Bear Lake's Rendezvous Beach

Bear Lake State Park is a state park of Utah, USA, along the shore of Bear Lake on the Idaho 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. Rendezvous Beach is named for the historic rendezvous of fur trappers and Native Americans held during the summers of 1827 and 1828. A thousand or more Native Americans and mountain men, including Jedediah Smith, 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-mile-long (2.01 km) recreation area with 220 campsites, along with restrooms, showers, and utility hookups. It is a popular area for large gatherings such as family reunions.