Seasonal conditions
May to October — the summit opens with snowmelt; July for the raspberry festival.
ROUTE
Bear Lake Loop: Paris to Montpelier via the Oregon Trail Shore
The turquoise circuit: 92 km around the Caribbean of the Rockies — Paris canyon, Bloomington flats, the Oregon Trail shore and Emigration Summit.
scenic-road92 km4.5 hmoderate
A. E. Crane, U.S. Department of Transportation / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
ABOUT THIS ROUTE
The route in detail
Bear Lake's impossible turquoise fills a mountain valley split between Idaho and Utah, and this loop samples its Idaho shore the way settlers came: over the Paris canyon, down Bloomington's flats, along the Oregon Trail shoreline past the cattle country, and home over Emigration Summit through Georgetown. Minnetonka Cave, the Paris tabernacle and the fur-trade rendezvous history make the stops as good as the riding.
Bear Lake's impossible turquoise fills a mountain valley split between Idaho and Utah, and this loop samples its Idaho shore the way settlers came: over the Paris canyon, down Bloomington's flats, along the Oregon Trail shoreline past the cattle country, and home over Emigration Summit through Georgetown. Minnetonka Cave, the Paris tabernacle and the fur-trade rendezvous history make the stops as good as the riding.
PLAN RESPONSIBLY
Season & safety
Key hazards
- Wind funnels across the lake flats on summer afternoons.
- Tourist traffic on the Minnetonka Cave road in July-August.
- Open-range cattle on the west shore sections.
Required gear
- Certified motorcycle helmet and full protective riding gear.
- Fuel in Paris or Montpelier — the shore itself has no pumps.
MAP & ROUTE
On the atlas
Elevation1,855 m high point1,804 m low point280 m total climbing5% steepest stretch (km 58.9)
DESTINATIONS
Places on this route
Bear Lake
The Caribbean of the Rockies: a turquoise glacial lake on the Idaho–Utah line, ringed by the Oregon Trail, limestone caves and the world’s only cold-water geyser.
Eastern Idaho
Pocatello & Fort Hall
The railroad university town of the Portneuf valley: the Oregon Trail’s Fort Hall, the Shoshone-Bannock homeland and Idaho’s fossil deep-time museum.
Southeast Idaho
INTERESTS
Why riders & travellers love it
WEATHER
Weather along the route
Forecast data from Open-Meteo. Updated regularly.
REGIONS
Explore the region
KEEP EXPLORING
The atlas continues
More routes, destinations and stories from every corner of the world — start where you like below.