Thinking real serious about making the trip out this year but I have no idea as to where a good place to stay is. Dont need top notch but also dont want a roach motel either. Something like a Holiday Inn or Best Western, Super8, ect. I need some help. Thanks a bunch.
All hotels are with-in miles from the salt - it's not that big of a place. Just google Wendover motels: http://www.google.com/webhp?sa=N&hl...&aql=f&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=a20cfd04ba3c5cf9
Wendover is a few miles from the salt. The hotels usually won't take reservations until the new year. If you plan to be there on the opening weekend you need to be fast. Check with them to see when they will start to take reservations. Most rooms disappear pretty quick. If you plan to be there towards the middle of the week you should be able to get rooms without any problems. I have an old RV and camp at the bend in the road. Its free and basic and usually crowded and great.
all the low priced ones go first ... the casinos charge crazy money and want you to book the whole week ... camp at bend in the road ... free and you can use the showers at the truck stop
Dont have a camper, might be able to borrow a pop-up tent camper. Whats the weather like usually, cool nights and warm 70-80 degree days?
there are a lot in wendover , some of the casinos hit harder, if your a outdoorsman / camper the bend on the road area is a neat place to stay but no provisions , but a lot of nice people and cars to check out , maybe see ya out there
Keep an eye on the Hamb. Every year members with excess rooms are willing to give them to other Hambers.
New guy Here. Is there transportation from Wendover to the salt. I have wanted to go for years, but the logistics seem hard to nail down.
We stayed in Salt Lake on the West side of town. It was a Super 8 because we had a dog. We could not get a room in Wendover. There was a lot of salt in the parking lot. There were about four or five motels in the area. The drive to the race track was not too bad. We saw a lot of hot rods on the interstate. The food at the races was good and not to expensive. The dog went through 30 pounds of ice per day. He stayed in the car with the AC running. The surface of the salt is cool compared to the air temperature. The sun is bright. It seem the casinos in Wendover were all interconnected as far as reservations. They were not nice people to deal with. We found on room in Wendover for one night and it was $175. The ticket prices was around ten dollars.They have pit pass which was not too much. The pit area is big. The pit area is about three rows wide and maybe two or three miles long. If you have pit pass you can drive in the pit area. There were all kinds of hot rods in the pit area along with the race cars. Everybody was friendly. You are a long ways from the track as a spectator which is for safety. You should take some binoculars.They run two tracks. I like standing at the staging area and the inspection area. You will see all kinds of cars. All of my question were always answered. SCTA sells all kinds of stuff and a lot of the racers sell T-shirts. Last year was our first trip. We had no clue what to expect but just ask anybody at the race and they will help you. They also use CB radios so take one along. I really enjoyed the whole thing. They seem to have a lot of fun in the camping area and activities at night. I WOULD NOT WAIT TOO LONG TO GO. I AM SURE SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO STOP THE RACING SOMEHOW.
Best thing any of you can do is rent a motorhome...... Don't tell them your going to the salt Pay some guys to wash and clean it up after..... By you supplies in SLC The rental company will pick you up at the airport. AND DON'T MENTION THAT YOUR GOING TO THE SALT And make sure you have insurance to go into Nevada.... Wendover is ob ge Nevada side Moho rentals are getting lower each year......
So from of the sounds of things, prolly wouldn't want to take your new 4x4 out on the salt if your picky about such things, which I'm sorta anal about. Guess a guy could use his pickup to pull the pop-up and stay at the bend in the road and then rent a car in salt lake for the trip out to the salt.
Decent info on this thread. How many are planning to go out with you 69supercj? If it is just you or you and a buddy you could probably just hitch a ride out onto the salt from the Bend. Salt guys are like no other people on the planet and most wouldn't have a prob with it. If you rent a motorhome I would not suggest taking it on the salt. NOt for the fact of cleaning it up but simply so you do not get it stuck. The salt and dirt just east of the bend can be unstable surfaces. I saw some guys sink a '36 Ford last year out in the dirt. I think a week long spectator pass it $40 - dirt cheap when compared to NHRA or Nascar.
LOL!!! Cold nights- 50's I suppose, and HOT days 95-100. This is a desert climate. When I camped in '99 we slept in a tent, fully dressed in our sleeping bags with stocking caps. Good thing the nights are short and it warms up quickly.
I went to the world finals last year, and stayed at the peppermill. It was the nicest $45 a night room I have ever stayed in. The first time I went to speedweek (several years ago) I couldn't get a room in wendover, so I stayed in wells nevada at the motel six. Its only about 60 or 70 miles from bonneville. They was a lot of people staying there that went to bonneville.
