Utah's Most Snake-Filled Lakes Are Not For The Faint Of Heart

If you're old enough or nostalgia-driven enough to recognize that quote from 1981's superb "Raiders of the Lost Ark," then you're old enough to know that you don't mess with snakes. They slither, they slink, and some of them not only slip through underbrush by the shore, but through water as well. And while it's easy to predict that certain, swampy U.S. states like Florida are expected to be packed with snakes, other states like Maryland and its surprisingly snake-heavy waters are less obvious. One less obvious state contains more snake-infested waters than the reader might realize, on top of rugged desert mixed with patches of tough greenery: Utah.

On a whole, Utah's rocky and butte-filled terrain contains 31 species of snakes. Like all snakes, they prefer to avoid people and won't get aggressive unless threatened. It's really Utah's seven species of rattlesnakes you've got to worry about, all of which are venomous. Rattlesnakes coil up in the desert sand like you might imagine, but they also inhabit grasslands, forests, swamps, and bodies of water. 

On that note, Utah contains 82,000 miles of rivers and streams, including 1,400 miles of the Colorado River. Those rivers, streams, and especially Utah's lakes, contain many of its snake species, both non-venomous and venomous. All bodies of water are potential habitats for snakes, but especially five of Utah's lakes: Bear Lake, Utah Lake, Lake Powell, Navajo Lake, and Utah's most well-known lake, Great Salt Lake.

Crossing the border from Utah to Idaho in Utah's north sits the so-called "Caribbean of the Rockies," Bear Lake. A beach-lined, turquoise outdoor escape, Bear Lake is a unique inland hotspot for water sports like jet skiing and sailing, as well as non-water fare like picnicking and hiking. But as incongruous as Bear Lake is with Utah's desert half, its snake population is equally unusual. The marginally venomous, Western terrestrial garter snake calls it home, the only garter snake species that constricts its prey. This snake lives side by side the great basin rattlesnake, a venomous species, as well as the striped whitesnake, a large non-venomous snake that eats other snakes, including rattlesnakes. 

Thankfully, it's perfectly possible to enjoy oneself at Bear Lake while the war of the snakes carries on around you, provided you take care to watch out in and around the lake. As mentioned, Bear Lake has equal parts water activities and land-based activities on offer. Located over two hours north of Salt Lake City, the state park section of Bear Lake sits on the lake's western shore off either Route 89 or Route 30 and has a smorgasbord of water rentals for guests: jet skis, pontoons, kayaks, UTVs, you name it. 

Day trippers and those who camp overnight (in RVs or otherwise) can take head out to Bear Lake with minimal gear, rent what they need on site, have a blast, and call it a day. That is, it'll be a blast if you don't curl up to sleep next to a rattlesnake or get bitten by one. Watch your step and have fun. However, be forewarned that it's not cheap.

Next we've got Utah Lake, Utah's 148-square-mile, largest freshwater lake. Sitting cheek by jowl with the city of Provo, Utah Lake is ringed by numerous marinas, parks, beaches, trailheads, lookout points, and various other lake access spots. It's basically an endless Shangri-La for nature lovers — and also snakes. But in this case, we mean mostly mildly venomous or non-venomous snakes: racers, (somewhat venomous) garter snakes, and bullsnakes. Bullsnakes can grow up to 8 feet long, are easily mistaken for rattlesnakes, and even imitate rattlesnakes by shaking their tail when threatened. But, they're still non-venomous. That being said, don't press your luck if you see one. Give it a wide berth and be on your way.

As for Utah Lake, its official state park — Utah Lake State Park — is located a mere 10 minutes by car from Provo's downtown. There's tent and RV camping available, plus picnic areas and a few boat launches. Much like Bear Lake, water fun is the name of the game here; the Bonneville School of Sailing is even based in the park. Visitors should be aware, however, that the park is ultra-serious about cleanliness and comes with a host of hygienic rules (because of invasive quagga mussels) like requiring 18 days of boat cleaning, specifically, to clean, drain, and dry a boat in the fall.

On the land side of things, visitors can also have some fun poking around nearby Vineyard, a small town of about 15,600 people less than 15 minutes from Provo. The town was designed from the ground up to be composed of walkable, mixed-use spaces. And sure, some racers and garter snakes probably made their way there.

