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Bear Lake
Description:
- Elevation: 5904 ft.
- Surface Area: 109 sq. miles
- Volume Capacity: 6.5 x 106 acre-feet
- Max. Depth: 208 ft.
- Avg. Depth: 94 ft.
Day Visits:
- Day-use permit: $8
- Annual day-use pass: $75
- Annual senior day-use pass: $35
Overnight Camping:
- Birch Campground: $25
- Big Creek Campground: $25
- Cottonwood Campground: $16
- Willow Campground: $75 Min.
- Boat Slips: $16
- Group Area: $75
- South Eden Primitive Campground: $10
For the latest Bear Lake fishing report,
click here.
Current Conditions:
Last checked for updates: 5/19/2019
Current Conditions
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Day-Use:
MARINA – OPEN. Open year round.
RENDEZVOUS BEACH – OPEN through late October.
FIRST POINT – OPEN. Open year round.
CISCO BEACH – OPEN. Open year round.
RAINBOW COVE – OPEN. Open year round.
SOUTH EDEN – OPEN through late October.
NORTH EDEN – OPEN through late October.
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Lake Surface:
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See above note.
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Ice is Never 100% Safe! — Do not judge ice safety on thickness alone. Ice does not form or maintain a uniform thickness. Snow, wind, slush, temperature, and other factors can cause ice thickness and strength to vary greatly, even within inches. Recreate on ice at your own risk and verify ice thickness as you head out. Click here to learn more ice safety tips.
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Park Roads:
Open.
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Launch Ramps:
MARINA – OPEN.
FIRST POINT – OPEN.
CISCO BEACH – OPEN.
RAINBOW COVE – OPEN.
RENDEZVOUS BEACH – CAUTION! We do not recommend launching boats. Water levels are just reaching the bottom of the concrete.
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Campgrounds:
RENDEZVOUS BEACH – OPEN through late October.
CISCO BEACH – OPEN. First come, first serve. Open year round.
RAINBOW COVE – OPEN. First come, first serve.
SOUTH EDEN – OPEN through late October.
NORTH EDEN – OPEN through late October. First come, first serve.
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Water Temperature:
@ 51.8 degrees as measured in the Bear Lake State Park Marina.
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Water Level (elevation):
@ 5918.60′.
Full elevation: 5923.65′.
2019 high elevation: 5918.60′
2018 high elevation: 5920.45′
2018/19 low elevation: 5916.35′
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This past week:
The day time high temperatures have ranged from the mid 70’s to the high 50’s.
The nighttime low temperatures have ranged from the mid 40’s to the mid 30’s.
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#BearLakeStatePark
#BearLakeMarina
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Last Updated: May 13, 2019.
Bear Lake is one of two main bodies of water left over from the ancient
Lake Bonneville. The other one is Utah Lake.
Bear Lake was formed 28,000 years ago by earthquake activity. It is 20
miles long and eight miles wide. Originally, it was called Black Bear
Lake, by Donald Mackenzie, explorer for the North West Fur Company, who
discovered it in 1819 while scouting for fur-bearing animals. The name
was later shortened to just Bear Lake.
The cool, Caribbean-blue waters of Bear Lake are ideal for waterskiing,
swimming, scuba diving, and sailing. Anglers enjoy year-round fishing
for cutthroat, mackinaw, cisco, and whitefish. Bear Lake State Park
offers three recreation areas: Rendezvous Beach, Bear Lake Marina, and
East Beach.
Bear Lake State Park Rendezvous Beach is named for the famous
rendezvous of trappers and Native Americans held in the summers of
1827 and 1828. A thousand or more Indians and mountain men, including
Jedediah Smith, attended the gatherings.
East Side/Cisco Beach/South Eden/North Eden/First Point: These
primitive areas are located on the east shore approximately ten miles
north of Laketown. The terrain is rocky and the water depth drops off
quickly to 208 feet.
Cisco Beach is famous for its midwinter fishing with dip nets for the
small, seven-inch Bonneville Cisco, a member of the whitefish family.
For a week to 10 days every January, swarms of Cisco come close to the
rocky shore to spawn. They are easily scooped up by hardy fishermen
wading waist-deep in the icy water or through holes in the ice if the
lake is frozen.
Bear Lake is home to
several native species of fish that are not found anywhere else in the
world, including the Bonneville Cisco and the Bear Lake Whitefish, and
the Bear Lake Cutthroat
Trout. The lake is often referred to as Utah's Caribbean, because
of its turquoise blue color. Why is the water so blue? Its beautiful
and unique green-blue color comes from particles of calcium carbonate
(limestone) that are suspended in the water. Bear Lake is currently
listed as one of Utah's flat water 'Blue Ribbon' fisheries.
Bear Lake is located on the Utah/Idaho border north of Cache Valley in
Rich County. Its fishery is managed by both states.
Click here for a list of rules for the State Park.
Fish Species:
Current Regulations:
-
With a valid Utah or Idaho license, you can fish anywhere on Bear
Lake that’s open to fishing with one fishing pole. With the purchase
of a valid Utah or Idaho second pole permit, an angler may fish with
two poles anywhere on Bear Lake that is open to fishing. The second
pole or two-pole permit must be purchased from the state of original
license purchase.
- Dead Bonneville cisco may be used as bait only in Bear Lake
- Hand-held dipnets may be used to take Bonneville cisco, provided
the opening is 18 inches or less in diameter.
- Trout limit 2 fish
- Cutthroat trout and trout with cutthroat markings with all fins
intact must be immediately released. Only cutthroat trout that have
had one or more healed fins clipped may be kept.
- When ice fishing for fish other than cisco, the size of the hole
may not exceed 18 inches.
- Anglers may keep foul hooked Bonneville cisco that are taken
through normal, legal fishing activities.
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A person may not possess a multipoint hook with a weight permanently
or rigidly attached directly to the shank; or a weight suspended
below a multipoint hook unless the hook is on an un-weighted dropper
line that is at least three inches long.
