The Great Salt Lake has been called "America's Dead Sea," but some people are finding plenty of lively recreation on or near its salty waters.
Boaters in particular enjoy the solitude the lake offers."You have a lot of room out there," said Bob Welty of Layton, a frequent sailboater on the lake.
He and his wife, June, believe the lake's uncrowded waters offer a peaceful contrast to the overcrowded freshwater reservoirs to the east. They've been sailing their 22-foot-long, cream-colored sailboat Windrush on the lake for five years.
"It's prettier here," June Welty said, contrasting the marina at Antelope Island to the south shore marina.
The Weltys especially like how the parking lot at the Antelope Island marina is now paved.
No one keeps track of how many boats float the lake, but at the South Shore Marina, 290 boats were anchored on the 300-boat capacity marina over Memorial Day weekend.
Bob Rosell, boating ranger for the Division of State Parks and Recreation, said that's an indication boating usage of the Great Salt Lake is going up.
"We're getting some motorboats now, too," he said, though the majority are sailboats.
At the Antelope Island Marina, there were only five boats anchored at the end of May, with dozens of spaces open.
Rosell said the only other place boats can launch on the lake is Little Valley Harbor, a private marina on Promontory Point, north shore.
"It's very peaceful and very beautiful when the sun goes down," said Kitty Home of Layton, another sailboater.
She and her husband, Steve, have been sailing the lake for about three years.
"There aren't a whole lot of boats around," she said, explaining it would actually be nice to have a few more boats out there sometimes.
The salt-laden waves of the lake pack more than twice the punch of freshwater waves, causing boaters to respect the power of nature here.
Steve Horne said the lake has its own weather system and they barely escaped a microburst storm last year by entering the marina as the winds reached near-hurricane force.
John and Marilyn Kraczek of Farmington have been sailing the lake for 15 years. They have three sailboats. This particular day, they were testing their newest, Vivacity, a 20-foot British-made blue keel sailboat.
"The people of Utah don't realize what a treasure this lake is," John Kraczek said. "Sailing here is a great family sport."
Marilyn Kraczek said in just a few minutes of sailing from Antelope Island, boaters can leave civilization behind and enter a pristine world of almost a dozen remote islands.
"There's no place like the Great Salt Lake for sailing," she said.
The Kraczeks also prefer the Antelope Island marina because it takes 10 or more miles of sailing from the Saltair south side to find peace away from the prominent Kennecott smokestack.
Steve Ingram, owner and captain of the Salt Lake Island Adventure boat on the south shore, agrees the lake's waters are an incredibly underused boating paradise.
He's been sailing and boating on the lake since 1972, privately and more recently commercially.
"There's no reason people can't enjoy it," he said.
The two most common misconceptions about the lake are that it stinks and that the saltwater will ruin metal.
"We continually dispel both these beliefs," Ingram said. "You can put any power boat on the lake."
Ingram describes the lake as very large, with as much shoreline as the coast of California -- if you count all the islands.
"It's a very pristine place. It's like you're in a remote area of the Sea of Cortez," he said.
Ingram has seen more and more personal watercraft and even a few water skiers on the lake in recent years, but overall it is still a place to escape and be all alone.
Bicycling to or on Antelope Island is also a popular pastime, offering an almost oceanlike experience for cyclers.
Hundreds of riders invaded Antelope Island on May 22 as part of the annual Cycle Salt Lake Century (1 00-mile) Ride. Most seemed to enjoy it, even though the island was some 60 miles into their ride.
"It's great. A lot of fun," Mike Morrison of Ogden said after reaching the tip of Antelope Island.
He said the steady northeast wind blowing was bad, but it also provided some spectacular breakers on the north side of the causeway. While Farmington Bay to the south was like a blue sea of glass, the main body of the lake on the north was a rough and green-colored tempest.
"It did feel uphill all the way," Holly Ritcher of Ogden said of the windy ride across the flat causeway.
She and husband, Glen, were pedaling a bike built for two.
The Ritchers also enjoy doing the nine-mile White Rock Bay mountain biking trail on Antelope Island. The wildlife and pristine beauty there are great, they say.
That trail, starting at the edge of White Rock Bay, is also shared by hikers and horseback riders and offers great opportunities to see wildlife, as well as the island's spectacular east-side headlands.
Darci Dyches of Roy and her mother, Marilyn Lythgoe of Layton, also like crossing the causeway on bicycles to Antelope Island, though they were doing it in reverse order -- from the island to the mainland -- a 15-mile ride of their own, apart from the 100-mile bike ride event held that day.
They like the oceanlike feeling there, they said, and watching an occasional sailboat in the distance.
Although a government study in 1873 considered draining the Great Salt Lake into Nevada, swimmers in pioneer times discovered its buoyant powers and loved to "float like corks" in its heavy waters.
Eight bathing resorts were scattered along the shores of the lake at the end of the 19th century, but they all vanished when the lake's waters receded and the "float, you can't sink" fad ended.
Today floating in the lake just isn't that big a deal. Sunbathers, waders and sand lovers line what is likely the lake's best beach -- Antelope Island's Bridger Bay -- on warm-weather weekends, though.
With freshwater showers to wash off the salt, restrooms, picnic tables, plenty of sand and a pristine view of the lake's west side, Bridger Bay is the best place to enjoy a beach experience at the lake.
The temperature might be in the 80s at the mainland, but a cool, sealike breeze can many times blow across the lake and moderate the otherwise unbearable temperatures on this rocky, desert island.
The other good beach on the Great Salt Lake is between Saltair and the south shore marina. Otherwise, a muddy salt flat is the predominant beach around the shores of the lake.
Barry Burton, assistant director for community and economic development of Davis County, said the Great Salt Lake is second only to Lagoon in tourism draw for the county.
He said 400,000 visitors a year travel the causeway to enjoy Antelope Island and also believes the Great Salt Lake is known worldwide.
"The Great Salt Lake is one of the wonders of the world," Burton said. "It has tremendous potential for tourism."
He said the county expects to really push Antelope Island and the lake as the 2002 Winter Olympics near.
The 15-mile road to Antelope Island's historic Garr Ranch on the south end is now paved and will open later this summer when restroom facilities there are completed.
This road will open up the island's south side and offer an adjacent path, as well as a trail to the island's highest point -- Frary Peak.
The Great Salt Lake also has a strong international reputation.
"People have heard of the Great Salt Lake from all over the world," said Tracy Cayford, communications director for the Utah Travel Council. "It's a destination they want to visit when they come to Utah."
She sees the lake as a curiosity to most visitors, with Antelope Island as the best place to experience the lake.
"It's one of the crown jewels of the state park system," she said.
The Mormon pioneers also enjoyed Antelope Island. In fact, it was called "Church Island" for many years as a destination for many recreational outings.
Even some sightseeing steamers, like the General Garfield, toured the lake in the 1800s.
Salt Island Adventures, the former cruise boat operator from Antelope Island, has moved out and is now only running tours of the lake from the Great Salt Lake south shore marina.
However, Davis County officials say another boat operator may be coming to Antelope Island and could be up and running later this spring.
Tour boats offer a great chance for non-boat owners to get a first-hand feel for what it's like on the lake.