Category: Kayak Trips

Cabinet Mountains Road Trip part 1, Kayaking Bull Lake Montana.

Over the weekend I spent three days exploring the Cabinet Mountains area of Montana. Less than three weeks ago I posted photos of the Cabinet Mountains on the way back from my Glacier National Park trip. I wanted to go back but was pleasantly surprised that it happened so soon. On day one we snagged a lakeside camp site on Bull Lake in the middle of the Bull River Valley which bisects the Cabinet Mountains north to south. I used my America the Beautiful Pass to save a few bucks.

Bull Lake is a beautiful body of water smack dab in the middle of the Cabinet Mountains. That might be Ibex Mountain in the background. The lake is over twelve hundred acres and is as deep as sixty feet. There are extensive wetlands around the lake, several islands in it and an outflow river ‘Lake Creek’ on the north end which flows north to the Kootenai River near the town of Troy. Oddly enough Bull Lake is not the source or even connects with the Bull River which flows south to the Clark Fork River and gives this beautiful valley its name.

After about a two and a half hour drive we made it to the campground. Even though it was a Saturday afternoon as it’s almost the end of camping season in Montana we got a site on the water and launched our kayaks from there.

After setting up camp we headed north towards the outlet creek. The north end of the lake is shallow and has extensive areas of aquatic vegetation which minimizes recreational boating. For the most part the only other folks on the water were fishermen anyway and they don’t usually make wakes.

As we headed towards the north end of the lake we had nice views of the mountains on the east side of the valley. In the distance we could see the high peaks in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.

The lake narrowed as we headed north and we had nice views of the mountains to the west. The Cabinet Mountains do cross the state-line in to Idaho and only five days earlier we had hiked to the summit of the highest peak on the Idaho side, Scotchman Peak. You can not see Scotchman from the lake.

After paddling through flats covered in reeds we came to more open water. The lake slowly narrowed and it took a while to realize it was becoming a creek that flowed out of the lake.

The further we went the stronger the current leaving the lake was until discretion dictated that we turn back. You never know when you’re going to find the first rapids downstream.

So we returned to the main body of the lake through the reed beds again and circled this pretty little island.

Next we followed the far or western shore on the wilder side of the lake towards the south. Across the lake we had views of our campground.

After a couple of hours exploring the north part of Bull Lake, the shadows started to lengthen. We were on the lookout for wildlife, especially moose but didn’t manage to see any.

As the sun set we called it a day. It did get awfully chilly in the evening but the surroundings were phenomenal and it was hard to complain about the clear blue skies.

In the morning it was foggy and to be honest cold as hell. A kayak trip didn’t sound like it would be too much fun. On one side of the campground was Bull Lake. On the other a wetland provided views of the eastern Cabinet Mountain. We decided to take a hike to Leigh Lake in the eastern Cabinets instead and used the long ride to the trailhead to warm up. I will cover this trek in my next post.

After the hike to Leigh Lake we stopped briefly at Kootenai Falls, a popular attraction near Libby Montana. As I understand it A River Wild was filmed here starring Merle Streep and Kevin Bacon. I did post a couple of photos of this site from my Glacier National Park trip.

And at the suspension bridge over the river I finally got to see my brother heading to Whitefish!

After a second and much less chilly night we wanted to check out the south end of the lake and get a view of Bad Medicine cliffs in the sunlight instead of shadows, but first we had to deal with a surprise visitor(s).

While making breakfast this momma and her baby waltzed right through the campground. On the second night we were the only campers in the campground and the camp host had already left for the season. Being the only people in the campground was nice in a way, but also a little creepy as a sketchy truck showed up in the middle of the night. Glad Montana is a carry by right state.

“Hey Mom, they’re hoomans in our dinning room and they’re pointing little black rectangles at us.” “Come on junior, they’re hiding behind trees and they’re scared, let’s head to the marshland and they won’t follow, after all I’m bigger than they are.”

So after being entertained by our visitors, we launched again and headed south. Two thirds of the lake remained to be explored.

A large island ‘Angle Island’ almost bisects the lake. A narrow manmade channel separates this island from the east side of the lake and State Road 56. I wanted to circumnavigate the island so we paddled down the about two foot deep, at this time of the year channel.

At the bridge to the mainland, the channel was silted up and full of debris. It was a pretty detour anyway. Stymied for now, we turned around and took the real channel towards the south end of the lake.

We got a little closer to Bad Medicine but the cliff slowly disappeared behind a shorter hill in front of it. It’s still is a striking feature over the south end of the lake.

