Jordanelle State Park is always a fun lake day for me and my husband (and our dog). During the summer, we try to go at least twice a month. The calm waters and sandy beach make for a great family activity. This lake is only a 30 minute drive east of Salt Lake City, and is one of our favorite dog friendly lakes in Utah. If you are coming from SLC, you'll head East on 1-80 towards Park City. You'll then take a right onto 1-40 towards Heber. Now you're just a short 5 minute drive to the lake!
Not all sides of the lake are dog accessible. So we always go to the north rim. We park at Ross Creek trail head. Parking here is $10 and they even take credit card! Here they have bathrooms and an non-motorized boat ramp. This place is perfect for us and our paddle boards. Also make sure you do pay (or use your annual state park pass) I always see people getting tickets. They have live cameras in the area, so it's very difficult to sneak past that. But it's supporting the lake, so we don't mind paying!
This lake does see a lot boats and jet skis, so sometimes the waters can get a little rocky. Also in the afternoon the wind starts to pick up just a little, so try and get there in the mornings. There are signs all over the parking lot that say "dogs must be a leash" but there is always a ton of dogs on the beach and non of them ever have a leash, so don't be turned away because of this. Make sure you're dog is well behaved though as I've seen multiple "lost dog" signs in the area. The last thing you'd ever want is for your little pup to run away.
The views at this lake are just amazing. You are surrounded on all sides but Utah's amazing mountains. Do remember that this lake is at a higher altitude, so plan on temps being five to ten degrees cooler than in the valley. For us this made a hot 100 degree summer day into a perfect 90 degree lake day. My husband and I got paddle boards for Christmas last year and LOVE to spend the day on the lake. I've even mastered a head stand.
If you're new to paddle boarding, know that it'll be super hard at first. It took us at least three full days and practice before we could stand without falling. And now only a few short weeks later we are basically professionals! If we can do it, so can you.
That's all for now! Make sure to check out my other family friend activities for some inspiration.
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