Bear Lake State Park is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 of Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, USA, along the shore of Bear Lake on the Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

 border. It offers three recreation areas: Rendezvous Beach, Bear Lake Marina, and East Beach. The park also hosts many annual events, such as a Mountain Man Rendezvous and Bear Lake Raspberry Days.

Recreational activities include waterskiing, swimming, scuba diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

, and sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

. Anglers enjoy year-round fishing for cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout

The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

, mackinaw trout, Bonneville cisco

Bonneville cisco

The Bonneville cisco is a species of cisco endemic to Bear Lake along the Utah-Idaho border, USA. It is one of three species of whitefish endemic to Bear Lake, the others being the Bear Lake whitefish and the Bonneville whitefish....

, and whitefish

Freshwater whitefish

The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...

.

Rendezvous Beach

Rendezvous Beach is named for the historic rendezvous of fur trappers and Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 held during the summers of 1827 and 1828. A thousand or more Native Americans and mountain men, including Jedediah Smith

Jedediah Smith

Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...

, attended these gatherings. There were so many campfires at the south end of the lake at these trading sessions that one observer called the area "a lighted city."

Today Rendezvous Beach is a 1.25 miles (2 km) recreation area with 220 campsites, along with restrooms, showers, and utility hookups. It is a popular area for large gatherings such as family reunion

Family reunion

A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....

s. A local business rents small boats and personal water craft

Personal water craft

A personal water craft , also called water scooter, is a recreational watercraft that the rider rides or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat....

.

Bear Lake Marina

Bear Lake Marina provides a sheltered harbor, an 80 feet (24.4 m)-wide concrete boat ramp, boat slips, 13 campsites, restrooms, and showers. There is also a visitor center, along with a business renting boats and selling fishing and boating supplies.