Near the south end of the main channel that separates Angle Island from the larger south lobe of the lake another smaller island complete with it’s own beaver lodge finally allowed me to circle an island.

When we got to the open southern lobe of the lake the wind kicked up. We saw all of the lake and decided to head back to the campground in the more protected channel.

In the smaller northern lobe the wind died down and we enjoyed the glass flat paddle back to the campground.

We ended up kayaking on Bull Lake on the last day of summer and the second day of fall of 2024. The season is nearing it’s end but hopefully their will be more adventures before the snow falls. After all was said and done we ended up paddling maybe six hours between both days. It was a nice workout.

Bull Lake has to be one of the prettiest lakes in the Northwest. Being surrounded by the Cabinet Mountains gives it a wonderful setting. After my hike at Leigh Lake I did take a dip in the maybe sixty five degree water to wash off the campfire smoke. It felt amazing.

We kayaked on Bull Lake the day we arrived and the morning we left. The full day in between allowed us to hike to Leigh Lake and stop by Kootenai Falls on the way back. Our campground was amazing. I will let you do your own research on that as it only has eight camping spots, four of which are on the lake shore. I plan to go back in 2025, hopefully with the same company.

Kayaking the Spokane River from Post Falls to Coeur d’Alene

Over two trips I kayaked on the Spokane River from Qemilin Park next to the Post Falls dam to Johnson Mill River Park in Coeur d’Alene. Here are a few photos and a description of the journey(s).

A couple of weeks ago, I paddled the stretch between Johnson Mill River Park to the Ross Point Baptist Camp and back. Johnson Mill River Park is owned and maintained by the City of Coeur d’Alene. As you can see Coeur d’Alene has an active public art program. This guy is waving at me to begin the trip.

This park is incredibly busy on warm summer days and if you want to get a parking spot you need to get there early. It has limited parking.

Across the wide Spokane River from the launch site is an area of marshland with a protected channel. One of the drawbacks of this kayaking place is the heavy boat traffic in the summer, especially on weekends. Anyplace buffered from the jet skis and wake boarders is a welcomed respite from the waves.

Just downstream of the marshland channel you can cut through the backside of Harbor Island, another refuge from boat traffic.

This channel separating the island from the south bank of the river is a treat. One bridge connects this residential neighborhood to the mainland.

Half way between the marshland and Harbor Island the south shore drops into the river using a steep rocky bluff. In the far background is Canfield Butte on the east edge of Coeur d’Alene. The city and U.S. Forest Service both maintain recreational trails on this small mountain.

Even with the boat traffic this is a pretty ride. The banks of the Spokane River are mostly developed with permanent and vacation houses from basic cabins to mega mansions but there are several public parks, church retreats and unbuildable spots to give nature a place to shine.

On that sunny day a couple of weeks ago I turned around at the Ross Point Baptist Camp. We were only on the river for a couple of leisurely hours.

So today I decided to launch at Qemilin Park and head upstream to the Ross Point Baptist Camp. Qemilin Park is across the river from “downtown” Post Falls and just upstream from the Post Falls dam.

Right next to the boat ramp there are barriers and warning signs. The ramp is closed when the gates to the dam are open, usually from the end of September to July 4th. I read that years ago there was a tragic accident where a boat was swept over the spillway resulting in fatalities and since then the city and Avista Power, the owners of the dam, have worked to make sure that never happens again.

I don’t think weeping willows are part of the natural habitat but they can be a beautiful background never the less.

There are all styles of houses along the river. Some of them I would love to live in. It’s always nice to day dream.

And some are beautiful displays of wealth. This one had two small rocky islands right off of it.

And some, well lets just say some folks don’t know when to stop. This one is locally known as the Amway House. I assume someone in the DeVos family once owned it. They’re the same folks that owned the Orlando Magic back in the day.

Some even make there own water falls. I know its fake, but it’s still pretty and sounds nice so thanks whoever you are.

The little rocky islands are a highlight of this section of the river. They are posted which I get. I couldn’t imagine how trashed they would be if party boaters were allowed to land and do their thing.

Here’s a small view of the islands. Today was a Sunday but it was overcast and after Labor Day so I had the river almost to myself. It’s amazing the difference a couple of weeks make.

Just after the rocky islands the north shore of the river is protected by Black Bay Park, a City of Post Falls park. The city is currently making improvements to this site and hopefully it will include dedicated kayaking access.

After Black Bay and the Amway House, the next section of shoreline is part of Camp White, another church campground. Along the river there are several places with old stumps from before the Post Falls dam raised the water level well over a hundred years ago. It takes a long time for cedar stumps to rot away.

