonneville Salt Flats are an expansive piece of land that attracts thousands of people each year- travelers from all over the world come to Utah to see this natural wonder. 

The Bonneville Salt Flats formed as the ancient Lake Bonneville began to dry up and shrink into our modern day Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Sevier Lake. At its peak, Lake Bonneville covered almost 20,000 square acres and filled much of the Great Basin area. As the lake began to dissipate, salt deposits remained and a salty soil crust was formed along the top of the old lake bed. The salt layer ranges from a few inches thick to 5 feet in some areas. Today the resulting Bonneville Salt Flats are about 12 miles long and five miles wide, covering about 46 square miles in total

Much of the lake bed is soft soil crust on top of mud, so drivers must be careful to follow road signs to ensure cars don’t sink into the soft soil!

Are Dogs Allowed At The Bonneville Salt Flats? 

YES! As the Bonneville Salt Flats are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), dogs are welcome on or off leash.

Feel free to bring along your pup, but be careful to ensure you bring along everything you need to keep them safe. 

Getting to The Bonneville Salt Flats from Salt Lake City 

The Flats are open year round with events held in the summer and fall. The best time to go is during late summer and early fall when the Flats are driest. You’ll want to make a full morning or afternoon of visiting the Flats since it is a bit of a drive. 

The Bonneville Salt Flats are located about 122 miles west of Salt Lake City and 20 miles from the Nevada border near Wendover.

You should prepare for a 1.5 hour drive if you are coming from Salt Lake City and about 2 if you’re coming from further south or north in the metro area.  

There are a few ways you can get to the Bonneville Salt Flats. You can try putting these stops in your Google Maps for faster mapping:

• Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway: This is the racetrack where the speed races are held during the flats’ events season. From here you can drive directly on the flats. This is also the easiest way to ensure you end up at a good spot to enjoy the flats.

• Salt Flats Rest Area Westbound: This rest area offers Salt Flats visitors restrooms and a fountain for rinsing your shoes. You can only access this rest area coming from Salt Lake City to Wendover. After parking in the lot, you can go walk on the salt plains.

• Salt Flats Rest Area Eastbound: This rest area is similar to the westbound one, it just overlooks the south side. The eastbound rest area is accessible when driving from Wendover to Salt Lake City, coming west. This rest area offers an elevated platform where you can take panoramic pictures of the flats. 

Can You Drive On The Bonneville Salt Flats? 

As we mentioned, the Bonneville Salt Flats are a salty layer of earth on top of mud. The salt ranges in thickness from a few inches to about 5 feet in some places.

Signs are posted where driving on the Flats is permitted. Seasonal closures typically happen when the salt is moist or there is standing water on the surface. Be careful not to drive when there is water on the Flats as your vehicle is more likely to become stuck.

Salt is also highly corrosive on your vehicle’s undercarriage so you’ll definitely want to stop at a car wash on the way home to get the salt thoroughly off your vehicle. 

What to Bring Your Dog For The Bonneville Salt Flats

The salt flats are just that, SALTY. 

As beautiful as they are, you and your dog will leave a salty mess. While being covered in salt may not seem like that big of a deal for you, it’s important to be prepared to deal with the effects it will have on your pup.

In this part of Utah, the weather can be a little intense. Temperatures at the Flats can range from sub-zero in the winter to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. You will want to bring water, water, and lots of water plus some protection for you and your pup. 

There is no doubt you should also bring several towels and/or a blanket to protect your car’s interior. While towels and water will certainly get you by, there are a couple of other essentials to consider packing.

Sun Protection

Temperatures in the summertime at the Bonneville Salt Flats can get really high and, just like snow, the white surface is highly reflective. You will want to bring along your typical human sun protection of water, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, or any other shade devices you might want, but don’t forget about your dog!

If your dog is highly susceptible to UV rays (often affecting dogs with white, thin, or very short hair), dog sunscreen is something to consider adding to your toolkit. Epi Pet’s K-9 Care Sunscreen is FDA compliant and receives high ratings from fellow dog owners.

Your pup may also be grateful for some protection against the blinding sun reflecting off of the salt, especially when it’s windy. While there are certainly a decent amount of dog goggles on the market, there is no doubt Rex Specs are the most well made and popular. They offer a variety of lenses that block 99% of harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Salt Protection

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is how to protect your dog’s paws from the salt. Does your dog need to wear booties at the Bonneville Salt Flats? While it’s not a bad idea to wear booties, you should, at minimum, be using some paw balm to protect your dog’s feet. The salt at the Flats is extremely drying and will form a crust on paw pads that may bother your dog. Salt crystals on the Flats can also occasionally cause cuts, in addition to being somewhat uncomfortable to walk on.

Musher’s Secret Paw Wax was initially developed to assist sled dogs in Canada’s harsh climate, but has grown in popularity as an all around paw protection solution. Simply rubbing a coat on your dog’s paws can help keep them moisturized and protected against the salt.

If you want to ensure full protection for your dog’s feet against the harsh salt, booties are the way to go. You will want a sturdy boot that cannot be easily torn by salt crystals. Ruffwear’s Grip Tex Boots fit the bill and will be useful through many seasons.

Other Gear

With the Salt Flats being fairly isolated, don’t forget to bring poop bags for your. You will absolutely need to pack out any garbage, including dog poop, that you create out there. And if you don’t already have some kind of seat protection in your car be sure to pack some towels or an old blanket to protect your car from the salt your pup will be bringing onboard. Keep in mind the drive is a couple of hours long, so any salt they’re covered in could settle into any fabric. 

After Your Visit

You and your dog will get salty, no doubt about it. There will be salt covering places that didn’t even come in contact with salt!

After visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats you’ll want to take a pit stop to the nearby rest stop to shake off all the salt from you and your pup’s feet and gear. Getting the salt off our your dog should be priority number one so they aren’t ingesting it through licking. Dampen a towel to give your dog a quick once over, paying special attention to eyes, ears, and paws. A thorough bath will be needed that same day so if you don’t want to deal with the mess at your home, consider one of Salt Lake’s self-serve dog washes!

Enjoy visiting one of Utah’s most magical wonders with your dog!

Visiting Salt Lake City with your dog? Check out dog friendly hotels, restaurants, and things to do!

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