Montpelier KOA, Yeah we did that.

Had our annual campout with my wife's side of the family.  Normally we just do it in the backyard at my in-laws, we have water fights, grill stuff, chill.  This year we decided to go all the way and make this more of an Event, so we decided to do it at Bear Lake.  Here is how it went down.

The original plan, stay at the East Shore campground, which according to their website, at least when we first made our plans, is first come first served.  However, as Helmuth von Moltke the Elder so eloquently stated "No plan survives contact with the enemy".  When we called the Monday before our trip the very polite (not) person on the phone informed us that the campground is in fact reservation only, something that they just started this summer.  Delightful.  Frantic calling ensued resulting in a reservation at the Montpelier KOA for roughly 5x the price we had planned to pay and about 35 miles further away from the lake.  Whatever, vacation right.  Arrival on Thursday and the location is nice, right next to a creek, we have a little space around us so we don't feel crowded.  So far so good.

We get there on Thursday, on Friday we hang out, go to a surprisingly good museum in Montpelier and everyone else arrives on Friday night, late.  Now it gets fun.  The Big Plan is to rent a boat (reserved already), play on the beach and get really sunburned tan.  The water year in Utah/Idaho has been fantastic, YAY, because of all the water Bear Lake is full for the first time in umpteen years, YAY, because the lake is full most of the beaches are underwater, OH NO!  The good news is that we found a place on Rendezvous Beach right away, the bad news is that we had dogs in our group which they don't allow on the beach.  Some drama later... ok, 2 1/2 hours of drama later wherein a number of locations were scouted and options considered, we ended up at the original spot at Rendezvous Beach with the dog tied up to some trees just off the sand (totally legal so don't freak out).  In the end it worked out, we had a good time, enjoyed the beach, the water and the company.

We love Bear Lake but there are some lessons learned:

1. Always, always, always reserve everything in advance.  First come first served is not a good option for Bear Lake anymore, particularly with a large group.  Bear Lake used to be pretty sleepy, but now it is a touristy mess on the weekends.
2. Pay attention to the events happening during your stay, did I mention that the Bear Lake Triathlon was going on last weekend?
3. Be prepared for crowds, arrive early.
4. Did I mention reserve everything possible in advance.  By advance I mean a year-ish in advance.
5. Be prepared to spend some $$$ unless you get one of the few spots in the Utah and Idaho state parks or if you don't mind being cheek to jowl with everyone else.

Overall we had a great time, we'll do it again next year.