Now that Bear Lake has officially defrosted from its record breaking winter, it’s time to remind ourselves that the summer season makes it all worth it! For instance, the days where you can start your mornings in the beautiful mountains on the endless trails there are for hiking, ATV, and horseback riding. Then spending the rest of the day cooling off and relaxing on the sandy beaches of Bear Lake. “The best of both worlds” is what the locals like to call this paradise.
To find a printed map of the accessible trails in the area, you can visit our Ranger District office in the town of Montpelier. The Bear Lake Forest Service also specially offers an interactive map on their website that allows you to explore camp sites, hiking trails, and fishing areas.
Visitor Maps are also available on the website for each national forest and grassland area. They provide forest-wide information on attractions, facilities, services, and opportunities. These maps are available to purchase from individual forests and many retail outlets. The most comprehensive source for maps is the US Geological Survey. Forest Visitor Maps are also available on mobile technology through the Avenza Map Store. These maps DO NOT show all existing Forest Service roads. For a map that shows the most up to date road and motorized trail information see the information on obtaining a Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM).”
Bear Lake is once again open water but there is still a significant amount of ice floating around on the lake. Depending on wind direction, the ice could push up along the east shoreline and make launching/retrieving your boat difficult. As of today, there is access at both the First Point and Rainbow Cove ramps and courtesy docks are in place at both locations. The state park marina is free of ice. If you do go out, be careful of floating chunks of ice that may be as thick as 6” and can damage your boat if you hit them going fast.
Fishing for cutthroat trout, lake trout and whitefish has been very good to excellent for anglers who have ventured out. Jigging has been working the best, but anglers are picking up fish trolling as well. If you are jigging, use tube jigs or swim baits in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long for trout. Tip them with a piece of cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows and fish the jigs right on the bottom. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse. If you are fishing for whitefish, use a 1/8-1/4 ounce jig or a vertical jigging spoon such as Swedish Pimples or Kastmasters. Try tipping them with a salmon egg, maggot nightcrawler. Hot spots have been on the “rockpile” in 45-65’ of water, so move around until you find active fish. Also try off the weeds beds south of Gus Rich Point, at the pump house and between 1st and 2nd Points. Start in about 25’ of water and keep moving out until you catch fish.
If you are trolling try using rapalas in F9-F13 sizes and also with a dodger/squid combination along Cisco Beach in 30’ and deeper depths. We received several reports from anglers who did very well the past few days.
Some anglers have been casting from shore or long lining off Cisco Beach and have been catching a few cutthroat trout. The fishing should remain good in these locations for the remainder of the winter. Cast large (#5-#6) spinners (such as Mepps or Blue Fox) or spoons and let the lure sink and try to retrieve it where it is running close to the bottom. Large articulated flies in white rabbit fur or a sculpin pattern will also work for those anglers using fly fishing equipment.
Remember the trout limit is two fish and the whitefish limit is 10. Cutthroat trout with a healed fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large lake trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
Snowshoeing is another great way to explore the area’s numerous trails on foot and get in a decent workout. The trails within Logan Canyon are ideal for snowshoeing because most of the trails are closed to snowmobiles, providing a more peaceful experience. A popular snowshoeing route starts at Bunchgrass Creek trailhead, which follows the creek bed for 4 miles until it reaches the White Pine Canyon Junction, or for 9 miles until White Pine Lake. However, most people just snowshoe the 3-mile out-and-back for a more leisurely outing. On weekends from January to mid-March, the Cache Hikers meet up at Smith’s Marketplace parking lot in Logan at 10 a.m. for winter snowshoe trips. Joining this group is a great way to discover new trails and learn more about the area from knowledgeable locals. Snowshoe rentals are available at Epic Recreation in Garden City or at the Stokes Nature Center in Logan, where day rentals are $5 and weekend rentals are $12.
Winter opens the skiing and snowboarding season at our two excellent regional ski resorts. Beaver Mountain Ski Resort in nearby Logan Canyon and Pine Creek Ski Resort outside of Cokeville, Wyoming are located within an hour’s travel time from any place in the Bear Lake valley.
Avoid those long lift lines and expensive major resort prices. Come and discover the great snow in the Bear Lake area!
The Bear Lake valley and its surrounding mountain ranges have over 350 miles of groomed snowmobile trails and wide open play areas with no crowds and no fences! There are many connecting groomed trails that take you by spectacular wonders.
Southeast Idaho Interactive Snowmobile Trail Map
Northeast Utah Interactive Snowmobile Trail Maps
You may discover a cascading winter waterfall or follow an almost-frozen stream. You may even catch a glimpse of a wintering elk or moose! Off the groomed trails, you can seemingly drive forever in wide opens places or climb the mountains for a spectacular view of turquoise Bear Lake and the surrounding hillsides. The snowmobile season starts in late November and extends into April. The variety of terrain and spectacular scenery offers snowmobilers of all ability levels the chance to find challenges and fun!
Bear Lake has received significant snow in the last week, but boat ramps continue to be plowed and sanded. As of today there are large sheets of ice floating on the north, west and south ends of the lake, which is making boating/fishing difficult. However, this can change in a matter of hours if there is any wind. Launching access is available at the Utah State Park marina and Rainbow Cove Ramps (no dock at this location). The First Point ramp is not accessible to do ice on the lake at this time. Please note there is NO ice for ice fishing!
Bonneville Cisco are being caught from boats off the “rockpile” area and also off the area just outside the Utah State Park Marina. You should also be able to jig Cisco off the weed beds south of Gus Rich Point as well as the Pump House area (if there isn’t too much ice preventing access). We have not seen any Cisco at Cisco Beach as of this morning, but a few anglers are beginning to dipnet some Cisco off the Utah State Park Marina. We expect Cisco to show up along Cisco Beach any day. Dipnetting success will depend on the weather: if it is calm anglers should be able to do well; if it is windy it will be difficult to dipnet any fish.
Fishing for cutthroat trout and lake trout has been good for few anglers who have been able to get out. Jigging has been working well. If you are jigging, use tube jigs or swim baits in ½ to 1 ounce sizes and 3-6” long. Tip them with a piece of Cisco, sucker meat or Gulp minnows and fish the jigs right on the bottom. Reliable colors are white, green and chartreuse. Hot spots have been on the “rockpile” in 45-65’ of water, so move around until you find active fish.
Due to ice sheets on the lake the only area open to trolling has been on the east side along Cisco Beach. Troll with Rapalas in F9-F13 sizes and Dodgers with a squid or whole Cisco. Try staring at 45-65’ and run your lures just off the bottom, but cutthroat and lake trout can be found suspended at this time of year, so pay attention to your sonar and try to target these suspended fish as well as those that are along the bottom.
Some anglers have been casting from shore off Cisco Beach and have been catching a few cutthroat trout. The fishing should remain good in these locations for the remainder of the winter. Cast large (#5-#6) spinners (such as Mepps or Blue Fox) or spoons and let the lure sink and try to retrieve it where it is running close to the bottom. Large articulated flies in white rabbit fur or a sculpin pattern will also work for those anglers using fly fishing equipment.
Remember the trout limit is two fish, the Cisco limit is 30, and the whitefish limit is 10. Cutthroat trout with a healed fin clip may be kept; cutthroat trout with all fins intact must be immediately released. Large lake trout take a long time to reach large sizes, and while they are legal to keep, many anglers are encouraging other anglers to release them.
