Riding the Bonneville Salt Flats

Utah is a fantastic place for motorcyclists. The winter is short and mild, so the riding season is long. With the desert climate, rain is uncommon, and the dry heat makes for pretty comfortable riding even on a hot day. And of course, Utah is home to the iconic Bonneville Salt Flats.

Once an ancient lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats is now a surreal salty landscape that spans 30,000 acres across northwestern Utah. It’s a two-hour ride west from Salt Lake City (~120 miles). The land is run by the BLM and is open to the public through several entrances year-round. However, you can only ride on it in the summer months. If you visit in the winter or spring when the area is flooded, you will find a still very beautiful but not at all ridable landscape. For conservation reasons, it’s important not to ride on the salt flats until they have completely hardened up.

The best place to ride is on the International Speedway, which you can reach on the i80 just before the border to Nevada. Almost any kind of vehicle is allowed, and you can ride as fast as you want in just about any direction you please, as long as there are no racing events going on.

We visited in June with our friend Geoff MacDonald, who is an excellent photographer. Credit to Geoff for getting this James-Bond-like shot of James.

We stuck around for sunset, which was just stunning.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Salt Flats are… well, they’re salty. The salt gets all over your vehicle, and for this reason, some rental companies won’t let you bring their bikes onto the Salt Flats. Whether you’re renting a bike or bringing your own, be sure to hose it down soon after your visit to protect it from corrosion. We took our Tora for a good clean shortly after our visit, and never ran into any issues later.