Antelope Island State Park is gearing up for the 40th annual Bison Roundup and the adjacent Roundup Rendezvous, set for Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.

Park Manager Doranne Pittz told the Standard-Examiner that, as is typical for the roundup, dozens of riders — starting around Fielding Garr Ranch around 9 a.m. — will help push the bison herds on the east side of the island over the ridge towards White Rock Bay and to the corrals on the north side of the island.

This will also include the Roundup Rendezvous near White Rock Bay starting at 10 a.m. where people can safely view the bison herd as it makes its way to the corrals while enjoying other festivities.

“It’s really like a party,” Pittz said. “We have vendor booths, and food trucks, and musicians playing, and pony rides, and face painting, and all the fun stuff while you’re waiting for those bison to come around the corner, and then cheer them on as we push them into the corrals.”

The bison herds tend to be pushed to the corrals around noon-3 p.m., but timing can vary greatly. Additionally, Pittz said the new Antelope Island State Park Visitor Center will be open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Normal daily rates will apply.

Pittz said that a cap of 500 vehicles will once again be in place on the east side road, which will open up to the public around 8 a.m.

She noted that this made for a smoother experience on the east side when it was first implemented during the 2025 roundup.

“We did have the limited number, but we didn’t actually even hit our capacity,” she said. “The people that got over there felt like it was really smooth. It was a lot safer because, if we did need to transition any vehicles or people, it was easier to maneuver, so it ended up working out really well.”

Pittz said there are an estimated 700-800 bison on the island that they will be rounding up and that, once they’re rounded up, an important step in herd maintenance can occur — the Working of the Bison Oct. 27-29 from 8a.m.-5 p.m. each day, which the public is invited to view.

“What people see there is just that, the bison coming through our corral systems,” she said. “And then once they get up to the squeeze chute, they see us vaccinate, pregnancy check, inoculate and cull the herd. At that point, they’ll see us separate the cows from the calves and the bulls from the cows and the calves into either sail pens or release them back out onto the island to stay with our herd.”

She said around 200-250 of the bison are ultimately auctioned in order to maintain a healthy herd size for the island. The auction is set for Nov. 3, 2026.

In the mean time, Pittz said park officials are looking forward to next Saturday’s festivities.

“We have a new crew here on the island, but we’re all enthused and excited about it,” she said. “I think it’s going to go pretty smooth. We’ve got a lot of veteran riders coming back and a lot of veteran volunteers, so it’s going to be a great roundup.”

She said trail closures will be in place throughout the island from Oct. 23-27 to help facilitate the main roundup and allow riders to bring any bison left behind by the initial push to the corrals.

For more information, visit https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/antelope-island/bison-roundup/.