Farmington Bay - Open live - live update

[Kenny]

12:30 PM wind is blowing 20 mph. Water is flat. Rigging a 12M.

Less then 30 minutes from SLC.

[Emmanuel Pons]

Tell us when the water stops being flat!

[MikE mAy]

anybody know how to get to farmington bay? what are the indicators? salt lake city airport? 1:00 and looking like i'm getting skunked today again. Damn Devil South Wind!

[Kenny]

Wind is now 25, rigging smaller. Check Google maps or mapquest for direction. In is located off of Glover Lane.

[Emmanuel Pons]

Wind is now 25, rigging smaller. Check Google maps or mapquest for direction. In is located off of Glover Lane.

Wow I did not even know there is a body of fresh water there!!! THat sounds like a great place to go to on a south and really close to SLC.

How is the access? Fee? Any chop buil.ding with the wind? How deep? Give us the beta!

Thanks

[Kenny]

Farmington Bay is located just west of Farmington off of Glover Lane. I usually take the Centerville Exit and head north on the frontage road on the east side of the freeway. Glover Lane has an overpass that runs over I-15. You drive west for a couple miles and look for a small sign on the south side of the road. Drive in and veer west and then south. There is no entrance fee. However, the water is not open until after September 25th because it is a bird refuge. The closest wind meter is in Centerville, but Centerville is partially blocked. The wind that hits Farmington Bay on a south comes right out of the Salt Lake Valley. So it is pretty easy to predict.

The water depth is difficult to gauge. I would guess that it is waist deep towards the northern and western side and only a few inches on the east and south sides. The water also contains moss and weeds which helps keep the water flat. I didn't see any whitecaps until the wind hit 30 mph, so it is similar to Rush that way.

You can launch right off the road. I did a hot launch both times.

[Emmanuel Pons]

I would guess that it is waist deep towards the northern and western side and only a few inches on the east and south sides. The water also contains moss and weeds which helps keep the water flat. I didn't see any whitecaps until the wind hit 30 mph, so it is similar to Rush that way..

Hum.. What do you think of the windsurf potential? Would a small wave fin work?

[Kenny]

Hum.. What do you think of the windsurf potential? Would a small wave fin work?

You got me, I have never learned how to windsurf. You would definitely need a weed fin and the reach would be much shorter than using a kite, but it would still probably be a wider reach than Grantsville.

[Poniboi]

If you do go soon, hunting season starts Oct 6th. It is kind of weird riding around guys in boats hunting and shooting your way." I will probably be one of them" You should be riding Unit 1&2 or maybe the Turpin Unit. Becareful their is a boundry through the middle of the water that sepperates the rest area for migratory birds if you cross it look out for a hefty fine. Also it is shallow and potentialy deep mud and water in certain parts. Also becarful around the edges where people have thrown garbage and debris has been dumped. Ouch!! I am very interested in how it works out never been able to ride out their, no wetsuit. But I have spent thousands of hours walking through that marsh and I have had a boat now for a while I have almost beeen everywhere inside of Farminton Bay. Really though with some time their is potential for North, South, East, West rides. Also when it gets cold enough you can ride the snow one the ice in the winter. Overall water depth is 3 ft with some scary mud around the canals where the DWR dredges and the boats run.

[Kenny]

Poniboi,

Thank you for the info. I was riding all the way across the pond scaring up tons of birds. I won't do that again. The reach is still plenty long without riding to the other side.

Snowkiting potential as well, sounds good!

Kenny

[Jacob Buzianis]

Is the bay clean or salty?

[Kenny]

Is the bay clean or salty?

Neither - technically, it is fresh water. However, it is a bird sanctuary, so I would not call it clean. Smells worse than Rush, but ten times better than the Lake Point Ponds.

[Marty Lowe]

Is the bay clean or salty?

Most of Farmington Bay's "units" are man made.
It is where the Jordan river goes before it dumps into Salt Lake.

Clean is a relative term, in this case, not salty in the "units"

http://www.publiclands.org/explore/site ... =23cfeb7c9

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/images/fbmap.gif

http://wildlife.utah.gov/habitat/farmington_bay.php

-Marty

[Jason Klein]

I see in some of those links that hours are 8am to 5pm, but it notes that there are extended hours during hunting season. anyone know how late you can actually kite there at this point, and for the next month or so?

[hedquista]

could we get good picture ofthis farmington bay or directions posted so that many of us may enjoy our great fall south winds.... so much for good fall kiting