Raspberry Shake Research

Everyone knows that when you’re at Bear Lake, you have to get the raspberry shakes. We’ve had our favorite spot over the years, but I’ve recently heard other people (and a local TV show) saying that others are better. So, we decided to conduct our own “shake study” this year. Here are our thoughts. If you feel differently, I’d love to hear!

Merlin’s: We were disappointed to find out that Merlin’s, although right in Garden City at Bear Lake, does not use fresh Bear Lake raspberries in their shakes. They use syrup. We asked. We automatically disqualified them from the study. In fact, we didn’t even stop at Merlin’s this year. We found out last year that they didn’t use fresh local berries, so we didn’t even bother this year!

Hometown Drive-In: There are always long lines here, often out into the street and winding around. Although they were made with fresh local raspberries, we didn’t feel that there were quite enough raspberries. The shakes are good, just not our absolute favorite.

Chevron (yes, Chevron): It had never occurred to us to stop at the Chevron for shakes. But a couple of weeks ago, Studio 5 on KSL had guests talking about some of the little-known places around Bear Lake. These particular guests said that their favorite shakes were at the Chevron! We went in and sat at a counter (like in an old diner) while the workers individually whipped up our shakes. We thought that they had that homemade ice cream taste – you really could taste the cream. Again, very good and very sweet with lots of local berries. However, we felt that the cream taste was more prominent than the raspberry taste.

LaBeau’s: Formerly our favorite. Still a very, very close second. Lots of local berries with a flavor more of raspberries than cream.


Quick & Tasty: Our new favorite. The only thing that set it apart from LaBeau’s is that it had more berries. And that’s the main reason we get Bear Lake raspberry shakes, after all! The Quick & Tasty also has a large covered area with picnic tables, and a fun tire swing!




What’s your favorite raspberry shake at Bear Lake and why?