We stayed at the Bonneville Salt Flats/Silver Island Mountains BLM in October 2020
Our Previous Stop: The $5 Campground On The Salmon River In Idaho
Our Next Stop: Utah
Campground Info
Location: 40.772276, -113.981239
Cost: Free
Camping Limit: 14 Day
Amenities: None
Related: Save 50% On Campgrounds All Over The United States With Passport America
Essentials Nearby
Town: Wendover, UT/NV – 8 miles
Gas Station: Sinclair – 2 miles
Dump Station & Potable Water: Wendover KOA Journey – 8 miles ($15, Potable Water & Propane Available)
Grocery Store: Smith’s Food & Drug – 8.5 miles
Cell Phone Service
Verizon – Excellent
AT&T – Excellent
Nearby Attractions
Bonneville Salt Flats – 4.9 miles
West Wendover – 8 miles
Sun Tunnels – 46.8 miles
Blue Lake – 30.4 miles
Salt Lake City – 120 miles
Wells, Nevada – 66 miles
Elko, Nevada – 116 miles
Great Basin National Park – 192 miles
Camping At Bonneville Salt Flats/Silver Island Mountains BLM
The first thing you need to know about camping at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah is that there is no overnight camping allowed on the Salt Flats themselves.
You can drive out on the salt when it’s dry but spending the night might get you into some trouble.
Luckily there is some fantastic free camping just a little way down the road from the Salt Flats Road at the foot of the Silver Island Mountains.
There is also technically some camping near the first turn you take to head out on the straight salt flats road near the canal here, but it’s not super clear if camping there is allowed or not.
I recommend the Silver Island Mountains area to camp in because it’s definitely ok to camp there and it’s much more peaceful than camping right next to the busy salt flats road.
Related Product: Add snap on SnapPad Rubber RV Jack Feet (click to view on Amazon) to your RV stabilizers to add grip and eleminate the need for RV blocks.
If you go directly to the coordinates for the Silver Island Mountains BLM camping area you will come to a sign like this.
Most people camp around this sign and it’s a good place to set up if you are only planning on staying for a few days.
It’s right next to a paved road and the small dirt road you drive on to get to is in excellent condition.
See Also: Best Portable Power Station/Solar Generator For Camping
You can also continue past the Silver Island Mountain’s entrance sign and find camping along that dirt road.
Every time we’ve camped here we’ve camped in campsites further down the road. We even stayed in a sandy area about a mile past this sign.
The road is washboardy but ok to drive down with an RV or trailer for at least the first few miles.
See Also: Best Portable Solar Panel Charger For RV Camper/Boondocking
The site we took was about a quarter of a mile down the road near the base of the first mountain.
There were around 4 campsites in this area but most were unlevel and might take some work to set up your RV.
Our site was the most level one and we had a fantastic view of the salt flats in front of us and the mountains behind us.
We even did a little hiking and there are tons of ATV roads you can walk or ride bikes on.
See Also: Jackery Explorer 1000 Power Station Review (For RV/Camping)
If you were to continue down the dirt road you will come to other small roads that lead to campsites as well as some larger campsites near the main road.
Like any free camping area be sure to scout ahead if you are driving a large RV or towing a trailer.
You never know if you will be able to find space to turn around if you head down a small road.
My Camping Review Of The Bonneville Salt Flats/Silver Island Mountain’s BLM
Much like any camping area out in the desert, there is a lot of broken glass in most of the campsites here and the occasional sofa and garbage laying around.
But we’ve seen much worse and it’s still a beautiful place to camp. We were there in the fall and it was starting to get cold so for the most part we were camping alone.
A few vans showed up late at night and parked down the road from us a few times but for the most part, it was a great solitary campsite.
See Also: Best Portable Power Stations That Include Solar Panels
We could see the more popular camping area near the entrance sign had 3-4 campers in it at all times but even they seemed to have enough space for their own campsites.
The night sky is amazing out there and you’re just a few miles from the entrance to the Salt Flats which you can drive out on when they’re dry.
You are also within 10 miles of Wendover which is a great little casino town with 5 casinos, a grocery store, some great parks, and restaurants. It’s a cool place to walk around at night because of all the casino lights.
If you’re on a road trip or just need a cool place to camp out in the desert then the Bonneville Salt Flats/Silver Island Mountains BLM is a fantastic place to stay that’s easy to get to and close to some fun things to do.
Have any questions or comments about the Bonneville Salt Flats/Silver Island Mountains BLM? Leave a comment below.
