April 2018 – Bear Lake is a stunning lake in northern Utah that shimmers in gorgeous shades of turquoise, and the drive to get there via Logan Pass is truly dramatic.

Heading north towards Logan Pass and Bear Lake we drove into this view – Wow!

In late April the mountains behind the pretty farmlands were still covered with snow.

Beautiful scenery on the way to Bear Lake.

.

As we crested the summit of Logan Pass, it started to get foggy, and the snow crept close to the road. Soon we were driving between snow drifts.

Approaching the summit of Logan Pass fog rolled in and we saw more and more snow.

Snow drifts and fog at the top of Logan Pass!

So, when we descended the far side of the pass and the fog began to lift and the snow vanished, it was a fabulous shock when Bear Lake suddenly burst into view. Wow!!

After all that snowy scenery, the bright blue of Bear Lake was a wonderful suprise.

As the sun and clouds played hide and seek, the lake changed shades of aquamarine and a rich blue.

Caribbean turquoise in the Rockies!

.

Bear Lake is immensely popular in the summertime, and the communities along the shore are filled with ice cream shops and burger joints. But when we were there it felt like we had the lake to ourselves. The village of Laketown at the south end of the lake was really quiet and none of the summertime shops were open.

The reflections of snowy mountains shimmer on the surface of Bear Lake.

Long after a solitary boat passes, waves ripple in towards shore.

There were a few fishing boats out on the water, and a kayak paddled by a family of ducks.

.

The ducks were unusual looking.

Now THAT’s a hairdo!!

We heard the haunting cry of loons and then spotted them floating around on the lake.

We heard the loons first and then saw them drift past.

A loon shakes the water out of his feathers.

One day we drove around the lake and marveled at the beauty. Farms and occasional homes grace the shore.

The drive around Bear Lake was beautiful

Waterfront living with the cows grazing out back… Wow!

.

One house really caught our eye. It was the home from the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe! We stopped and took a long look and noticed that the walls were painted with murals of nursery rhymes. Jack’s Beanstalk ran right up the back of the shoe!

“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…” Who knew she lived on Bear Lake in Utah?!

Farm and ranch land runs right down to the shore of Bear Lake, and as we drove with the windows down Buddy hung out the window to get a good look at the cows we passed.

Buddy checks out a cow…

…and leans over for a better look!

Early spring can bring some crazy weather, and the lake was quite rough at times. We loved the jade green hues in the curl of the waves.

The color in each wave just before it broke was delicious.

As the sun set, the sky lit up over the mountains.

The sky was on fire at sunset.

Mark put his camera down on the ground to capture a dramatic image of waves breaking on the shore with the sun setting behind the mountains. When we looked at it later we both said, “No need to go Iceland for a shot like this… We’ve got it all right here in Utah!”

Wow!

Where we had fire in the sky with a bright orange sunset one night, on another afternoon the day slipped away into pastel shades of pink, peach and lavender that reflected in the undulating water.

Shades of pink, peach and lavender in the sky and on the water.

.

On a few occasions the water was perfectly calm, and Buddy just loved wading out in it.

.

Bear Lake is incredibly photogenic, and we had a lot of fun just watching the lake transform before our eyes as we snapped pics here and there.

Mark is in his element taking photos from the shore.

In early Spring the weather varied from ideal sunny days to blustery cold days to freezing rainy days. For photography they were all sublime!

.

During the day we captured some wonderful images of seagulls landing in the water and taking off again. As night fell the birds all flew off to roost. A lone duck made his way across the water in the last light of sunset.

Good night, Bear Lake.

At night the sky was brilliantly clear. Before the moon rose, the stars were especially bright, and we loved seeing the stars of Orion before the constellation slipped over the far horizon.

The stars of Orion (four outer ones and three in his belt across his waist) watch over the lake.

If you are traveling through northern Utah, Bear Lake is well worth visiting. The few campers we saw pre-season told stories of how lively and fun it is for families come mid-summer, but even if you get there a few months before or after the warm weather months, it is a great RV destination.

Subscribe
Never miss a post — it’s free!

More info about Bear Lake:

• Campgrounds near and on Bear Lake
• Map of Logan to Bear Lake Scenic Drive

Other blog posts from Northern Utah:

• Utah – Off the Beaten Path…then FURTHER Off the Beaten Path!
• Bear Lake, Utah – A Turquoise Paradise in Snowy Mountains
• Utah Back Roads – Lakeside RVing Near Salt Lake City
• Escapod Teardrop Trailers – Rugged Campers for Off-Road Adventure!
• Strawberry Reservoir, Utah – Springtime Beauty with Ice & Snow!
• Dinosaur National Monument, UT – More than fossilized dinosaur bones!
• Vernal, UT – Colorful Gateway to Dinosaur National Monument
• Flaming Gorge Utah – Fiery canyons, a cool river, and nearly tame bighorn sheep
• Bear Lake, UT – The Caribbean of the Rockies
• Mirror Lake Scenic Byway Utah – Fishing and Fun!
• Provo Canyon & Alpine Loop Scenic Byways in Utah
• Logan Pass, Bear Lake, Mt. Nephi, & Cedar City, Utah
• Flaming Gorge Utah – Vibrant Hues

Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the MENU.   New to this site? Visit RVers Start Here to find where we keep all the good stuff. Also check out our COOL NEW GEAR STORE!! *** CLICK HERE *** to see it!

<-Previous || Next->

April 2018 – We left Goblin Valley State Park with big smiles on our faces, but a layer of sand covered everything in the RV! It was time to get away from the dusty desert.

Starvation Reservoir, Utah. Windy, but not dusty!

