Utah’s lakes have their own event calendar: some bring fireworks, some bring raspberries, all bring more people. Here are the ones worth knowing about.

The dates below are from 2026. We link each organizer’s page, so check there for 2027.

Bear Lake Raspberry Days (early August)

Garden City’s raspberry festival. In 2026 it ran Thursday through Saturday, August 6–8 (2025’s was August 7–9), with a parade Thursday evening, concerts and vendors at Heritage Park all three days, and a Boat Light Parade on the lake Saturday night. Fireworks were planned after the 2025 parade; 2026’s were cancelled. If you’d rather skip the festival crowd, ride Bear Lake earlier that week. Garden City posts the schedule on its Raspberry Days page (opens in a new tab). See the Bear Lake page for planning context.

Fourth of July and Pioneer Day fireworks

Garden City’s Fourth of July celebration at Heritage Park had fireworks set for 10 PM in 2026 (Bear Lake Valley events (opens in a new tab)). Utah Lake got a show of its own: the first-ever fireworks over the lake went up on Pioneer Day, July 24, 2026, and the people who planned it hope to make it a yearly tradition (Fireworks at Utah Lake (opens in a new tab)). If you want to ride either day, book early and plan on heading back by sunset.

Utah Lake: the festival and the Great Carp Hunt

The Utah Lake Authority runs two events worth knowing about. The annual Utah Lake Festival is at Utah Lake State Park in Provo, the launch we recommend on our Utah Lake page. In 2026 it was Saturday, May 30, with a cardboard boat race and paddle board jousting. The Authority’s Great Carp Hunt, a fishing tournament, ran six Saturdays from April to June in 2026, rotating among American Fork Marina, Utah Lake State Park and Lincoln Beach Marina. Launching from one of those on a tournament Saturday? Get there early or pick another ramp. Both events post their dates at utahlake.gov (opens in a new tab), and other tournaments show up on the DWR list in the Lake Powell section below.

Lake Powell

At Powell, the water level matters more than the calendar. Only a few launches were taking motorized boats in fall 2026, so check ramp status before you plan around anything; our Lake Powell page has the details. Powell does host bass tournaments: Utah DWR’s list of authorized fishing tournaments (opens in a new tab) shows each one by lake and date, and in fall 2026 it had four on Powell in October and November.

State park event calendars

Bear Lake, Willard Bay, Jordanelle, Utah Lake and Deer Creek all have a Utah state park on the shore. Utah State Parks (opens in a new tab) posts park programs on its events calendar, so give it a look before you pick a date.

Evening shows and the sunset rule

One rule covers every evening show here. The Boat Light Parade and the fireworks happen after dark, and Utah law doesn’t allow jet skis on the water between sunset and sunrise (Utah Code 73-18-15.3 (opens in a new tab)). Ride during the day, have the machines on the trailer by sunset, and watch from shore. For the 2026 Utah Lake show, the organizers pointed shore watchers to American Fork Marina, Lindon Marina and Utah Lake State Park. We close at 8 PM, so if you plan to stay for a show, ask us about the return when you book.

Our advice

If your trip is built around one of these events, book your rental as soon as you have the date. Book early.