Antelope Island State Park recently announced the renovation and expansion of the current visitor center into a new, state-of-the-art learning center. This is one of several major improvements and additions to one of Utah’s most popular state parks. Antelope Island welcomed 1,074,570 visitors in 2021, compared to 815,445 in 2020, making it the third most visited state park in Utah behind Sand Hollow State Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.
The growth and popularity of the park has far exceeded the demands of the current facility. The Utah Division of State Parks was pleased to get $1 million last year in state appropriations for the engineering and design of the building — underway for the past eight months. The Utah Legislature in this year’s session was able to appropriate an additional $12 million for the remodel and construction of the visitor and learning center.
Through the efforts of Friends of Antelope Island, a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to assisting the state park with improvements for the benefit of visitors, plans were developed to expand the visitor center to include a learning center. The current building will be remodeled and incorporated into the new expansion as an education center. In partnership with Weber State University, Westminster College, and interest from Utah State and the University of Utah, plans are to include permanent space in the building for research labs, workspace, and displays for the study of the island and Great Salt Lake. With the dwindling lake level, such on-site research is vital.
There will also be a new auditorium where the hundreds of Utah school children who come each week to Antelope Island on field trips can gather for discussions, demonstrations, and lectures. New and expanded state-of-the-art exhibits will be developed to enhance the understanding and experience of all who visit the park.
A new drop-off area and entrance plaza will create a new and attractive welcome for visitors with adequate space inside and out for special events, corporate meetings, and private receptions with panoramic views of the island, Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Front. In addition to the new learning center, the park recently completed a new campground in Bridger Bay with paved RV parking and hookups, flush toilets, showers, BBQ grills, and shelters.