Getting to the Salt Flats is way easier than it was in 1860.
The Bonneville Salt Flats and the Bonneville Speedway are located just 4 miles East of Wendover UT/West Wendover, NV. The nearest Metro area is Salt Lake City, UT 120 miles to the East.
The drive from Salt Lake to the Bonneville Speedway where the race starts is entirely freeway, and maintaining 75+ MPH is usually no problem, so the drive takes just under 2 hours.
If you are flying in, book your flight to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), rent a car and drive West on Interstate 80 directly from the Airport. If you are not local there is NOT a taxi service or UBER that will get you this far. You MUST rent a car. If you are bringing crew with you then they'll most likely use this as the crew car too. You will make suggestions as to where NOT to take certain vehicles at the pre-race meetings based on the current road conditions.
HOTELS, CAMPING & OVERNIGHT INFO:
There are several hotels in the Wendover area, both on the Utah side and the Nevada Side, including five Casinos.
The motels on the Utah side of the state line are generally pretty affordable if booked online, but as I've learned the hard way, don't call them directly as their direct rate is often $20 more per night. We encourage staying on the Utah side of the border if you want to stay smoke free.
There are several other reasonable choices on the Utah side also:
Quality Inn Stateline.
Knights Inn Wendover.
Super 8 by Wyndham.
Motel 6.
The Bonneville Motel.
Of course, you can always stay at one of the Wendover Casinos if you want that little taste of mini Vegas. Just be aware that they are loud & full of smoke. (Wendover Nugget, Montego Bay, Peppermill, The Rainbow & Red Garter.)
If its a dry year you are also more than welcome to car-camp on the salt at the Start/Finish area as well, as we'll have event toilets there. There are no open fires allowed on the salt unless in portable fire-pits and all ash and other refuse must be taken off the salt and properly disposed of.
FOOD & GAS:
We encourage our race participants to visit the Sinclair Convenience Store at Exit 4. They obviously have gas & food but they have nice bathrooms & shower facilities too. We purchase all our ice here. They also have a restaurant. The Mexican place has moved into Wendover city proper but the food in the new Indian restaurant is quite good. I highly recommend trying the garlic naan bread. You’ll often find the RD noshing on curry from there.
Also on the Utah Side of the border are the following which we often frequent include:
Family Dollar. (You’d be pleasantly surprised what all you can find in this store. If we forget anything I usually get it here.)
Salt Flats Mexican Cafe is near the airport. (This used to be the Mexican restaurant at Exit 4. We get food here multiple times over the full week we spend out here.)
Shell Station (R Place) which has a Taco Time & Piccadilly Circus Pizza inside. The downstairs bathrooms are also very clean.
Subway which also has a drive thru.
Copper Kettle Cafe serves diner fare similar to Dennys but is family owned. (They have great french toast!)
Multiple other Mexican restaurants.
Our favorite stops on the Nevada side include the following options:
Pilot Travel Center. (Last we checked this is the only location to refill propane & they are quick.)
The Bimini Buffet at the Rainbow. (Saturday night you’ll most likely find the race staff decompressing here.)
Prospector Cafe at the Red Garter. (My young kids like the breakfast buffet & my older kids like the amazing Italian.)
Smiths Food & Drugstore. This is literally the ONLY true grocery store unless you travel back to Grantsville/Tooele or go to Elko. They do have a gas station here too.
