Great Salt Lake Resorts

Today, the most famous resorts in northern Utah are in the mountains. But that wasn't always the case. For much of the 20th century people flocked to the shores of Great Salt Lake to spend time swimming, listening to music, dancing, and sunbathing. We'll explore some of the history of those resorts in today's episode, the first of 2 episodes in which we'll focus on the lake. We begin with Jeff Nichols discussing the history of the lake resorts and their connection to the city, and then we'll have a chance to hear Rebecca Richard talk about her own personal experiences of spending time at the lake in the 1970s.

Jeff Nichols and Brent Olson co-direct the Institute for Mountain Research and our 2018-2019 Mountain Fellows are Katie Saad and Naomi Shapiro. We owe a huge thank you to the Great Salt Lake Institute this week, and we'd be remiss not to mention the Great Salt Lake Podcast by Jules Jimreivat and Syd Sattler. This week has additional music by Podington Bear and our theme song is “Home” by Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.. As Naomi likes to say, “They are awesome and you should check them out.”

Photo: Swimmers in the Great Salt Lake in front of the Saltair Pavilion, Utah - “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society”

• Great Salt Lake Institute — Great Salt Lake Institute (GSLI) was established in 2008 with support from Westminster College and an external grant, allowing us to hire a coordinator, involve student employees, and purchase equipment to reach out to the community in a real way. We began by running community field trips and developing high school and college curriculum on GSL. Shortly thereafter, we created a GSLI summer undergraduate research program.
• The Great Salt Lake Podcast — The goal of our podcast is to provide a series of audio episodes that take listeners on a comprehensive and engaging journey through many different academic realms surrounding Great Salt Lake. From biology and chemistry to art and economics, the Great Salt Lake Podcast provides an avenue for listeners to hear stories about the lake that ring a relevant bell in the minds of many. We hope that by creating an avenue for our peers and greater community to hear about and begin to appreciate the lake, we can encourage political change through public pressure on our state government.
• Pixie and the Partygrass Boys — Our theme music is "Home" by Pixie and the Partygrass Boys