Bear Lake Monster Winterfest
The best part of the annual January morning cookout at Bear Lake? “The Cisco!” says 8-year-old Annie
The Bonneville
There is a history to the Cisco run.
- Approximately 100 people “dressed to impress” entered the water as part of the Bear Lake Monster Plunge.
- On Saturday morning, near the end of the January, those willing to brave the cold gather at Bear Lake’s Cisco Beach to catch and fry the Bonneville Cisco, found only in Bear Lake.
- The Bear Lake Monster Winterfest is named for the Bear Lake Monster, a myth that dates to the mid-19th Century.
- At the Chili Cookoff, contestants prepare chili for Winterfest attendees using beef, deer, elk, and moose meat or some combination thereof.

The story goes something like this: Once upon a time, a few adventurous souls from the Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah State Parks gathered on a cold winter morning in waders to dip their fishing nets, catch and fry a handful of these Bear Lake edibles. The next year there were a few more, and others after
Named by the late KSL Outdoors host, Doug Miller, “Cisco Disco” describes the scene of the event — dozens of people, standing next to a frozen lake on a mid-winter morning, trying to stave off hypothermia as they await their fried food. Today, I am one of 200 or so “dancing” on the shore of Cisco Beach, dressed in my ill-fitting waders and felt-soled boots. I’m traveling with photographer Jim Urquhart, who is interested in capturing a few shots of netted Cisco emerging from the water, so he heads toward the lake. Unfortunately, in an odd bit of irony, the Cisco

Fortunately, organizers caught plenty of Cisco in advance of the Disco to ensure plenty of food for the Saturday morning event. Scott Tolentino,
No longer is it just fried fish at the Cisco Disco, however. Ralph Blotter, a retired DWR conservation officer, added scones several years back — his own secret recipe. Lee Gyllenskog, former park manager at Hyrum State Park, makes the honey butter for the scones, and together — well, let’s just say I ate too many.
In the early 90s, Blotter’s close friend, Andy
Of Bear Lake Monsters and Men
Bear Lake is more known as a summer hotspot. “The whole population of the county is about 2,000. In the summertime, however, it becomes 30-40,000,” says Bobbie Coray, editor of the Rich County Civic Times and a former president of the Cache Chamber of Commerce. Coray moved from Logan to the Bear Lake Valley after her husband retired from the Utah State University Mathematics Department. “I was spending more time here than I was in Logan. So, so we moved over here in 2006,” she says. Coray, whose husband passed away last year, has sought to enhance the Bear Lake area, like helping to get the local library built. “I’m one of those people that get involved with the community,” she says.
Once summer ends, visits to Bear Lake begin to tail off. “I think the tourist bureaus have [an opportunity] because we have absolutely fantastic falls,” says Bryce Nielsen, a former mayor of Garden City and retired DWR fisheries biologist. “The month with the least amount of wind at Bear Lake
Holiday rentals can really fill up, and there are the die-hards who attend the Disco year-in and year-out, but winter at Bear Lake is comparatively slow.
It is not an uncommon sentiment, and such was the thinking of the Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau when they hatched the idea for the Bear Lake Monster Winterfest.
The Bear Lake … monster?
The Bear Lake Monster has over a century-long legacy, which seems an obvious allusion to the Loch Ness Monster. The tale originated in the 19th century and was reportedly based on
Many of my own memories at Bear Lake include tales of the Monster, which we would occasionally see, always for a fleeting moment. Invariably a parent, mine or that of a friend, was happy to devise a new story about the creature. Those memories have taken on a “Lake Wobegon” quality for me. Learning to waterski on the glassy, clear water of an early summer morning; swimming to wood rafts anchored 20 yards offshore then lying under the sun, waiting for a boat to return; catching crawdads in the rocks at the marina, or flies in a jar at the cabin; attending community plays at Pickleville Playhouse; sleeping on a cot under the stars and picking raspberries.
Bear Lake has a fairytale kind of way about it.

Taking the Plunge
But Winter in Bear Lake has a similar capacity to create memory-making experiences. For years, the Cisco Disco had been drawing crowds to the lake in the winter. The Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau reasoned that they could build on this — add a social, a chili cookoff, perhaps a polar plunge-type event and some vendors. In 2018, the Bear Lake Monster Winterfest marked its ninth year, and it continues to grow.
Back at the Garden City Marina, the Winterfest festivities are in full swing.
Near the dock, a group of individuals
The Conks are using the moose. “Brian is the heater, and I’m the sweeter,” says Emily, who entered the chili cookoff together with her husband. There’s a trick to the sweeter, says Brian. “You let it cook almost all the way down, and then,” he pauses, “you put peaches in it.” The heater, he says, has habanero garlic, pickled by a friend’s grandmother in Colorado.
Each participant has cups for sampling, and a tip jar for the public to choose their favorites. The tips and other proceeds from the Winterfest the year I visited went to Common Ground Outdoor Adventures, a Logan-based charity. Lindsey and Brittney Wahlberg, sisters from Garden City, are the winners of the 2018 chili cookoff and take home a gift certificate to Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Meanwhile, prep for the Monster Plunge is underway.
“It’s probably 30 degrees warmer outside than it was a year ago,” says Glen Gillies, a sort of “do everything’” rodeo announcer/host/auctioneer. Gillies is the undeniable king of Movember: He wears a Yosemite Sam mustache that reaches his chest — an accessory to his rugged persona. Gillies, who hails from Malad, Idaho, has come to MC the Bear Lake Monster Winterfest, which includes announcing contest winners and color commentary for the Monster Plunge.
“Jay the cowboy, you’re gonna start us off,” he says, as Jay makes his way toward the water. Through throngs of spectators, 95 brave souls queue up at the edge of the dock. Group by group, dressed in full regalia, they gladly add their names to prior rolls of poor-decision makers.
Most are in costume, some in swimsuits, some fully-clothed, and while most entered the water with smiles on their faces, with the chill of the winter water, it was a bit more difficult to emerge the same way. Fortunately, a nearby warming hut kept the mood high.
With hundreds of happy attendees, Winterfest is an indisputable success. After visiting, it is hard to miss the peacefulness of Bear Lake in the winter. It feels
Learn more about fishing at Bear Lake State Park
Garden City, Utah
What's Nearby
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When You Go
Epic Recreation
One of the larger all-season outfitters on the lake, Epic Recreation is located on Bear Lake Blvd, near the intersection with U.S. 89.
Bear Lake Fun
With several affiliated locations around the lake, Bear Lake Fun has recreation equipment available for all seasons and interests.
Lodging
Although lodging in the summer can be difficult to find if you don't plan ahead, wintertime lodging is more available.
- Epic Getaway’s and Retreats
- Bear Lake Condo Rentals
- Bear Lake Cabin Rentals
Places to Eat
Several of the lake’s eateries close after the summer, but check out the following:
- Café Sabor: Ask a local for suggestions and “Café Sabor” is likely to be at the top of the list. With locations across Idaho and Utah, Café Sabor is the popular spot for Mexican food on the lake.
- Cody’s Gastro Garage is the new kid on the block and quickly becoming a favorite among locals.