Beck's Saratoga Springs
Beck's Saratoga Springs, also known as Beck's Saratoga Hot Springs or Saratoga Resort was a resort on Utah Lake that operated from 1882 to 1993.[1] The resort was located on the north shore of Utah Lake in what is now Saratoga Springs, Utah.
Geography
[edit]The Saratoga Hot Springs is a geological hot springs formation likely created by geothermal activity. It is located on the north-west shore of Utah Lake. The temperature varies but is typically around 110° Fahrenheit.[2]
History
[edit]The history of Beck's Saratoga Springs dates back to 1860, when a man named John Conrad Naile from the then small town of Lehi purchased the land surrounding the warm springs. He planted a large apple orchard which he irrigated with the springs. The land was soon sold to John Beck, a rich mining entrepreneur who soon began to see the potential in developing the land as a resort.[3] He and other settlers used the wealth from Beck's Bullion Beck Mine in Eureka and first established the resort in 1884, with the first building going up around 1885. Beck's name and idea for the resort came from the famous Saratoga Springs, New York resort by the same name.[4] By the 1890s, the resort was well established. An advertisement published in the Lehi Banner noted that for twenty-five cents one could bathe in two large plunge baths and six hot tub baths. The ad further claimed that "these springs possess wonderful medicinal properties for rheumatism and disease of the skin... a plunge in these health-giving waters will cure 'That Tired Feeling.'"[5]
After a bridge and road from Lehi was built to the resort, tourism increased dramatically. The resort had its ownership transferred multiple times, eventually resting in the hands of the Lehi Sugar Company and the Austin brothers. The resort received ferry, taxi, automobile, and many other forms of transportation to and from its shores. The resort went on to expand for over a hundred years, adding in a wide variety of attractions.[6] Some of these attractions included a dance floor, dance hall, bath houses, a baseball field, indoor pools, an arcade, food stands, a restaurant, amusement rides, and even a 350 foot water slide nicknamed "The Kamikaze".[7]
In 1968, Saratoga suffered a large fire that burned the dance pavilion and main building. The damages were between $50,000 and $100,000, and although there was a minor explosion caused by a chlorine tank, no one was injured.[8]
Eventually, due to factors such as flooding damage from Utah Lake and waning popularity, the resort was dismantled in the year 1995. The remaining structures were soon dismantled and sold to developers, with the land becoming the foundation of what is now Saratoga Springs, named for the resort. [8]
Today, little to nothing remains of the resort itself, however, the hot springs remains a minor tourist attraction. Some remnants of the campground still remain on the lake shore, but the namesake of Saratoga Springs remains the most prominent example of what remains.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Saratoga Resort - Coasterpedia - The Amusement Ride Wiki". coasterpedia.net. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "SaratogaHot Springs". ULTIMATE HOT SPRINGS GUIDE. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "History of Saratoga Springs, Utah. Utah Lake's Oldest Resort. . SSOA | SSOA". ssoautah.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "History | Saratoga Springs, UT". www.saratogasprings-ut.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "Saratoga, Utah Lake's Oldest Resort". Issuu. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "History of Saratoga Springs, Utah. Utah Lake's Oldest Resort. . SSOA | SSOA". ssoautah.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ "Saratoga Resort - Coasterpedia - The Amusement Ride Wiki". coasterpedia.net. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ a b "The Heyday of Saratoga Springs Resort, 1960s-1995". Utah Communication History Encyclopedia. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2025-07-22.