Good news everyone! After extensive renovation and improvements this last winter, Utah Lake State Park has officially reopened! Queue the music, balloon drop, and more confetti than anyone wants to clean up. Last year, over $1.5 million was invested in dredging the park and improving visitor access to the State Park. This translated to a complete park shutdown starting on December 6th of 2017. But the improvements have been finished and the gates have been opened. You might be wondering what is so new and improved that it took all winter long to complete? Here are the details:
Dredging
Dredging is an important part of marina maintenance. Because of the high sediment load of the lake (silty murky water), quite of bit of material builds up over the years. This was experienced by visitors as the muddy quicksand-like texture of the marina bed. Combine this with the (also natural)build up of sticks, stones, and other underwater hazards, it can be seen why dredging is required every so often to keep the marina clear.
All winter long Geneva Rock was hard at work dredging the inner marina. Over 70,000 cubic yards of material and underwater hazards have been excavated so you, your boat, and your prop leave the marina in safety— even when water levels are low. Meaning that the inlet, boat channel, and most of the inner marina are now 4ft deeper. Hooray for deeper water!
Improvements
To complement the now deeper marina, one of the improvements made is to extend the boat ramps to deeper levels. Now, as water levels fluctuate, you won’t have to sink your trailer in the mud just to launch your boat. And you’ll be happy to see that the north jetty has been paved for convenient access. There are new parking stalls included so bring your kids, bring your wife, and bring your husband because everybody’s got parking in here.
In addition, the south jetty has been fully graded. The road out to the inlet is now smooth enough to drive your sedan over. As well, more pavilions have been added to increase shade for picnics, BBQs, and other family fun times.
Recreation
During the winter, Epic Recreation was awarded the contract as the new concessionaire of Utah Lake State Park. They offer a wide array of rentals that are both motorized and non-motorized. These come in two varieties: water and off-road. They have pontoon boats, ski boats, jet-skis, as well as paddle boards, kayaks, water trampolines and more.
If you’re wanting to get muddy, sandy, or dusty, they have a selection of RAZRs to rent that includes the trailers to haul them. Visit Epic Recreation’s website to make your reservation or like them on Facebook to stay up to date on their offerings. And if you want to recreate on the cheap, the state park has a riverside disc-golf course, sand volleyball pit, endless fishing locations, and plenty of rocks for skipping.