Entry No. 13 — the Salt Lake City file — filed under: observatory
Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (SPOC)
A row of homemade domes on the edge of a golf-course subdivision west of the Great Salt Lake holds four telescopes run entirely by volunteers, including a 1.8-meter (71-inch) Clements reflector built by amateurs that's reputed to be the largest amateur-made telescope on Earth regularly available to the public.
The story
Drive thirty miles west of Salt Lake City into Tooele County, pull past the manicured lawns of a Stansbury Park golf-course subdivision, and park near the local skateboard park by the waterfront. Sitting right on the edge of the residential grid is a row of homemade white observatory domes. This is the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (SPOC), built and operated entirely by volunteers from the Salt Lake Astronomical Society (SLAS).
The crown jewel of the complex is a absurd piece of hands-on engineering: the Clements reflector, a 1.8-meter (71-inch) telescope built by amateur astronomer Mike Clements. Roughly the size of a school bus, it is reputed to be the largest amateur-built telescope on Earth that is regularly open for public viewing. While professional academic observatories keep their giant mirrors sealed off behind university research grants, the volunteers here regularly set up this massive rig alongside three other domed telescopes so anyone off the street can look through the eyepiece.
There is a quiet irony in finding world-class optical machinery tucked behind a suburban greenbelt. While most day-trippers never bother to tilt their heads up after dark, the society opens the complex on clear nights, pointing four distinct scopes at deep-space targets that most people only ever see in rendered NASA photos.
What it's like
Show up right around dusk on a scheduled star party Saturday with a warm jacket and a folding lawn chair. You won't find ticket booths or docents in uniform; instead, volunteer astronomers wander the grass with red-tinted flashlights so you don't trip over equipment cables. You'll line up to take turns cycling through four eyepieces pointed at the same night sky. Lines move quickly, but the operation relies entirely on clear weather, so check the SLAS schedule before making the drive out.
The move: Drive out for a free dusk-till-late star party (SLAS runs them roughly every other clear Saturday in season), bring a folding chair, and cycle through four different eyepieces pointed at the same sky most day-trippers never bother to tilt their heads up at.
- 📍 Stansbury Park, Tooele County
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 20 Plaza, Stansbury Park, UT 84074 (west of the skateboard park, adjacent to the waterfront)
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Ben Harrison Mine Shaft — Explore the historic lead and silver mining ruins in the Oquirrh Mountains before driving down to Stansbury Park for a night of stargazing.
- Wasatch Forge — Spend the morning working with heavy tools at a West Valley City smithy before observing hand-crafted precision optics in Tooele County.
- Cat & Cauldron — Pair an afternoon of metaphysical reading room scrying in Taylorsville with an evening of deep-space optical telescope viewing.
- Glow SLC — Take a soak and sauna drop-in at a Poplar Grove bathhouse during the day before heading out to the dark skies west of the city at night.
Good to know
Is there an admission fee to visit the observatory complex?
No, public star parties hosted by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society are completely free.
When are the public star parties held?
SLAS runs star parties roughly every other clear Saturday during their operational season, starting around dusk and continuing late into the night. Confirm dates and sky conditions on the SLAS schedule before heading out.
What is the biggest telescope on-site?
The complex houses the 1.8-meter (71-inch) Clements reflector, a school-bus-sized instrument built by amateurs and regarded as one of the largest amateur-built telescopes accessible to the public.
Where exactly is the observatory located?
It is located at 20 Plaza in Stansbury Park, Tooele County, situated west of the local skate park and adjacent to the waterfront.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: slas.us · Wikipedia · tooeleonline.com · telescopeguide.org · sltrib.com
last checked: 2026-07-20