SALT LAKE CITY -- Doors to the new visitor center at the Great Salt Lake Marina opened for the first time on Friday.
“This makes it easy for you to come out and enjoy an evening out, bring your family out and enjoy the beach and the water and the sun and have a good day,” said Jeremy Shaw, who is a park manager at Great Salt Lake State Park.
Inside the new center, visitors can find information about the lake, history videos and even salty souvenirs. Outside is a deck with picnic tables, a view of the lake and beach access.
“At the current water levels with the water being way down, this is the place to get in,” Shaw said.
The building is the first of its kind for the Great Salt Lake and more than 250,000 people are expected to walk through the visitor center each year.
“They're very well established for an opening day; they were very organized and there were a lot of interesting things to learn about the lake and a souvenir to take home,” said John and Wendy Cifelli, who are visiting from Bolivia, North Carolina.
The park is hoping to not only attract tourists to the center, but locals too
“Being the park manager I get all the time local people that have never been to the Great Salt Lake," Shaw said. "You need to come out; it's something we take for granted, and you can almost see it anywhere but now you can come out and experience it."
Lisa Larson brought her mother and kids to the lake for their first time Friday to celebrate the grand opening.
“I think it's great," she said. "I think it's a good thing that every Utahn should see. We've lived here all our life, and we haven't been out here since we were little kids."
You can find the visitor center's hours of operation and more by visiting their website.