The north bank of the river is in Post Falls. The south bank is in unincorporated Kootenai County and is somewhat less developed. Some of the places on this side get a lot of visitors.

Kootenai County does have a couple of public access sites along the river. This one is easy to overlook unless you know its there. This small site has parking so you could launch here. It also has picnic tables and grills and a port-a-potty conveniently located about an hour and a half upstream from Qemilin Park..

By Camp White I came across a murder of crows. Yes that’s what a group of crows are called.

Of course there’s always water fowl too. These are in the bay at Ross Point.

I arrived at the cove at the Ross Point Baptist Camp. This bay is deep enough to get out of sight from the river. The shoreline is private property but it is still a nice place to linger and a good turn around point.

The Spokane River is a convenient place to kill a few hours paddling on the water. Upstream from Johnson Mill River Park to the lake is another mile or so. If you can time your trip to avoid the worst of the wake boarders and jet skis, it’s an incredibly enjoyable experience. Although the river supports extensive residential development there are numerous public places to launch, take out and to stop and rest thanks to our local government agencies.

The Little Spokane River

This was my second time kayaking the Little Spokane River from the St. George’s launch to the Nine Mile takeout. The kayak launch site and the take out are part of Riverside State Park so a Discover Pass is required.

The last six miles of the Little Spokane River is a very popular route for kayakers and paddle boarders. The adventure starts at the St. George’s Trailhead near the private academy of the same name off Waikiki Road near the northern edge of the urban area.

As this is a one way trip we had to stage a pickup vehicle at the takeout spot first. In the summer, the City of Spokane runs a shuttle service for a fee.

The crystal clear stream has a significant current and meanders around horseshoe bends pretty much the entire length of the trip. South of the river are small rocky bluffs.

Wildlife includes numerous aquatic birds.

Almost all of the shoreline is within the state park and even though we were in Spokane County, there’s almost no development along the river.

As far as I could tell we were the only people on the river on a clear warm Friday morning. The first time I paddled this river was on a weekend and we had lots of company. Things really quiet down after Labor Day in the Inland Northwest.

I had planned on making a post about this trip the first time I did it less than a month ago but long story short, it turned out I was going to need a new phone/camera after we made it about half way down and that’s all I have to say about that.

The entire trip took about three hours. We mostly let the current carry us downstream and just steered the kayaks around the bends.

About halfway down we passed under the bridge for the Rutter Parkway. Here is the only other place people can launch or takeout, however it involves carrying your kayak a couple of hundred yards through a swampy field.

Beyond the bridge and the landing at the Indian Rocks trailhead you can see the large rocky cliffs on the north side of the river.

The ducks show you the way.

The trip reminded me of canoeing on Florida spring runs. You don’t have to worry about alligators or snakes though.

The rocky bluffs north of the river are impressive. This is the small mountain the Knothead Trail goes up and over from the Indian Rocks Trailhead. I posted about this hike earlier this spring.

Here is the view of the Little Spokane River from that hike. It gives you some idea how serpentine the river is.

As we neared the end of the trip, the valley opens up. Beyond the takeout point the Little Spokane ends at it’s junction with the Spokane River. The Spokane River is impounded here by Long Lake dam creating the lake of the same name. Just upstream is the much smaller Nine Mile Dam, a point of interest on the Riverside State Park section of the Centennial Trail.

It was a nice day on the Little Spokane River. Hopefully I will visit it more often. It’s hard to believe this year was the first time I took this trip since I moved to the area eighteen years ago.

This is definitely one of the best kayak spots in the Inland Northwest. It can be busy on summer weekends but during weekdays and on the shoulder season it is wonderful. Next time I hope to see a moose or two.

Lake Pend Oreille, kayaking the Clark Fork Delta.

Today I took an hour and a half drive to the far east end of Idaho’s largest lake to kayak the Clark Fork Delta about twenty miles from Sandpoint.

Lake Pend Oreille is Idaho’s private little ocean. The lake is amazing. It is the fifth deepest lake in the United States at well over one thousand feet deep, is over thirty miles long from end to end and has it’s own small archipelago islands as you can see in the photograph. Two river deltas enter the lake, one of which is the largest in the inland western U.S. Over half of the shore line of this massive lake is publicly owned.

Today I accessed the Clark Fork Delta, the larger of the two, from the Clark Fork Drift Yard site. Idaho manages the recreational end of it and the Army Corps of Engineers owns and uses the site to maintain structures related to navigation and protecting the delta itself from erosion.

This basic boat ramp with primitive camping is right off of State Road 200 and a couple of miles before you get to the town of Clark Fork. There are no fee’s for use. It is located right where the main channel of the river enters the lake.

