5-day itinerary
Cache Valley & Bear Lake Highlights Tour
Explore Cache Valley and Bear Lake in five days
- Length
- 5 days · 10 sights
- Pace
- Moderate
- Estimated cost
- $428 per person
- Based in
- Cache Valley & Bear Lake
Day by day
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Day 1: Logan and Cache Valley History
Arrive in Logan and spend the day on Cache Valley's pioneer heritage and its historic downtown.
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10:00
Start at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, about 15 minutes south of Logan: a living-history farm with pioneer-era buildings, heritage livestock and seasonal demonstrations. Check the season before you go; its main programs run from late spring to fall.
About 2 hours
-
12:30
Lunch in Downtown Logan
Lunch at a Main Street cafe.
About 60 min
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14:00
Downtown Logan and USU
Walk Logan's Main Street and Center Street, past the 1891 Logan Tabernacle, then up the hill for the view of the Logan Utah Temple and the Wellsville Mountains across Cache Valley. Finish on the Utah State University campus for the valley view and Aggie Ice Cream.
About 2 hours
- Meals:
- Breakfast at Hotel or local cafe; Lunch at Downtown Logan; Dinner at Downtown Logan
- Where to stay:
- Stay in Logan, which has the region's widest choice of hotels.
- Getting around:
- Most visitors fly into Salt Lake City and drive about 1.5 hours north on I-15 and US-89/91.
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10:00
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Day 2: Logan Canyon to Bear Lake
Hike in Logan Canyon, visit Tony Grove Lake, then cross the summit to Bear Lake.
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09:00
Hike the Wind Cave Trail, about 5 miles up Logan Canyon on US-89. The trail climbs roughly 1,000 feet in under 2 miles to the China Wall, a set of eroded limestone arches and hollows with views down the canyon. Start early in summer; there is little shade.
About 2.5 hours
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12:00
Picnic in Logan Canyon
Picnic by the Logan River; pack food in Logan.
About 60 min
-
13:30
Turn off US-89 about 19 miles up the canyon and follow the paved side road to Tony Grove Lake at around 8,000 feet, a glacial lake under the limestone cliffs of the Mount Naomi Wilderness. The road is closed by snow from late fall to late spring; July brings the wildflowers.
About 2 hours
-
16:30
Continue on US-89 over Bear Lake Summit (about 7,800 feet) and stop at the overlook above Garden City, where the lake's turquoise colour, from suspended limestone particles, is clearest.
About 60 min
- Meals:
- Breakfast at Logan; Lunch at Logan Canyon picnic area; Dinner at Garden City
- Where to stay:
- Stay in Garden City or elsewhere in the Bear Lake Valley for the next two nights; summer weekends book out early.
- Getting around:
- Logan to Garden City is about 40 miles on US-89, roughly an hour. Tony Grove Road is seasonal.
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09:00
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Day 3: Bear Lake
A lake day on Bear Lake's west and south shores.
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09:30
Start at the state park marina just north of Garden City for paddleboard, kayak or boat rentals on the lake.
About 3 hours
-
12:30
Lunch and a Raspberry Shake in Garden City
Lunch in Garden City and a raspberry shake, the town's signature, made from the local berry crop that peaks in late July and August.
About 60 min
-
14:00
Spend the afternoon on the wide sandy beach on the lake's south shore near Laketown, named for the fur trappers' rendezvous held here in 1827 and 1828. The shallow water warms by late summer.
About 3 hours
- Meals:
- Breakfast at Garden City; Lunch at Garden City; Dinner at Garden City
- Where to stay:
- Second night in the Bear Lake Valley.
- Getting around:
- Rendezvous Beach is about 20 minutes south of Garden City on SR-30.
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09:30
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Day 4: East Shore and Brigham City
Morning on the quieter east shore, then back through Logan Canyon to Brigham City.
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09:00
Drive to Cisco Beach on the rocky east shore, where the lake drops off quickly. It is known for winter cisco netting and is quieter than the west side in summer.
About 2 hours
-
13:30
Lunch in Brigham City
Lunch on Main Street in Brigham City.
About 60 min
-
14:30
See the Box Elder Tabernacle on Main Street, a stone pioneer meetinghouse rebuilt after an 1896 fire, with its tall white spires.
About 60 min
-
15:45
Brigham City Museum of Art and History
Local history and changing art exhibits a few blocks from the tabernacle.
About 75 min
- Meals:
- Breakfast at Garden City; Lunch at Brigham City; Dinner at Brigham City
- Where to stay:
- Stay in Brigham City, or in Logan (30 minutes away).
- Getting around:
- Cisco Beach to Brigham City is about 2.5 hours back over Logan Canyon and through Sardine Canyon on US-89/91.
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09:00
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Day 5: Golden Spike and Spiral Jetty
The west side of Box Elder County: the railroad history site and the land art on the Great Salt Lake.
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09:00
Golden Spike National Historical Park
Drive about 45 minutes west to Promontory Summit, where the first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. Replica locomotives run on summer days, and the visitor center explains the race between the two railroads.
About 2 hours
-
11:30
Continue about 15 miles on gravel roads to Robert Smithson's 1970 earthwork on the lake's north arm. At low water the basalt spiral sits on white salt flats; the water often runs pink from salt-loving microbes. No services, so carry water and fuel up beforehand.
About 1.5 hours
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13:30
Lunch in Brigham City
Late lunch back in Brigham City before heading south.
About 60 min
- Meals:
- Breakfast at Brigham City; Lunch at Brigham City
- Where to stay:
- Departure day.
- Getting around:
- The Spiral Jetty road is gravel and usually fine for cars in dry weather; avoid it after heavy rain. Brigham City to Salt Lake City airport is about an hour on I-15.
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09:00
