Overview
Bear Lake straddles the border of northern Utah and southern Idaho. It is known for its turquoise water and its raspberry shakes, and for a lake monster with a strange history. In 1868 Joseph C. Rich, a Latter-day Saint leader in the area, wrote in the Deseret News that settlers had seen a large serpent-like creature in the lake. He linked it to older tales told by local Native people.
Witness descriptions vary widely. Some describe a long, fast-swimming brown animal. Others give it a head like a cow, otter, crocodile or walrus, small legs, or spikes on its back. Size estimates run from a few feet to ninety feet, with forty feet most common. One account in 1907 said it attacked a horse.
Rich later admitted the story was invented. Wikipedia quotes him calling it a wonderful first-class lie, and a 2024 historic marker says it was promoted to draw visitors. But the sightings did not stop. Reports continued into the 1870s and 1880s, then in 1907, 1937, 1946 and as recently as 2002.
Today the monster is a friendly mascot. It was named Isabella in a 1996 contest, rides on Raspberry Days parade floats, and has its own tour boat. The Bear Lake Monster Winterfest celebrates it each winter.
Timeline
- Before 1868Local tradition, often credited to the Shoshone, tells of a large serpent or water creature in the lake.
- Aug 1868Joseph C. Rich publishes accounts of settler sightings in the Deseret News.
- Aug 27, 1873A Deseret News report calls the creature master of the lake.
- Aug 24, 1881A correspondent reports a cream-colored body near Fish Haven.
- Decades after 1868Rich admits the story was made up.
- 1907Logan Republican reports the monster attacked a horse.
- 1937, 1946Further sightings reported.
- 1996The monster is named Isabella.
- June 2002Business owner Brian Hirschi reports a sighting.
- 2024Pomeroy Foundation and Utah State University erect a historic marker.
Reported sightings
Bear Lake, Rich County UT
1868 Proven hoax
Joseph C. Rich wrote that settlers had seen a large, serpent-like creature moving fast through the lake and that local Native people had a tradition about it. The piece caused a stir across Utah Territory. Rich later confessed the account was invented, so the original report is labeled a hoax by its author's own admission.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBear Lake shore
Aug 27, 1873 On the record
A Deseret News report described the creature as master of the lake, coming to the shore and living by eating animals. It shows the story was still being taken seriously in print five years after Rich's first article.
Source: deseret.comBear Lake
1874 On the record
LDS Bishop William Budge was reported to have seen a smaller creature, five or six feet long, with a fox-like face and blue eyes. It is one of the few accounts tied to a named community leader.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgNear Fish Haven ID
Aug 24, 1881 On the record
A newspaper correspondent described a large, undulating body with about 30 feet showing above the water, light cream in color, seen near Fish Haven on the Idaho side of the lake.
Source: deseret.comBear Lake
1907 On the record
A letter in the Logan Republican described the lake monster attacking a horse, using what were called two front paws, and acting like a mad elephant. The account is lively and unverified, but it was printed as news.
Source: deseret.comBear Lake
1937 Told story
A four-year-old child reported seeing the monster. Few details survive in the sources reviewed.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBear Lake
1946 Told story
A Boy Scout leader reported a sighting. Like the 1937 report, it is listed in histories of the legend with little detail.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBear Lake
June 2002 On the record
Brian Hirschi, who ran a business at the lake, said he saw two humps and then a serpent-like creature rise out of the water. He described dark, slimy green skin and deep red eyes. It is the most recent widely reported sighting.
Source: deseret.comEvidence
Rich's 1868 articles Proven hoax
The founding reports. Their author later said he invented them.
Later eyewitness accounts Disputed
Scattered sightings through 2002, with widely varying descriptions.
Physical evidence Unexplained
None known.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Supporters note that sightings continued for well over a century after Rich's confession, from people with no tie to him. Some descriptions, like the cream-colored body seen near Fish Haven in 1881, are specific.
The lake is large and deep, and the story draws on older local tradition, which some see as a sign that people saw something before Rich wrote anything.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Skeptics point out that the legend's own author confessed. Once the story was in people's heads, logs, waves, swimming animals and boat wakes could easily be read as a monster. The huge range of descriptions, from six feet to ninety, suggests many different things were seen.
The Deseret News has noted that the area's real deadly 'monster' was Old Ephraim, a grizzly bear killed in 1923 in nearby Logan Canyon.
Open questions
- How much of the Native tradition Rich cited was real, and how much did he shape?
- Why did sightings keep coming after the confession?
Visiting
Where: Bear Lake, on the Utah-Idaho border. Garden City, Utah is the main town.
Access: Public beaches, marinas and state park areas. A historic marker stands at 1499 S Bear Lake Blvd, Garden City. The Bear Lake Monster Boat runs short scenic cruises with monster stories in season.
Events: Raspberry Days in Garden City (summer) and Bear Lake Monster Winterfest (winter).
Did you know?
- According to Bear Lake tourism, Brigham Young sent rope to Paris, Idaho, to help catch the monster.
- Some locals believed tunnels linked Bear Lake to the Great Salt Lake.
- The name Isabella came from an eight-year-old's contest entry in 1996.