A short paddle across the bay leads to a narrow opening. The shore line was “armored” with boulders to mitigate erosion. The summer pool level Lake Pend Oreille was raised about ten feet by the construction of Albeni Falls Dam twenty miles downstream causing significant adverse effects to this delta as well as the Pack River Delta. Idaho and the U.S. Government have spent a lot of resources trying to limit the damage with some positive results.

The delta consists of a mixture of marshlands, wooded areas and open water, There are over a dozen distinct large islands and many smaller ones as well as four major channels and several more small creeks that connect them. It takes a little effort to get the lay of the land.

The northern most channel is the largest and is really open to the wind, so I paddled a little way south and found this much narrower creek that parallels it almost to the beginning of the delta. It was a beautiful trip upstream.

You couldn’t have asked for better scenery. I passed not a single other boat on this stretch.

Here is a view of the Idaho part of the Cabinet Mountains including the highest peak on our side of the state line, Scotchman Peak. I’ve been to the top twice and hope to make it one more time. It is one of the most difficult hikes in the area.

Towards the end of this channel, there were a few vacation cabins accessible only by boat. Soon my creek rejoined the main north channel and I jogged downstream to catch another small creek to get further upstream.

Just before this creek rejoined the main stream at the top of the delta it shoaled out on a rocky bar. I had to dismount and walk my kayak the last hundred feet back to deep water.

Now I was upstream of all of the braided channels so I turned around and let the current carry me to the third branch. A couple of private bridges connected to these islands to provide access to private land owners.

This was the second to two bridges. The southern main stream was much smaller than the northern one.

Off of the channel there were many small side channels some of which dead ended in the middle of one or another of the islands. They were still fun to explore though.

The southern main channel ended up going next to the mountains making for dramatic scenery. I saw a couple of bald eagles at this point.

Soon I came across the Johnson Creek Access Area. Johnson Creek looked like it might be worth exploring but it was barricaded by a low bridge with no obvious way around or through it.

Now I was getting close to the lake again. A side channel veered off to the left so I took it.

This lead me to the most southerly of the four major outlets to the lake and another public access point, this time only for boaters. It was a nice place to take a break before crossing the delta to get back the the Driftwood Access.

It is a big lake. This is looking southwest towards the Green Monarch Ridge. Twenty more miles or so to the south is where I kayaked to Lakeview and back earlier this summer The water clarity is pretty impressive.

So I headed north towards my starting point across a rather large bay near the mouth of the delta. Much of the shore of the island I was heading towards was “armored” as it protected the rest of the delta from the deep open waters of the lake.

I did get to see three more bald eagles on the way and this time got a photograph. The third one was a juvenile and lower in the tree. He’s hard to see.

I ended up paddling almost five hours, my longest trip of the season so far. It was nice to appreciate the beauty along the way.

I saw many Great Blue Herons but had the darndest time catching them on camera. This one finally stayed still long enough.

Here is one of the four major outlets to the lake from inside the delta. Near the lake, the channels open up in to bays and you have to cross some pretty big stretches of open water.

It was an awesome trip and only my second time paddling the delta. I would love to do it again. You can if you try get lost in the little channels that lead into hidden wetlands. If only I had seen a moose it would have been perfect.

I do want to check out the smaller delta on the lake also. The Pack River Delta has been the subject of a major restoration effort recently. North Idaho has some epic landscape for those of us that like to push our limits. After seventy-seven miles of bike riding on some of my favorite trails over the weekend, a nice peaceful kayak trip was just what the doctor ordered.

Peewee Falls, Z Canyon and Sullivan Lake Kayaking Trip

Thursday I headed to Boundary Dam near the Canadian border to check out a couple of places I always wanted to kayak, explore the area a little and spend the night camping.

My first stop was at the overlook for the Box Canyon Dam and old railroad bridge outside of Ione along the Pend Oreille River. This old rail line is now abandoned, but as recently as ten years ago they operated a tourist train along this stretch.

A little further along the scenic byway there’s a rest area from which a short walk brings you to Sweet Creek Falls. Two trails access the falls. This is the lower trail.

The upper falls trail provides a different perspective of the cascade.

Sweet Creek Falls is a gem and easily worth a thirty minute delay. They’re are even picnic tables along the trail, some with views of the falls.

After about three hours of driving with a couple of stops, I arrived at my destination for the day, a recreation area just above Boundary Dam. You can see the dam’s Vista House on the right side of the picture on top of the bluff but it was closed and they weren’t giving tours either. I wanted to take a photo of the face of the dam. This is the dam that was used as the set for Bridgetown in the Kevin Costner movie, The Postman. Tom Petty played the mayor of this fictional post apocalyptic settlement.

