The Bear Lake valley has a rich, rich history, and so much to explore while vacationing (if you can get away from the lake and trails and everything else the valley offers). We wanted to share a little bit of historic Bear Lake and show you where to visit to explore the early history yourself.
For 12,000 years before the colonization of the western United States, the Bear Lake valley was hunted by multiple Native American tribes, including the Shoshone, Ute, and Bannock tribes. They settled on the banks of the lake during the summer months and hunted in the mountains. They traded with the other Indians and eventually the Canadian trappers when they started trapping there in the early 1800s.
The first white men to arrive in Bear Lake were trappers from the North West Fur Company based out of Montreal, Canada. In 1810, the area was named “Black Bear Lake” by the trapper Donald McKenzie due to the large number of black bears he had found. The name was eventually shortened to “Bear Lake”.
During the years 1827 and 1828, the largest known fur trader-trapper rendezvous of Native Americans in the Rocky Mountains occurred on the Southern shore of Bear Lake. Rendezvous Beach between Garden City and Laketown, Utah was built to honor the memory of these events. The area was nicknamed “Lighted City” during those years because there were so many campfires lit.
During these years, mountain men and explorers were recording the best routes in the area. In 1836, the Whitman-Spalding party established a mission among the Indians in the Oregon Territory and sent word back on the opportunities for settlement. A man named John C. Fremont explored Bear Lake valley in 1842, recoding the mountain peaks, canyons and streams. The combination of these events encouraged many to immigrate west following the trails through the Bear Lake valley.
Just North of Bear Lake, the U.S. Highway #30 North now follows the old Oregon/California Trail, which gained popularity in the 1840s as hundreds of settlers and pioneers moved West. Tourists can visit the National Oregon/California Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho or drive the Oregon Trail Bear Lake Scenic Byway. A trading post owned by Thomas “Pegleg” Smith located near Dingle, Idaho, was a popular stop for the wagon trains to resupply. The homesteaders then followed the Bear River to Fort Hall, Idaho.
In 1863, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prophet, Brigham Young, asked Charles C. Rich to lead church members to the Bear Lake valley to settle, colonizing the following cities:
- Paris, Idaho
- Garden City, Utah (first named Kennedyville)
- Laketown, Utah
- Woodruff, Utah
- Randolph, Utah
A great place to visit for more of this history is the Paris Historic District and Tabernacle. And in 1874, the railroad construction grew Bear Lake communities.
One last fun historical stop is the Butch Cassiday Museum in the historic 1890’s Montpelier Bank. In 1896, Butch Cassidy and his gang robbed the Montpelier bank. They escaped on horseback carrying $7,000 in a burlap sack.
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