On the eastern side of the Great Salt Lake, near Layton, is the site of the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve. The preserve, owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, provides essential habitat from some of the over 250 species of birds that use the Great Salt Lake as their home or as a stopover point during migration. For families, bird lovers, and Great Salt Lake enthusiasts, this is an excellent place to spend a few hours. The preserve has a boardwalk that meanders through it, offers views of the Great Salt Lake and usually many bird species. The preserve has a pavilion and observation tower as well. My pre-schooler absolutely loved climbing the stairs of the observation tower to take in the scenery.

I feel like the preserve is often overlooked, or simply not well known, but definitely deserves a visit. On the lovely fall afternoon we visited, only one other group stopped by. The preserve is open from 6am to 9pm March to October, and 7am to 9pm November to February. There is no cost to visit.