The dam wasn’t the main reason I came all this way, well sort of. It did create the reservoir I planned to kayak on so there’s that. Boundary Dam is over three hundred feet high and backs up the Pend Oreille River over seventeen miles to the town of Metaline Falls. Immediately above the dam is Forebay, a substansial body of water with a campground on it. All of this is managed by Seattle Power and Light.

After picking my campsite, I unloaded the kayak and headed around the bend to check out Peewee Falls. This amazing waterfall drops straight in to the lake at the end of a deep cove. It is not visible from the recreation area or the dam.

I lingered around the falls and took a few photos. The sun was heading down putting the waterfall in the shade and the wind was picking up so I headed to my next destination.

A narrow opening at the south end of Forebay lead me to Z Canyon. This spectacular canyon was flooded by the dam a century ago and is now very popular with boaters and kayakers despite it’s remote location.

All along the way upstream there are interesting rock walls and a new view around every bend. The wind was intermittently building up which made for a lot of work. The few boats that came by created much more turbulence than I expected because the steep rock walls of the canyon reflected the wakes and in places it was like being in a washing machine.

After a mile or so, I came to the end of Z Canyon and at this point there is an island separating the main channel from a more protected slough. the Everett Slough Campground is located here and here I was able to land and take a break.

While floating over shallow water I came across this sight. Apparently the level of the water fluctuates daily depending on the power generation needs the result being that flowers and weeds that grow on the wetlands are sometimes covered in water.

I captured this amazing image and thought it looked a lot like an impressionist painting. Drowned daisies.

On my way back down the canyon, I came across an upside down tree. It looked like this Western Red Cedar had been growing like this for many years.

After getting back to the campground I took a trip exploring the area in the couple of hours I had before sundown. I checked out Gardner Caves in Crawford State Park and saw a hole in the ground surrounded by a fence. They have a very limited tour schedule and I missed the last one so I took a little hike and came across a sign that let me know I should turn around.

I drove across the river and towards Canada to find the Vista House and that’s when I found out it was closed. At least I got this view of Hooknose Mountain from a scenic overlook.

The next morning the lake was like glass and with the light coming from the east I decided to take the same trip again looking for a more relaxing and photogenic experience.

I got one. The waterfall was in full light creating a rainbow effect and the skies were perfectly clear and blue and the moon made a cameo.

It was early and I had the place to myself.

At least until the first boat showed up. Now it was time to explore Z Canyon again only this time wind and boat free.

It was much more relaxing this time.

There are a few small caves in the cliff sides along the canyon. I’m not sure how far they go in and wasn’t interested in the tricky landing and steep scramble up the bank to find out. After all there might be a grizzly inside.

Z Canyon is an amazing place and I would be happy to kayak it again. From the boat launch to Peewee Falls and then up the canyon and back only took three hours.

On the way back since the lake was still glass flat, I took the longer way across and was treated to this view of the falls with Hooknose Mountain in the background. It was still early so I packed up and headed to my next adventure.

Sullivan Lake was about a forty minute drive through Metaline Falls and east another few miles.

On the way I stopped at the Old Mill Pond Historic Site as was recommended by a friend of mine. This is the view of Sullivan Creek downstream from the old dam site. The creek drains Sullivan Lake and ends up emptying in to the Pend Oreille River in Metaline Fall.

I don’t know how long ago my buddy was here but it turned out they removed the dam seven years ago draining the 64 acre lake to restore the place to a riverain habitat. The dam hadn’t been used for power generation in over fifty years but they kept it in place as people liked to use the lake for recreating. There was a bunch of interpretive signage explaining the reasons and benefits of removing the dam.

So it was back to Sullivan Lake. I launched at the day use area for the west campground. A grass airstrip separates the east and west campgrounds. This bluff was just east of the east campground.

Sullivan Lake is over three hundred feet deep. It is a natural lake that was raised twenty-five feet by a small dam at the outlet. The west side of the lake is bordered by a scenic road and the east side is basically uninhabited, just steep slopes down to the shore.

The shoreline was to be honest kind of boring. The main draw for this body of water is the incredible water quality. Kayaking, you could see the bottom in thirty feet of water. I didn’t swim at Boundary Dam because, well because it is downstream from Missoula and Butte Montana, Sandpoint Idaho, Newport Washington and lots of other smaller town. The water looked okay but I knew where it came from. Sullivan was a much better place to take a swim.

