Bear Lake State Park
Things to Do
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Boating
If you have a sailboat, Bear Lake is the place for you. With calm water, a consistent afternoon breeze, and tons of room to maneuver (nearly 70,000 acres), it has to be one of Utah’s best places to unfurl the sails. The calm and tranquil water of the lake has put Bear Lake on the map for water skiing and wakeboarding enthusiasts. Jet skiing is just as popular. With the lake having so much open surface area you are guaranteed to find the perfect spot to skim the water. You can find rental boats and jet skis at the marina or in one of the nearby cities.
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Camping and Lodging
If you plan to stay a night or two, camping at Bear Lake State Park is available at the marina, Rendezvous Beach, and Cisco Beach. The Marina and Rendezvous Beach sites have water, flush toilets and showers, while the Cisco campground is primitive. Additional outdoor adventurers includes horseback riding and OHV trails through the Cache National Forest.
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Fishing
In addition, the trophy fishing attracts tons of people to Bear Lake. Most are hoping to hook a cutthroat or lake trout, but you may also land whitefish and carp. Trolling is popular across the lake and casting from the rocky embankment of the marina can be productive. Learn more about fishing at Bear Lake
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Paddling
Be sure to bring your stand up paddleboards, kayaks and canoes as well. Quietly cruising the shores south of the marina will lead to seeing beautiful waterfowl in the lake’s marshes. Starting from the beach at the marina you can head north to explore the beaches along the west shore. If you don’t feel like cruising, then just drifting and playing in the shallow and warm water near the marina’s beach can’t be beat.
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Pickleville Playhouse
Offers a live theater and Wild West grill on beautiful Bear Lake during the summer months.
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The Garden City Pool
Open year-round.
Highlights
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Bear Lake History
The Logan Canyon Scenic Byway leads to more than just Bear Lake's renowned water sports. It's a great place to explore America's past and discover the stories of the hearty souls that settled this area. Discover five spots important to Bear Lake history that you won't want to miss when you visit.
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Logan Canyon Scenic Byway
This 41-mile national scenic byway is the most scenic route from Northern Utah to Jackson and Yellowstone. The byway runs alongside the winding Logan River from the city of Logan to Garden City, right through Bear Lake State Park. Much of the corridor travels through spectacular, craggy limestone cliffs, some of which are nearly vertical. There are many opportunities for recreation in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and interpretive information on Logan Canyon along the way.
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Ogden River Scenic Byway
The Ogden River Scenic Byway follows a narrow canyon away from the urban center and up into spectacular alpine landscapes. Along the way to its high point of nearly 9,000 feet at Monte Cristo Summit (closed in winter), it passes through a complex quartzite gorge, a beautiful high valley, and some of the finest mountain meadows and forest in Northern Utah. Also along the way are significant man-made attractions that include a genuine monastery and prize-winning hamburgers.
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Raspberries
While you are hanging at the “Caribbean of the Rockies” be sure to eat your fill of raspberries. Bear Lake raspberries are world famous and each August the harvest is celebrated with a festival. If you happen to miss the festival, don’t worry you can still have a raspberry milk shake at any number of drive-ins surrounding the lake.
What's Nearby
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Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
This is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, an eye-opening stop along Utah's populous Wasatch Front for any traveler and a top destination for any serious birder with gaps on their life lists.
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Garden City
Garden City’s location at the end of the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway and on the shores of Bear Lake State Park makes it one of Northern Utah's best gateway towns.
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Logan
The Logan area hosted the Shoshone tribe’s ancestral hunting for thousands of years and is still home to great examples of early Mormon pioneer architecture, including the Temple and Tabernacle.
