Is Bear Lake dangerously overcrowded this summer?
Some people think so. And while many locals would beg to differ — especially business owners — one thing is clear: The COVID-19 pandemic has done nothing to hurt tourism at the popular lake straddling the Utah-Idaho border and might even be boosting it. Beaches are busy throughout the week, campsites are full, boats are out in force and seasonal workers are handing the area’s iconic raspberry shakes through walk-up windows as fast as they can whip them up.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and there’s probably as many people up here as I’ve ever seen, I mean steadily,” said Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey. “My opinion about the crowds, and I don’t have anything to back this up, is that the media is talking about there not being COVID up here, and also some of the other tourist places may be partially shut down. Airline tickets are harder to get, and so I think people are coming here to enjoy themselves, which is a good thing, but that brings with it its own problems, and one of those problems is crowdedness.” Read the rest of the story here on HJnews.com.
This story is part of a content sharing agreement between The Herald Journal and Utah Public Radio.