I was lucky enough to have a friend with a neighbor willing to let us use a good sized RV. We stayed at the bend in the road. We were not going to take the RV on the salt, but when we got there and realized how many others did, we did. Great decision, like having your motel room at the salt. I do realize that this past August was a good salt year, not much standing water. We drove slowly on the salt and when we left the final day we had it sprayed there at the entrance. $25 seems like. Then when we got home we took it to a local car wash and finished washing it. I am sure the owner saw no evidence of salt. Get 3 or 4 guys together, rent an RV, go have the time of your life.
You can also hitch-hike in and out from the bend, and also from the end of the road. A lkot of people park there and "commute". You;d never wait more than 5 minutes. Also around the race course, it,s 5 miles from the pits to the staring line and someone will always pick you up. Bicycle is another option. It's flat and hard as concrete. Easy peddaling.
You can usually hitch a ride from the bend in the road, the truck stop or even one of the motels in town if you are prissy about having your car out on the salt. You can also do the take a number and wait in the lobby for a cancellation thing at one of the motel/hotels but that may be a bit iffy now. In 1988 it was pretty easy as a lot of guys seemed to make reservations and not show up. If you can avoid it don't take pets, small kids, whiny wives or buddies or relatives who get bored easy. It just flat assed isn't the place for them. It isn't the national drags or Nascar and things move at a rather slow pace except the vehicle on the track at the time. So if you get bored easily you will no doubt be bored. But if you use that time to explore the pits and see the cars and people who have been racing there for the past sixty years and actually see that car that you saw in a 1960 something Hot Rod Magazine coverage of the event (Remember when we waited till the January or so issue came out to find out who set records that year?) Then it's a lot of fun. From the looks of things there are getting to be way too many posers with their (built it to cruise Bonneville) car who aren't really interested in the races but just interested in posing on the salt now though. After the first day if you want to see someone set a record you need to be up and on the way out on the salt at or close to daylight. Nap till ten, drive from SLC or somewhere else and you have missed the best racing of the day and the quite often spectacular sunrises. And be careful about taking heavy rigs out on the salt unless they are part of your race setup. The tow truck guys charge massive fees just to go out and hook up to your rig and then the charges go up from there. And a lot of us have great photos of someone who got stuck out there.
Well right now there looks like probably 4 at the most will be going, hopefully no less then 3. I'd rather not stay in Salt Lake, just not crazy about driving 2 hours or so each way to get to the salt. Looks like its either find a room at Wendover or go campin'. As for the weather, sounds alot like Daytona in Feb, cept maybe not as hot during the day. I've spent some damn cold nights in the pits at Volusia County in the middle of Feb!!! Hey MP/4, where is the Peppermill located?
This year at SpeedWeek the temps were in the 90s and 70s at night. We camped at the bend. A friend showed up with a new fifth wheel that had a tv outside. We sat and watched movie in t shirts a shorts. Very comfortable. I also saw lots of rental RVs on the salt. The salt depends on the weather. This year it was good. very little sticking to cars. There was also a couple of guys with a pressure washer washing the salt off your car for $20. At the bend there is everything from million dollar RVs to pup tents. If you have any doubts, don't go. But you wind up like the virgin spinster. You'll die wonderin'. I've been dragging my trailer with a 30 year old RV for three years now and will be heading back next yearwith a 31 yearold RV. I wouldn't miss it for the world.
We stayed at the Nugget, which was probably the most overpriced room I've ever stayed in, considering the utter lack of amenities and the itty-bitty friggin' room! It was $165/night. We stayed two of the four nights we booked there, and were refunded the other two. The rooms were to the point of moldy. Complete shit. Their parking lot was designed by a dyslexic crack monkey. Hopefully, a Nugget rep reads this and understands I'll never stay there again, for any reason. Should have booked at the Peppermill across the street - lots better rooms and a better price. Hell, next trip out, we are going to bring a large tent and camp out at the Bend, and go shower at the truck stop up the road.
A buddy and I are planning to take his motorhome. We heard you could stay at one of the casino parking lots. I was going to take my truck and commute from Wendover to the track. Hitchhikers welcome. Anyone know about casino parking?
We were worried about the dog. Dogs will not poop on the salt. We were walking the dog and someone came up and told us that dogs will pop on the salt. When we got on some grass he had a good one. I often wonder if that is what the clerk at the check out counter means when she says have a "good one". HE MELTED A LOT OF SALT.There a lot people with pets. You just have to be prepared to keep them cool, watered and shaded. I thought they may not let us in but it was no problem. We thought about a kennel in Salt Lake but none of them had a person on duty at night.
Its in wendover. They have three properties there. Here is the website http://www.wendoverfun.com/main.html
It is sea salt so it is good for you so it should not hurt your new pickup. I see signs in the stores that promote sea salt products. What a con this is! Salt is salt. If you drive at a reasonable speed you get very little salt on your vehicle. The salt is easy to see on your vehicle and a drive through car wash with chassis wash will remove the salt.
Schedule says Speedweek starts the 13th. Is the first day of tech The 12th, or 13th?, with races starting on the 13th?
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