Famous for its brilliant Caribbean-aqua blue waters, Bear Lake Utah camping is an otherworldly oasis nestled between the Utah and Idaho border. Vast and extensive soft sand beaches attract visitors from all over the world, who come to fish, boat, camp, and recreate in the outdoors. 

Aside from lake itself, off-roading and exploring the mountain trails are another popular activity. There’s a  number rental locations nearby which can lend out their OHV (Off-Highway-Vehicles) to traverse the area’s various geographic oddities for a reasonable rate. 

Speaking of the geography, Bear Lake State park is extremely organized and easy to navigate. In fact, there are three districts of the park meant for different types of recreation. First is the State Marina, located on the west side of Bear Lake. North end of Garden City, one mile north of the US 89 and SR 30 Junction. Second, is Rendezvous Beach, on the southwest curve of Bear Lake. Roughly 2 miles NW from Laketown on SR-30 from the CIsco Road and SR 30 Junction. 

And finally, The Park’s Eastside Areas- Eastside of Bear Lake, including First Point, South Eden, Cisco Beach, Rainbow Cove, and North Eden. Distances vary from four miles to 13 miles on Cisco Road from Laketown and the Cisco Road SR 30 Intersection.

Bear Lake State Park Campground

I was here for one night with my dog. They allow dogs in the campground, but not on the beach. I wasn't aware of this, so it's a big part of why I only rated it three stars.  The campground was pretty bare and not the prettiest or most immersed location when it comes to Utah.  But it was what I needed.  I can't comment on the beach since I didn't go.  I had to drive to other parts of the lake so my dog could join me.  Bear Lake itself is nice and pretty large, but make sure you have a boat, SUP or some kind of water device or it can get boring quickly. People recommend their famous raspberry shakes and I would say for good reason.  About an hour drive into Idaho is, in my opinion, the much prettier Bloomington Lake with a rope swing and mountain face backdrop. But the water can get pretty cold.   

Gets the Job Done

Had fun because of who we were with will never camp there again

yuck

The overall drive to the campsite is just gorgeous. The campgrounds were flat and perfect for tenting. The walk to the beach is dragging. I just dont understand why ATVS cant go down to the beach just to carry stuff down. Because walking through the trail and hearing rattlers in every direction is nerve racking. I do love how were are right on the border for idaho and idaho dont care about ATVS... Overall wonderul experience execpt for the rangers coming down like 4 times out of the day.. also i think people need to learn IT'D A HUGE LAKE you do not have tune or jetski right where somebody has their boat anchored.. also this the wrong time of year to bring your dog in this type of heat.. loved it! Love the little cites on the way up! 

First Camping Experience

This place is more well known for its summer activities like boating and the wonderful beaches that are there. We went there in the winter for a snowmobiling trip however and were blown away by how stunning it was in the winter. I highly recommend going in the winter! Less people = more peace!

Breathtaking in the Winter!

Fell in love with bear lake! Can't even describe the water color and how easy it is to walk right into it from the large beach. Amazing area I can't wait to go back to.

Pure beauty! 

We stayed about 5 miles outside of Bear Lake in the mountains past mile marker 492\. Lots of campsites that are plenty private and have the capacity to hold a LOT of people each. We couldn’t hear any other campers, but driving in, we noticed that there were plenty. Super beautiful, super clean, super perfect.

Perfect for large get-togethers

We stayed here in mid August and could not have had better weather. You are pretty exposed here, so don’t expect to park in shade. though there are shaded picnic tables and the water was so fresh!

I have never been in a more blue lake, think Lake Tahoe CA blue...

Camping was $10 a night and there were a ton of sites. 

The beach itself was pretty rocky, but it’s a very short walk from the campsite. 

Fire rings and the shaded picnic table made this and easy place to work! We love out of our van and rely ok Verizon service. Which was roughly 2-3 bars of LTE. 

Dogs are allowed here, so our two dogs were able to swim. 

Bathrooms were nice and clean! Vaulted toilets, but man were they clean...

You are 25 minutes from a town if you need supplies or a raspberry milkshake. 

Worth the trip/stop if you want to hang by a clear blue lake and enjoy a starlit night. 

Blue Water Paradise

The address we put into our GPS took us to the Marina so we drove further along the lake to Rendezvous Beach area where we checked in at the gate house with no problems. We then proceeded to the Birch campground(CG) FHU site 55, which was a pull through. The CG map shows there are 4 CGs(Willow, Birch, Cottonwood,&amp; Big Creek). Big Creek is the oldest with a lot more shade trees than the other listed CGs. The CGs run in sequence along the south end of the lake. The sites are well spaced with a nice little covered patio with the picnic table. The beach is about 100 yards away and we had a sliver of lake view. We were surprised that dogs are not allowed on the park beaches. There was a fire ban that included charcoal grills(propane okay). We had great water pressure, used 15’ sewer hose, and received about 30 OTA channels. We had a clear shot to the southern sky, but didn’t need/use our satellite. We got 4 bars on Verizon. We where not sure what to expect when we decided to come to Bear Lake SP but we sure were not expecting it to be dog restrictive. Dogs are not allowed by the lake/beach or in day use areas so we were limited to walking them around the campground. We also were not expecting a tourist trap, sunning beach, and crowded with families during the week(Mon- Thur) late in August. There were plenty of CG workers but they did not keep up with the trash laying about. Our fire pit, which we couldn’t use, had trash in it to include a pair of kids underwear. We did enjoy going to Montpelier and visiting the Oregon/California Trail Center and Butch Cassidy Museum. One and done for us.

Not What We Were Expecting

Really beautiful spot. Pretty good campground.  