Today I returned to Bonnie Lake for the third time ever. This fascinating lake is located on the edge of the Palouse Prairie and the Channel Scablands about an hour south of Spokane between Rosalia and Cheney. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
I drove from Rosalia through Malden and Pine City to most aptly named Hole in the Ground Road. This is the ‘Hole in the Ground’. The gravel road lead me to a basalt canyon that as is typical in the region, runs from the northeast to southwest as is generally accepted did the flood waters when the ice dams broke creating the Channel Scablands.
Bonnie Lake shares this canyon with it’s much larger sibling, Rock lake. I posted photos of Rock Lake when I hiked a section of the Palouse Cascade Trail a couple on months ago. Unlike Rock Lake, Bonnie Lake is a destination for kayakers as well as fishermen.
The only access to Bonnie Lake is from a primitive boat launch suitable for kayaks and very small fishing boats where Hole in the Ground Road crosses the small creek that flows out of Bonnie Lake towards Rock Lake.
The winding and in places very narrow water way passes through active cattle ranches. It’s kind of fun to watch the cattle watching you.
In places the water way is a glorified ditch. In addition to cattle, the bird life is amazing, especially Red Wing Blackbirds. I tried to get a good photo of them, but paddling the narrow channel took all of my concentration.
While zig zagging up the stream, I was treated to views of the basalt canyon rim including a fairly impressive arch.
Here’s a better view. maybe someday the proto arch on the right will break through too. A double arch would be very cool.
As you approach the lake the stream widens a little. I watched turtles bail off logs and rocks and marmots ‘rock chucks’ scramble through the basalt boulders at the base of the cliffs.
The ride through the channel is one of the highlights of this paddle. It’s maybe a little over a mile from the bridge to open water and in my opinion the most enjoyable part of the trip.
When you get to the lake itself you are are surrounded by impressive basalt cliffs.
After entering the lake if you stay to the left or west side, you pass a long section of undercut cliffs that are the home to a huge population of swallows. They make their nests in the crevasses of the basalt walls. There must have been close to a thousand nests on this short stretch.
The lake opens up and after a while I was exposed to the prevailing winds. I was looking for a safe harbor.
Around one more point there is a granite island in the middle of a basalt canyon. This place is owned by the State of Washington and is the only public property on the lake. The rest of the shoreline is owned by cattle ranches and is posted.
This is a great place to land and stretch your legs. I’m guessing the island is less than ten acres, but because of the topography and complex shoreline it can take a while to explore.
The channel between the island and the west side of the canyon usually has some of the flattest water on the lake, a welcomed respite from the waves.
There are lots of informal trails on the island and several places that people have used to camp. Unfortunately since my last visit a few years ago, someone managed to burn down most of the trees on the island. Since there’s no evidence of wildfires around the canyon I can only assume that the island fire was started by people either camping or picknicing on the island.
My original plan was to kayak all the way to the north end of the lake and then up the creek that feeds it as far as I could make it, unfortunately the weather had other ideas. As soon as I left the island the winds picked up and created white caps on the lake. Such is life in the Channel Scablands. I called it good and fought the wind back to the bridge.
I didn’t get any photos of the white caps because I was too busy trying to paddle back. I did snap one just before I returned to the ramp with my rig in the back ground.
On the way back, I checked out Steptoe Butte. It seems like a joke to have a small mountain in the middle of a thousand square miles of farmland, but that’s pretty much what it is.
I used my Discover Pass which was probably a wash with the extra fuel I used for this detour. It does give you a perspective on how amazing the Palouse Prairie is when it comes to farming. The sign at the county line proudly informs you that Withman County is the nations leading wheat growing county.
At least I can see the mountains close to my house from here.
Bonnie Lake is a completely different experience from my usual kayaking on our lakes in North Idaho. It is much more remote and the scenery is unique. It is in the same canyon as Rock Lake. The drive each way from my base in Post Falls is about ninety minutes.
