Last updated: June 16, 2026
Place
Floating Island
Photo/L. Kreutzer
Quick Facts
Location:
Floating Island is 16 miles northeast of the westbound I-80 Salt Flats rest area and is visible from I-80. It is on Bureau of Land Management land near the west boundary of the Utah Test and Training Range (military) and 12.5 miles directly north of I-80. The butte summit is at GPS 40.914209 -113.636931. The trail runs about ½ mile northeast of the foot of the Floating Island, with a trail marker on the old trail trace at GPS 40.9245166667 -113.6219.
Significance:
Floating Island, called “lone butte” in some emigrant journals, is an isolated geological formation with a distinctive curved peak. This landmark rises above the salt flats along the most challenging stretch of the Hastings Cutoff, and under certain atmospheric conditions it can appear to float above the desert floor.
Designation:
Historic site on the California National Historic Trail.
MANAGED BY:
Bureau of Land Management
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
Floating Island, so named because mirages sometimes make it appear to float above the desert floor, is a distinctive landmark on the most challenging stretch of the Hastings Cutoff. The original wagon trail across the salt flats passes about ½ mile northeast of the isolated peak. Edwin Bryant, among the first to attempt the Hastings Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake Desert in 1846, described Floating Rock in his book What I Saw in California: “About five o’clock P.M. we reached and passed, leaving it to our left, a small butte rising solitary from the plain. Around this the ground is uneven, and a few scattering shrubs, leafless and without verdure, raised themselves above the white sand and saline matter…”
From here Hope Wells, the last source of good water, bubbles some 60 miles back down the trail, and Pilot Springs (also called Donner Springs) lies a seemingly impossible 30 miles ahead—beyond another mountain pass and one more otherworldly salt flat. Many emigrants abandoned their wagons within view of Floating Island and tried to drive their loose oxen forward to the springs, but the bones of animals that died from thirst littered the salty plain during the gold rush years of 1849-1850. The emigrants themselves suffered desperately, too. Some huddled in whatever shade they could find, awaiting rescue or death.
It was customary for parties who had reached safety to carry water back into the desert to revive stragglers and help them reach the springs. Floating Island is visible from I-80, at the horizon 12.5 miles north of the freeway. As you approach the colorful Tree of Life sculpture beside westbound I-80 a few miles east of Wendover, look toward the horizon on the right to spot Floating Island’s curious peak, curled like a cresting wave. The Bureau of Land Management’s Silver Island Backcountry Byway carries traffic to the vicinity, with a side-trip to Floating Island.
To make this drive, take I-80 Exit 4, east of Wendover, set your odometer at the stop sign, and follow signs to the byway loop. In 1.9 miles bear right to stay on the east side of the Silver Island Range. The turnoff for the excursion to Floating Island is on the right at mile 21.5. To complete the unpaved, 54-mile backcountry loop around the west side of the mountains, drive back to the byway junction and turn right; otherwise, turn left to return to the freeway.
Maps of the byway with more stops of interest can be found online, and a map of the Bonneville Salt Flats can be purchased from the Bureau of Land Management at 491 N John Glenn Rd, Salt Lake City, UT. High clearance vehicles are recommended. Do not enter these unpaved roads of they are wet or if rain threatens.
Site Information
Location (Floating Island is 16 miles northeast of the westbound I-80 Salt Flats rest area and is visible from I-80. It is on Bureau of Land Management land near the west boundary of the Utah Test and Training Range (military) and 12.5 miles directly north of I-80. The butte summit is at GPS 40.914209 -113.636931. The trail runs about ½ mile northeast of the foot of the Floating Island, with a trail marker on the old trail trace at GPS 40.9245166667 -113.6219.)