Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido,
and in this week's episode we are going to check out a terrific
boondocking spot right outside of Salt Lake City, so stay tuned!
Now just a few weeks ago we published a video on the four closest RV parks to Salt Lake City, Utah,
and if you happened to miss that episode I'll put a link right here on the screen so you can
go back and check it out for yourself. But one question we seem to get a lot of is,
"Where can you boondock near Salt Lake City?" And to be honest with you I didn't think there
was a whole heck of a lot really close to town. Things up in the Wasatch Mountains,
they have to wait for the middle of summer because there's snow up there until then,
and things out in the West Desert are quite a distance from the Wasatch Front. However,
we did find out about a spot right smack dab about halfway between Salt Lake City and Provo,
and just off I-15, so we're going to go take a drive out there right now and check it out.
The Traverse Mountains run east and west, and separate the Salt Lake Valley from Utah Valley.
Right at the western tip of the Traverse Mountains, in a spot known as Point of the
Mountain overlooking both valleys, sits the Flight Park State Recreation Area.
Turning off the I-15 frontage road it seems like you're pulling into the Parsons gravel pit,
but stick with it -- you're in the right spot.
The road leading to the Flight Park begins as dirt along an initial level portion.
When the road reaches a short steep grade to the upper level where camping is permitted, it's
instead well paved. There's nothing particularly attractive about the camping area itself,
but this location does afford some terrific views of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountain ranges
that bound these two valleys to the east and west. Dry camping here used to be free, but occasional
squatters and trash issues forced Department of Natural Resources officials to institute a $15
per night camping fee beginning last October. Campers are allowed to stay
for up to 14 days in any 30-day period. When they instituted the fees, officials
marked out a number of specific campsites lining the northern edge of the Flight Park.
Views to the north from the campsites are of questionable beauty overlooking the Geneva
Rock gravel pit before stretching across the Salt Lake Valley beyond. Views to the south across Utah
Valley are far more scenic, stretching from Mount Timpanogos to the broad expanse of Utah Lake.
Views at night in any direction are nothing short of spectacular!
But why is it called the Flight Park? Show up on any weekend or a serene summer evening,
and you'll instantly understand why.
Fans of flight at the Flight Park aren't limited to paragliders, hang gliders and remote control
aircraft, either. Be aware that because it's the low point between Utah and Salt Lake Valleys,
Point of the Mountain is something of a wind tunnel. It's nearly always breezy up here. Still,
watching hang gliders and paragliders from your campsite makes the Flight Park State
Recreation Area one of the more unique places to camp that we can think of.
So we really hope that you found the information in this video useful to you, whether you're
planning on spending a week in the Salt Lake City area or whether you're just passing through for
the night on I-15. If you'd liked this episode please be sure to give us a big "thumbs up" down
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