So I found the only place on the eastern shore with a small beach and did just that. There was not one other boat or kayak on the lake in the middle of a warm clear summer Friday.

So I started the two and a half hour drive back to Post Falls and took the less traveled county road on the east side of the Pend Oreille River when I discovered a pull out for Manresa Grotto. They had a vault toilet so I decided to stop.

I’m glad I did. It was a fascinating place with small caves and historical significance.

It was a great place to stretch my legs for a few minutes. I was surprised that I had never heard of it. Another hidden gem in the Pacific Northwest.

The only downside was that the place seemed to be popular with vandals and was heavily graffitied. The biggest cave smelled like they sacrificed skunks in there over the years.

So I finished my tour of the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway and drove the rest of the way home. Three decent kayak trips in two days was the highlight. All of my short on foot walks weren’t long enough to call hikes but did add a little variety. I liked Peewee Falls and Z Canyon so much I paddled them twice and would be happy to do so again.

Blue Lake and the Coeur d’Alene River.

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.

Priest Lake Road Trip, Day Two, Kayaking on the big lake, Kalispell and Bartoo Islands.

After a full day of kayaking and hiking out of the Lion Head unit of Priest Lake State Park I called it an evening and got ready of the next day. I got up at about 5:00 AM, packed up my camp as quietly as possible so as to not disturb my camping neighbors and headed to the opposite side of the lake.

My destination was the Kalispell Bay boat ramp an hour and a half around the lake. On the way I made a quick stop at the public docks in the town of Coolin to snap a couple of photos.

In the distance I could see my goals for todays paddle. Kalispell Island is on the left, tiny Papoose Island in the middle and Bartoo Island on the right. That’s a lot of open water to cross. Lower Priest Lake is over nineteen miles long and over three hundred feet deep.

The Lake is so large, it took me almost an hour and a half to drive from Lion Head on the north end to Kalispell Bay around the bottom of the lake and back up the other side on the southwest shore. This was the view of my islands from the boat ramp. I launched about 7:00 AM and was the only one doing so at that hour. It would get a lot busier later.

I aimed for the far south point of Kalispell Island with the glare of the rising sun in my face. This point is off limits to boat campers and open for day use only, so I landed and took a brief break.

From here I had a nice view across the water to Papoose and Bartoo Islands. Kalispell is the more accessible and poplar of the islands for camping. You can see the water clarity here.

Priest Lake is called North Idaho’s crown jewel for a reason. It is the most remote of the big lakes in the panhandle and a water sports destination for the entire region.

This was the first of my three landing spots for the day. Boat camping on Kalispell and Bartoo Islands is a very popular pastime. If I had a boat and the time in my younger days I would have loved to have brought the family here.

On the way to Bartoo Island I passed by tiny Papoose Island. This little piece of land is closed to all public use. There’s not much on it anyway, it’s just a halfway point in the middle of a lot of open water on the way to Bartoo Island.

Off of Papoose Island there are some dangerous submerged rocks that are marked by a buoy warning boaters of the hazard. It would suck to hit one of these while speeding through an otherwise deep channel.

I paddled around the south end of Bartoo Island exploring the scenery which varied from rocky bluffs to sand beached and even marshland. A lot of the camp sites were full.

I almost expected to see a moose, but the island usually has a lot of folks on it.

Some of the rock formations on Bartoo Island must be two hundred feet above the shore.

This was my second landing place on Bartoo Island with Papoose and Kalispell Islands in the background. This particular campsite was unoccupied. Unlike a lot of lakes in North Idaho, Priest Lake is known for its clean sandy beaches.

Bartoo Island has it’s share of hazardous off shore rocks as well. Luckily my kayak only needs about six inches of water.

So I paddled back across the straight by Papoose Island and aimed for the center of the south shore of Kalispell Island when I came across about the most beautiful cove you could imagine.

There were three camp sites on this cove and I was shocked to find all of them unoccupied but all had reserved signs on them. I had the place to myself. It was the perfect place for one last swim in the lake.

There were amazing headlands on both sides of the cove. From the the west side I had a very nice view of the islands I had recently visited or kayaked around.

The headland on the east side of the cove had tall rock bluffs and a view of these amazing camp sites.

I wondered why these of all the sites on the island were empty. I ran into a volunteer worker for the campground and he explained that entitled folks with money to burn book the three sites all summer in two week blocks using different names to continue the reservation charade so they can come out anytime the weather is nice and it’s convenient. If I wanted to camp that would suck. For me as a day user it was awfully nice to have the place to myself.

