Today I finally made it to Blue Lake, one of the chain of lakes along the Coeur d’Alene River. I put in at the Thompson Lake Access and took a quick look at that lake as well.
I drove down State Road 97, also known as the Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway to just short of Harrison. Before I started my kayak trip, I took a dirt road around Thompson Lake. Here is a view of the backwaters of Harrison Slough and the State Road 97 bridge over the Coeur d’Alene River.
I stopped to take a photo of weedy Thompson Lake. Didn’t realize that I parked right below some old boys deck. We chatted and he told me how after forty years the view still wasn’t old to him. Told me about all the bear, elk and moose he’s seen recently. Only in Idaho.
I made my way around the lake and admired the old buildings off to the side. Idaho may be one of the fastest growing states in the country, but this area actually had more people half a century ago.
At the Thompson Lake Access, which was on the river, I made a sharp left and paddled under the rural road bridge to take a quick look at Thompson Lake.
Thompson Lake was pretty but it’s not the lake I drove all the way here to see. About two thirds of the lake basin was covered in weeds and the rest looked to be awfully shallow. It was cool to see the old farms along the shore.
At the primitive boat ramp, the state had a nice map showing the Chain of Lakes. Upstream you can see Swan Lake which I recently visited.
I returned to the river and headed upstream. There’s pretty much no current this time of year and on week days the boat traffic is light. The ones who know what they’re doing stay on a plane when they pass. That makes for a lot smaller wakes. Across the way are some rocky slopes.
About halfway to Blue Lake I found a river bank to land on. A narrow band of dry ground separated the river from an extensive marshland.
Across the river the path of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s was in sight. You can see the bank along the river as well as the beginning of the small rock cut in the hillside.
I thought this was a nice picture of the river bank and some cottonwood trees. At this point I was very close to the channel that accesses Blue Lake.
There is a bridge at the start of the channel. I am not aware of a railroad ever being at this location and assume that the steel was salvaged from one that was abandoned. If I’m mistaken it would be nice if someone would enlighten me. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s was a railroad, but it’s on the opposite side of the river.
A short but scenic channel leads to the lake. A sign on the way in informs the boater that all of the shoreline of this lake is privately owned and that trespassers will be prosecuted.
When you arrive at the lake, you’re on the western side of it. The eastern shore looks much more inviting.
So I headed that way and was soon treated to views that show just how big this hidden little gem of a lake is. Unlike most lakes in the chain, Blue Lake is mostly weed free and appears to be much deeper than the others in the chain. Specific information about this lake is hard to find.
The eastern shore featured a series of small rocky headlands interspaced with green forested coves.
I kayaked to the north end of the lake were a larger wetland continued around the bend. If the water was higher I would have liked to push up a little ways to see if this was a seasonal creek that fed the lake.
I turned around and followed the eastern shore back enjoying the views, There was one other boat on the lake and they mostly stayed at anchor to let their little ones swim.
I stopped in one of the coves to savor the solitude and the views. Blue Lake is a very pretty body of water and very few people visit it.
Sometimes the small things are the ones where you find the most beauty. I didn’t “land” but I did get out of the kayak here.
So I headed back to the boat ramp and ran into a big commercial group of tourism kayakers preparing to launch. I would have been miffed that they blocked the ramp, but a nice young lady helped me carry my twelve foot Old Town Loon to my truck, so it was all good. On the way out I snapped this photo of the old Springston Bridge that now sits condemned. This is a common turn around point for some of my bike rides.
So I stopped in beautiful Harrison Idaho and treated myself to a single scoop waffle cone at the Harrison Creamery and then took the longer but better way home on State Road 3.
On the way back I stopped at a scenic overlook to take a photo of Swan Lake, the site of one of my recent kayak adventures.
I ended up paddling for a little under four hours. Blue Lake is definitely a hidden gem and I’ve wanted to check it out for years. It is a little hard to get to as Harrison is the furthest point on the lake away from my house and the paddle up the river takes over half an hour. This one s right up there with Swan and Killarney as far as scenery goes.
