You expect a lake to be blue, but turquoise? That's the color of Bear Lake, the 20-mile-long body of water that straddles the Idaho-Utah border.



Water Sports
All that inviting water is hard to resist. Swimmers will enjoy a two-mile-long beach on the north end of the lake, plus a 1-1/2 mile beach on the east side. The gradual slope of the lake bottom provides an enormous swimming area. Ramps are available for boaters and water skiers who want to enjoy the water, too. Anglers can try for a native cutthroat or lake trout in the summer. In the winter, they can come back with buckets and nets when the Bonneville cisco run. The fish is found nowhere else on Earth.

Wildlife
The Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located at the north end of the park. The 17,600 acres of marsh, open water and grasslands provide nesting for mallard, pintail and canvasback ducks, as well as sand hill cranes, herons, egrets, Canada geese and white pelicans.

Camping
You can RV or tent camp at Bear Lake.

Tips
Ask park rangers about nearby Minnetonka Cave, operated by the US Forest Service.