Bear Lake Level & Beach Access Information

Bear Lake Level & Beach Access Info

The low lake level means many new opportunities for recreation at Bear Lake. Low water means more beach to have fun on. Not everything bad comes from being in a drought cycle! The lake is still 20 miles long and 8 miles wide, meaning there is over 150 square miles of beautiful, pristine aqua blue water to play on. The lake is over 200 feet deep and has only lost 18 feet, so unless we have a drought every year for another 50 years, there will always be plenty of water for recreation at Bear Lake.

Starting in 2002 the driving of vehicles, including ATV's, has been permitted on the most of the beach areas around the lake to access the water. You can also launch personal watercraft and small boats yourself, but is not recommended due to the damage water can cause to your vehicle and the risk of getting stuck. A better option is to use a tractor to launch your boat. There are many commercial tractor boat launching facilities available around the lake. Map

For driving on the beach, there are just a few simple rules to follow:

Maximum speed limit is 15 mph
No vehicles are allowed to drive or park within 100 feet of the water, except for launching
No camping or parking between 10pm and 5am
The purpose of driving on the beach should be to access the water, not to cruise up and down the beach.
Certain areas of the lake may be posted "CLOSED"
To access the beach across private land, you must have permission. There are many public access points also. Map
Do not leave any litter

Suggestions for driving on the beach:

Watch out for soft sand or areas that contain "white clay". The clay is next to impossible to get out of. Tow trucks cost $100+. Only drive where others have driven (as long as it's not in the white clay). Most of the time you can get unstuck from normal sand yourself by deflating the air from all four tires on your vehicle to 10-15 psi, even if you have a two-wheel drive. If you don't have a guage, the tires should look fairly pudgy, but not totally flat. It may take a couple of minutes for each tire to deflate depending on the size. Deflating the tires increases its footprint by 250%, or basically like having 10 tires instead of 4. This really works good in the sand! After getting un-stuck, be sure to inflate your tires to their normal pressure as soon as you get back on the road, usually to 30-50psi depending on your vehicle. The tire will have the normal psi written on it, or it will be printed in the door jam of your car. Drive slowly and carefully until you can re-inflate your tires. You can also deflate your tires to prevent from getting stuck in the first place or as an extra precaution when launching watercraft.
Do not drive too close to the homes along the beach. Even though their property ends at the high water mark, please respect their privacy. The privilege to drive on the beach (state land) is reviewed each year and can be taken away at any time.

Currently the only place to launch watercraft at the lake using a cement ramp is at the newly expanded Utah State Marina in Garden City. You can launch anywhere on the beach however at your own risk. There are also plenty of tractor to launch your boat around the lake. Map

If you would like to ride watercraft at Bear Lake but don't want to deal with launching, we offer four on-site rental locations where we have personal watercraft and boats in the water ready to go for your convenience.