This post may contain affiliate links.
Bear lake, in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho, is a great spring and summer vacation spot. The water there is really amazing, for one thing. But there aren’t a lot of options on where to stay. No hotels, for example. There are some condominiums that you can rent, there are some public campgrounds a ways away from the lake, and even a KOA. The closest city is Logan, UT, some 40 miles away. But if you have an RV, you can opt to stay at Blue Water Resort.
We made a last minute call on Friday, and were promised a site by the friendly staff. This was in spite of there being a bike race that weekend. We got there and checked in with no fuss, and were offered our choice of full or partial hookup RV sites. We chose one closest to the lake. Sadly, it rained pretty much the entire time we were there, but we did manage to get out and take a few pictures.
There seem to be reasonable fitness opportunities for sure. The bike race going on the same day traveled on a 50 mile circuit around the lake. I’ve done that ride before and it’s beautiful. If you don’t feel like tackling a 50 mile road ride, there is a dedicated bike path, separate from traffic, that runs pretty much the whole length of town, and it runs right by the front entrance. Nearby is the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, with plenty of hiking and sightseeing opportunities. And of course, there’s the lake – if you’ve got the equipment to head out on the lake, it’s fabulous.
We didn’t, however, see much in the way of “traditional” fitness nearby. There were no gyms, no workout rooms at the resort. There was one public park in town, but that seemed to be it. Even so, I’m rating it a bit above average for fitness, just because I like that ride so much, and because of the bike path.
The facilities at Blue Water were clean, but a bit lacking. The roads in the RV park aren’t paved, for example, and due to the rain while we were there, they got quite muddy. The sites are also not paved, not even with gravel – you just park on the grass. This was fine for us in a class B, but you would certainly want to use some kind of jack pad or something if you were going to use leveling jacks, or else you might sink in. Water pressure was fine, there was 30 amp service, which met our needs, and a sewer connection (which wasn’t covered, strangely, so be careful if you go walking about in the grass…). There was WiFi offered, but it did not seem to reach our campsite. There was also a hot tub, but it was still covered and inoperative while we were there in May. There was a playground and a main bathroom available. Finally, there is also a dock and Jet Ski rentals – though since it was 45 degrees and raining, they weren’t operating that day. Cell phones worked, and we were able to get low-bandwidth data connections. Over-The-Air Television however, was unavailable.
The staff told us we were still there in the off season, and that it’s much busier in the summer. They may roll out additional amenities during their peak season.
It seems that a number of sites might be meant for tent campers. There are also condos and other rental accommodations around. So if you are looking for an exclusive RV experience, keep that in mind. Especially during peak season.
As far as value goes, I’d have to say they were on the money. We paid $35 plus tax for our full hookup site right near the water. Had we paid more, I would have expected working hot tubs and WiFi, etc. But we didn’t, and in the end, the $35 was about right. What they lack in top notch facilities, they more than make up for in location and super-friendly staff.
And again – if you can hack it, the bike ride around the lake is awesome.