So I finally had to head back to the boat ramp by circling the island. It’s bigger than it looks at first. I got to watch this bird do it’s thing hammering at the dead wood for a few minutes.

By the time I got to the boat ramp four hours later the place had turned in to a zoo. All the parking was gone and it seemed like a hundred people were just milling around waiting for their rides to the islands. Early bird gets the worm. On my way back I made one last stop at the bridge over the Priest River not too far from the outlet to the lake to take one last photo. Apparently this river is very popular with rafters and tubers in the summer. During melt off it’s a class five challenge for the real white water enthusiast.

The drive home took me only an hour and a half as I left from the southern end of the lake instead of Lion Head at the north end. On the way home it hit one hundred and three degrees Fahrenheit. That’s about 39 Celsius for my foreign exchange students. Glad I was off the water before noon.

Priest Lake Road Trip, Day One the Thoroughfare, Upper Priest Lake and the Sliding Rocks.

On Tuesday I made the two and a half hour drive to the north end of Priest Lake with my camping gear. I had a reservation at the Lion Head unit of Priest Lake State Park.

The first thing I noticed at Lion Head is that this amazing wreck that I photographed years ago has finally fallen apart to the point that it isn’t all that recognizable anymore. This old wreck is right next to the boat ramp. That’s my old rig in the background with my kayak on top.

On a bright sunny day were the temps were heading into the triple digits, I launched my kayak at 9:00 AM and made my way across aptly named Mosquito Bay towards the entrance of the channel that connects Lower Priest Lake to the upper lake.

Looking back across Mosquito Bay towards the campground I noticed a notch in the mountains east of it. If I had time after my ride my plan was to check out a place about six miles up that valley. On the right side of the photo you can see the end of the replacement breakwater that protects the outlet of the Thoroughfare.

The Thoroughfare is an about two and a half mile long flat water stream that connects the two lakes. The entire course of the waterway is a strict no wake zone which makes kayaking it much more enjoyable than it otherwise would be.

As it is wide and relatively deep, the waterway has a minimal current and the paddling is easy. A lazy river indeed, at least after the snow melts. I read that it can be very challenging in the late spring.

About half way to Upper Priest Lake, a small stream called Caribou Creek flows into the waterway from the east. It is just big enough to push a kayak up about a thousand feet and around several bends. The ice cold water is crystal clear.

Caribou Creek was so cold I could hear my kayak contracting from the temperature difference. My feet got cold in a hurry too. Not a place you would want to go for a swim.

It was fun pushing it as far up this stream as I could in my Free State America brand kayak. This tree across the creek finally told me I shall not pass.

It was a short trip back to the Thoroughfare. I wish I could have traveled up this amazing creek all day, but even if I got around the deadfall across the stream, it was getting awfully shallow in a hurry.

Around one more bend is the lake with the Selkirk Mountains in the background.

As soon as you enter Upper Priest lake there is a camping area complete with bear boxes and picnic tables on the east side of the river. Here is where the rules for the lake are posted. Upper Priest Lake is a no water ski zone. Tubing and wake boarding are prohibited as well.

Upper Priest is a lot smaller than the main or Lower Priest Lake, but it’s still an impressive body of water at about two miles long north to south and an average of half a mile wide. The deepest spot is about 119 feet below the surface.

This interesting rock is well off shore near the south end of the lake.

Rocky bluffs dominate the eastern shoreline.

About two thirds of the way towards the north end of the lake I found this wonderful little beach and had it to myself. By now it was hot so I cooled off in the clear blue water. It almost looked tropical.

It would have been a nice place to camp. There are several beaches mostly on the eastern side of the lake and most of them had someone camping or visiting in a boat. This one was unoccupied.

The Selkirk crest is east of both Lower and Upper Priest Lakes. Many of the granite peaks are over seven thousand feet above sea level making them the highest mountains in the Idaho panhandle.

Four and a half hours after I started, I was back at my campsite and took another swim, this time in Lower Priest. This is the beach behind my campsite.

The kayak trip in itself would have made for a successful trip, but I still had five or six hours of daylight left so I decided to check out the Natural Sliding Rocks east of the campground.

This stream, Lion Creek enters the lake just south of the campground. A forest road follows it up the canyon for five miles before it ends at a trailhead for the sliding rocks.

Large granite outcroppings loom over the trailhead. Here you’re getting into the heart of the American Selkirks. This mountains continue into Canada.

The peaks on the south side of the creek are even bigger.

The rocky single track trail was a little over a mile and a half long each way. It had a bit of a grade and numerous small stream crossings, one of which was at the base of a pretty little waterfall.