The fun thing about getting away from the red rock hot spots that are so popular in Spring and going into the greener, more mountainous areas that are filled with RVers come summer, is that we can get ahead of the crowds.

As we headed towards northern Utah, we found ourselves so far ahead of the season that at the interestingly named Starvation Reservoir one campsite’s picnic table was awash in waves!

Pre-season camping sometimes involves unusual situations like waves breaking over the picnic table!

But it was at Strawberry Reservoir where we found true beauty and solitude. This fabulous and enormous lake is surrounded by campgrounds that are filled with weekenders and vacationers in the summer, but when we arrived in April all we found was closed campgrounds and a vast sheet of snow covered ice!

Strawberry Reservoir was completely iced over with snow on top!

Strawberry Reservoir, Utah – The whole lake was iced over.

.

.

It was absolutely beautiful, and we did a slow drive all through the park. The roads weren’t all open, so we had to turn around before seeing everything, but how cool it was to be the only souls there.

.

.

The ice was melting along the shoreline, creating beautiful patterns of white and blue.

There was a thin strip of by the shore.

.

.

Despite the melting ice by the shoreline, there was snow on the mountains and a wonderfully brisk chill in the sun-filled air.

.

.

.

Some herons and other water birds were fishing at the shore.

Birds fish by the shore.

And a brave ice fisherman was set up at a fishing hole carved through the ice in one of the coves!

An ice fisherman waits patiently by a hole in the ice.

There are boating and camping facilities along the shores of Strawberry Lake, and we drove down to Strawberry Bay Marina. There wasn’t anyone around, although the buildings looked like they must be full of life and activity in the summertime.

The floating docks had been pulled up into the parking lot for the winter. and Buddy hopped up on them and had a look around.

These docks will be floating in the lake soon.

At the Strawberry Reservoir Visitor’s Center there’s a nice little nature trail on a boardwalk that runs alongside the Strawberry River and crosses it a few times on the way to a fish hatchery. The Visitor’s Center wasn’t open, and when we first took a look in the morning, the boardwalk was covered frost.

The boardwalk on the nature trail was frosted over when we first stopped by.

When we returned a little later, the frost had melted and we took a walk through some very pretty scenery.

Frost-free by afternoon, we enjoyed this brief elevated nature walk.

Several bridges crossed the Strawberry River.

There wasn’t a soul around, and the fish holding pens at the fish hatchery had been drained for winter. But then we noticed a car parked in a dirt lot and saw a fellow emerge from a doorway. It turned out he was a Fisheries Biologist who works at the reservoir year round studying the fish and managing the stock.

We had a fascinating conversation about fish and fish management, and he described the long term study he had been working on.

.

It struck me that this isn’t a bad place to work collecting fish lifestyle data and helping the fish thrive, even if it is a little remote and very cold in mid-winter!

There are three primary fish species in Strawberry Reservoir that live at different depths: Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon.

I was surprised to learn that, when they are ready, the fish migrate out of the reservoir and up the Strawberry River towards the hatchery at night rather than during the day. When they sense the electric field of an electric fence they make the turn that takes them into the hatchery!

Spawning fish swim up the Strawberry River overnight and are then guided to the fish hatchery.

Bushes in the landscape all around the Strawberry River and Reservoir were a beautiful golden hue, and the Fisheries Biologist explained that these were willows that had been planted in huge numbers all around the area to help with erosion.

.

Willows planted to stave off erosion erupt in golden tones in the afternoon.

What we loved was the way these willows lit up our photos. What gorgeous colors!

.

Strawberry Reservoir is undoubtedly a fantastic Utah destination to visit for boating and fishing during the warmer months of summer. And even though it’s 7,200′ elevation makes it slow to warm up in the Spring, it is still well worth a stop to see the beauty of the lake when it is iced over and the surrounding mountains are covered in snow!

It wasn’t camping season yet, but our stop at Utah’s Strawberry Reservoir was very rewarding!

Subscribe
Never miss a post — it’s free!

More info about Strawberry Reservoir:

• Strawberry Reservoir Fishing Info – Dept of Natural Resources in Utah
• Strawberry Bay Marina – Official Website
• Strawberry Bay Campground – Reservations
• Location of Starvation and Strawberry Reservoirs – Interactive Google Maps

Another fun fish encounter we bumped into:

The Salmon Festival in Stanley, Idaho – A neat celebration of all things salmon, about halfway down the post.

Other blog posts from northern Utah:

• Bear Lake, UT – The Caribbean of the Rockies
• Bear Lake, Utah – A Turquoise Paradise in Snowy Mountains
• Dinosaur National Monument, UT – More than fossilized dinosaur bones!
• Escapod Teardrop Trailers – Rugged Campers for Off-Road Adventure!
• Flaming Gorge Utah – Fiery canyons, a cool river, and nearly tame bighorn sheep
• Flaming Gorge Utah – Vibrant Hues
• Logan Pass, Bear Lake, Mt. Nephi, & Cedar City, Utah
• Mirror Lake Scenic Byway Utah – Fishing and Fun!
• Provo Canyon & Alpine Loop Scenic Byways in Utah
• Strawberry Reservoir, Utah – Springtime Beauty with Ice & Snow!
• Utah – Off the Beaten Path…then FURTHER Off the Beaten Path!
• Utah Back Roads – Lakeside RVing Near Salt Lake City
• Vernal, UT – Colorful Gateway to Dinosaur National Monument

Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the MENU.   New to this site? Visit RVers Start Here to find where we keep all the good stuff. Also check out our COOL NEW GEAR STORE!! *** CLICK HERE *** to see it!

<-Previous || Next->