Lake Powell is an interesting location, to say the least. Technically a manmade reservoir located within Glen Canyon Recreation Area, it and its stunning, striated rock formations get about 3 million visitors a year. The lake also crosses over into Arizona, and indeed, its buttes and mesas are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, particularly the canyon's iconic South Rim. But far from being only a destination for admirers of natural formations, Lake Powell is home to numerous snakes, including multiple species of rattlesnakes, like the 5-foot-long prairie rattlesnake. It's also home to the Great Basin gopher snake, a non-venomous snake with brown markings that you could mistake for a rattlesnake. Do take care at Lake Powell even if you're only hiking along its weirdly shaped, stringy perimeter.

But far from merely admiring Lake Powell, and despite it being a reservoir, you can actually set out into its waters. Folks can canoe or kayak alongside its stony faces, boat, and even rent a houseboat, The largest of these houseboats is 75 feet long, comes with a kitchen equipped with appliances, up to six staterooms (meaning they have private bathrooms), and even a waterslide. And of course, because Lake Powell is located inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, visitors have even more outdoors options at their disposal, including camping, off-roading, and biking.

Lake Powell is also within about 20 minutes of Antelope Canyon and its awe-inspiring, sunlit slot canyons and stone cathedrals. The sinuous curves of its slot canyons might not contain snakes, themselves, but they can serve as a reminder to keep an eye out through your entire journey.

Definitely the smallest Utah lake on our list, Navajo Lake is only 25 feet deep and is a mere speck off of Route 14 within the absolutely massive, 2-million-acre Dixie National Forest. Located near the south side of the forest, Navajo Lake also abuts Zion National Forest near the border with Arizona. This makes the lake a good stop-off on a trip, aside from being an equally good home for snakes. Two snake species have been confirmed in the area: the non-venomous Western patch-nosed snake and the Western terrestrial garter snake, the somewhat venomous type of garter snake that constricts its prey.

Visitors can consider Navajo Lake a more pared-back version of the other lakes on our list. You can do all the same general activities at Navajo Lake that you can do elsewhere, particularly hiking, boating, and fishing, plus stay overnight at Navajo Lake Campground or rent a for-real on-the-lake log cabin at Navajo Lake Lodge.

It's likely that Navajo Lake would be a part of a larger trip to either Dixie National Forest or Zion National Forest, as it's located right at the junction of the two. Dixie National Forest is so big that it'd take multiple trips to even begin to scratch its surface. It's got hundreds of miles of highly-rated trails (via AllTrails) of varying difficulties, like the 8-mile Ashdown Gorge Trail that's part-slot canyon trek. Visitors to Navajo Lake can also easily access the lesser-known entrance to Zion National Park, Kolob Canyon, from the north. Just bear in mind that Zion comes with its own snakes, as does Dixie, seeing as they're both in Southwestern Utah.

Finally, we come to Utah's most famous lake, the one that its capital is named after: Great Salt Lake. Great Salt Lake is so big that it's clearly visible on America's landscape even when viewing the country on a zoomed-out Google map. By the numbers, it's about 1,700 square miles, has a lowest depth of 33 feet, and is so salty that it reached 19% salinity in the south in 2022 — almost six times saltier than the ocean.

But even with all that salt, snakes don't mind its waters. Amongst the many snake species that call Great Salt Lake home, we've got the non-venomous Great Basin gopher snake, striped whipsnake, and North American racer, the slightly venomous valley garter snake and Western terrestrial garter snake, and the venomous Great basin rattlesnake. And even though Great Salt Lake has been slowly shrinking since 1986, there's still plenty of water and shoreline for snakes to hide in.

But despite its size and popularity for sailing and boating, access to the lake is largely limited to its Eastern and Southern shores. Multiple marinas span this rim of Great Salt Lake, as well as two state parks: Great Salt Lake State Park and Antelope Island State Park. Out of the two of them, Antelope Island State Park is by far the most interesting place to visit, as Great Salt Lake State Park is more or less just a boat launch with some camping on the side. Antelope Island, by contrast, has 45 miles of extensive hiking and biking options. But as always, no matter what you do, keep an eye out for snakes and steer clear if you see one.