April, 2025 - Salt Lake City, UT, Great Basin National Park, NV

Sunday, April 27

🌤 Weather: 60s, partly cloudy.

🛪 Travel Day

Natural History Museum

Arriving in Salt Lake City we went to lunch at the iconic Central 9th Local Market serving tasty sandwiches on fresh baked Focaccia bread and wood fired pizzas. Kathryn had tuna salad and I had a beef sandwich. Tasty!

After lunch we went to the Natural History Museum. A nice museum with lots of well - natural history.

After lunch we did our grocery shopping and binged a series on Netflix at the Airbnb. The bnb was a nice modern condo downtown.

Monday, April 28

☀ Weather: Sunny, 60s, nice.

Antelope Island Hike

After breakfast at the bnb we drove 45 miuntes to Antelope Island State Park connected to the mainland by a causeway and juts out into the Great Salt Lake. Hiked a 5 mile loop at the tip of the island with terrific views of the lake, the surrounding mountains and an endless variety of colorful rock formations. We did not see anyone else on the trail and did see three grazing bison from a distance. Unfortunately, we ran into swarms of gnats that stuck with us for an irritating 1/2hr. It was a nice hike despite the run in with the gnats.

After our hike we drove back downtown Salt Lake City to visit Temple Square. Unfortunately the temple and the entire square were under construction and cordoned off. Plan B did not work so well either. We went to visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum but, it is closed on Mondays. We walked around downtown a little bit then headed back to the bnb.

Dinner was a stop at Crown Burger drive-thru for SLC's famous "Crown Burger" (a burger topped with a pile of pastrami and their special sauce). Tasty! In the evening we binged another series on Netflix.

Tuesday, April 29

☀ Weather: 60s, sunny, breezy

We had breakfast at the bnb before checking out and driving South about an hour stopping at Bridal Falls State Park near Provo, Utah. A really scenic drive with towering snow capped mountain views all along the way.

Bridal Veil Falls Hike

Did an easy 4 mile hike in the canyon along the Provo River passing by its namesake Bridal Veil Falls. A popular spot with moderate family traffic at the beginning of the trail. After the hike we found a picnic table with a nice view of the mountains and ate lunch.

Utica National Forest

After the hike we headed up from the canyon into the mountains on a scenic drive stopping at Sundance Resort for some pictures then onto Utica National Forest until the road closed for the season. Did a short hike in the forest until we hit lots of snow and slush.

We headed a little further South of Provo and stayed at the Hampton Inn in the town of Spanish Fork. Salads from Cubbys for dinner. Tasty!

Wednesday, April 30

🌥 Weather: Cloudy, cool, light rain for the drive. Rainbows late in the afternoon!

Did a quick grocery shopping and gas up before the 3 hour drive across Utah and into Nevada to Great Basin National Park near the town of Baker, NV.

About Great Basin National Park

From Caves to the Cosmos
From the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak to the sagebrush-covered foothills, Great Basin National Park hosts a sample of the incredible diversity of the larger Great Basin region. Come and partake of the solitude of the wilderness, walk among ancient bristlecone pines, bask in the darkest of night skies, and explore mysterious subterranean passages. There's a lot more than just desert here. You can read more about the park here.

Lehman Cave Tour

We had 1:30pm reservations for the cave tour - you need advance reservation because the tours book up in advance (only 20 people per tour). Both the cave and our tour guide were excellent. It does not have the scale of Mammoth Cave or Carlsbad Caverns but is more intimate and up close. Watch your head on the low ceilings! You can read more about the 12 million year old cave here.

Nature Trail

After the cave tour we did the short nature trail starting at the Rhodes Cabin and around the visitor center.

Baker, NV and Our Aribnb- "The Lodge"

Just outside the park (5 minutes) is the small town of Baker and our Airbnb. There is a gas station but that is about it. Grocery up before you get here.

We did stop at the tiny Bristle Cone General Store for a bottle of wine and were treated to a spectacular rainbow on the way there. And again when we were back at the bnb.

We stay at a lot of Airbnbs, this has been my favorite. Spacious, remodeled, comfortable and great views off the back patio. The Lodge has four suites but we had it to ourselves the first night. It also boasts dark sky designation which on our first night was to overcast but, we saw the stars on our second night!

Thursday, May 01

☀ Weather: 60s, sunny, light breeze.

View From The Bnb

Osceola Ditch Hike

Our hiking this time of year was a bit restricted as some of the nicer hikes are up at elevation (13,000') on Wheeler peak. The scenic drive up to the top is 13 miles but, due to snow was closed at mile 6. No problem we still had a nice 5 mile hike on a ridge line with limited elevation gain. Out and back with very light traffic on the trail. As you can see from some of the pictures, part of the ridge line was burned from forest fire.

Mather Outlook (mile 6)

After the hike we went up to Mather Outlook (the road was closed beyone that) for a picnic lunch with great views of Wheeler Peak and the surrounding mountains.

With clear skies tonight we went out after fully dark and amazed at the stars.

Friday, May 02

☀ Weather: 60s, sunny

Travel Day

An early txt from United informed us our 4:00pm flight was delayed until 5:30p. So, we took our time and relaxed on the patio unitl it was time to leave. We had a long drive (3:45hrs) back to SLC to catch our flight. On the way we were notified the flight was now delayed until 6:15. We took advantage of the delay and stopped in Owen, UT and had an amazing lunch at a Korean BBQ. The meats were brought to the table raw and you cooked them on the burner in the table. Lots of fun and tasty!

Our flight finally took off at 6:24, was uneventful and arrived home about midnight.

Home Sweet Home.

Summary

• ✅Salt Lake City- Mixed feelings. Our expierence was just the downtown area and a much younger crowd than I was expecting. Lot's of torn down blocks we are assuming will be rebuilt.
• ✅Natural History Museum- Nicely Done. Recommended.
• ✅Great Salt Lake- Did not dissappoint (except for the gnats on the hike).
• ✅Baker Airbnb- My favorite bnb so far. Big, clean, remodeled, great patio and views.
• ✅Great Basin National Park- A remote park with less visitors. We very much enjoyed it.
• ✅Lehman Cave- A great bonus at the park! Book you reservation ahead of time!