Mark's Hikes and Treks: Stansbury Island

Stansbury Island is situated at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake approximately 28 miles west of Salt Lake City as the crow flies. It was named for Howard Stansbury, who led a government expedition to survey the area during the mid-nineteenth century. Depending on the level of the Great Salt Lake, it can be a true island connected by an earthen causeway, or merely a peninsula jutting up from the south shoreline. Near the center of the island is its highest point, which is low by Wasatch Mountain standards, yet it rises over 2,400 feet above the present-day lake level. Stansbury Island is not a popular place to visit – mainly due to accessibility, remoteness, and the fact that there are no real forested areas. It does, however, provide a great place to hike and mountain bike during the early spring and late autumn months when the higher elevations of the Wasatch are covered in snow. While most of the interior of the island is public land under BLM (Bureau of Land Management) jurisdiction, some of the perimeter is privately owned by mineral extracting companies and ranchers. The trick, therefore, comes in hiking and biking in this area without infringing too much on private property. Since there are no clean water sources on the island, it will be necessary to bring plenty of drinking water along with sunscreen and some insect repellent.

To reach Stansbury Island coming from the east, take the second Grantsville exit (Exit 84) along I-80 and continue straight onto the dirt road, or the first Grantsville exit if coming from the west – turning right (north) under the freeway overpasses to reach the dirt road. Follow the good-conditioned dirt road approximately 3.9 miles over two railroad tracks (each with a stop sign) and along the causeway to reach a wooden BLM sign on the island. Here the road forks with the left (west) fork being the main road. If you continue along the main road for about 3.4 miles past the BLM sign, a fence line (with a cattle guard) is reached that marks private property. While public access is allowed along the road beyond this point, you cannot (should not) leave the main road. This fence line provides, perhaps, the best starting point for reaching the island's high point without any noticeable trespassing. A good place to park can be found by turning right (east) onto an unimproved road just before the cattle guard and following the fence line to an area just north of a small butte.

The Stansbury Island high point (middle
hump) taken along the Provo Bench not
far from the starting point

The route begins by following the fence line on foot as far to the east as possible. It may be necessary to cross the fence briefly in a flat terraced area to gain access to an upper terraced area at approximately 4,900 feet elevation. This is one of the levels of the ancient Lake Bonneville (known as the Provo Level) that is quite evident along the west slope of the island. In this post I will refer to it as the Provo Bench. Other than occasional ravines cutting through, the Provo Bench provides a level, suitable route for most of the way to the Stansbury Island high point – skirting around the privately owned property. Approximately 2.8 miles along the route after heading west-northwest, look for a low-lying point listed as "4756" on the map. Follow with your eyes the ridgeline north of this point as it climbs the side of the island. This is basically the ridge you need to climb to reach the summit. As you draw closer to this ridge, it will be to the left (north) of the rocky slope while looking up the drainage. On some maps the summit appears to be listed as "Castle Rock," but the rock formation known as Castle Rock lies just to the south-southeast of the true summit. Distance from the starting point to the 6,649-foot summit is approximately 4.2 miles one-way with an elevation gain of 2,369 feet. Stansbury Island is also a place where there are various forms of Native American rock art, some of which is on private property. To appropriately gain access to the rock art in the Broad Canyon area, please contact the Six Mile Ranch Company in nearby Grantsville for permission.