About half a mile in I came to this beautiful place with bare slabs of granite and open views down the canyon. It was a nice place to linger but these are not the sliding rocks. These rocks would kill you if you tried to slide down them.

The trail overlooked the creek at many places. Here a deeper pool of emerald green water made for a nice picture.

I love me some giant red cedars and here I did come across a nice grove of old growth. By now the rays of the sun were noticeably hitting the ground at a lower angle indicating time was getting short.

Just before the Natural Sliding Rocks, the trail forces you to cross Lion Creek itself. It was about mid thigh deep and extremely cold.

And finally I reached the sliding rocks. I wasn’t about to try them myself. I was the last person here for the day and an injury would have been a big problem. Beside that, I didn’t feel like hiking the mile and a half back soaked and cold.

I heard there was a sizable waterfall or to be more accurate a cascade just above the sliding rocks so I found it. I pushed a little further looking for the pool at the top in the failing daylight, briefly lost the trail and decided that it was time to turn around. This is a popular place for folks to visit, but the idea of being the last one out in the dimming light and knowing there are serious critters in the Selkirks encouraged me to make good time on the way back.

On the way out I paused to take one more photo of this impressive cleft in the granite canyon wall. Those are probably one hundred foot tall trees on the top.

Just before the trailhead I caught up with a few stragglers with kids in tow so I grabbed one more photo, this time of that pretty little waterfall I saw on the way up. Next came the five mile drive back down the canyon to the campground on the lake.

Due to the heatwave dusk turned into a purple haze as I enjoyed the view from behind my campsite. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one kayaking on this beautiful day on this beautiful lake.

I called it an evening and made plans for the next morning. A four and a half hour paddle followed by a three and a half mile hike and two lake swims made for a full day, oh and let’s not forget the two and a half hour drive to the campground.

Swan Lake and the Coeur d’Alene River.

For the first time in a decade, I kayaked to and through Swan Lake in the Chain of Lakes near Medimont Idaho.

I started my journey at the Rainey Hill Boat Launch on Medicine Lake in Medimont. This very basic launch is perfect for launching kayaks.

As soon as I left the boat launch, I turned right and passed under a small road bridge and entered an amazing winding channel that connects Medicine Lake to the river.

The channel is less than half a mile long, but it is a beautiful half mile. Just before it empties into the Coeur d’Alene River, the channel passes under an old railroad bridge that is now a bike trail bridge.

The Coeur d’Alene River downstream of Cataldo has almost no current during the summer months. Wind direction is a bigger factor than water flow. The main river channel is realitively wide and deep.

On weekends this river supports a lot of recreational boat traffic. Today I was on it over two hours and was passed by a total of four boats. That’s traffic I can live with.

Just downstream of Medimont, I checked out a small gap in the river bank that allowed me to explore a marshland between the river and Cave Lake. The bike trail also separated the wetland from the lake.

I thought the small aquatic plants made a fascinating pattern. It was extremely peaceful in the still waters.

Before I left the marshland, I took another photo looking back towards Medimont. The row of trees on the right is on the berm created by the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s and the small hill surrounded by lakes, wetlands and the river is presumably what Medimont is named for.

After enjoying exploring the marshland for a while, I headed back to the cut in the river bank to resume my trip down the river. Across the way are the bulls near the east end of the lake I was heading towards, but first I had to go all the way to the west end of the lake to get to the outlet channel.

It took well over an hour paddling downstream but against the wind to get to the channel that connected the river to Swan Lake but it was a scenic ride.

Finally I made it to the outlet for Swan Lake and covered the quarter mile that led to open water. There was a heron rookery near the outlet. You could tell from the stand of trees that all died from being covered in the birds waste.

Their were a lot of these birds, I just wish I could have gotten a better picture of them. They don’t like to pose.

The south side of the lake is very weedy. the north shore has the deeper water and is at the base of some impressive rocky cliffs. There is not a single house on the lake.

Swan Lake is sizable. I’m guessing its about six or seven hundred acres and maybe a mile across. It’s big enough for the wind to generate decent waves but I’m glad I choose this trip over a return to Pend Oreille today. The waves on this lake just made for a workout, not a near death experience.

The far shore on the north side looked interesting with several big coves and rock formations, but that’s were the rougher water was so I stayed “in the weeds” on the south side.

There is an island in Swan lake that I later found out is privately owned. I headed towards it and saw that it was not posted and I needed a place for a quick break. I can only hope the land owners would tolerate a kayaker seeking refuge here. I’m guessing that they use it for a camping spot.

It is a beautiful spot. The area between the island and the south shore of the lake is covered in thick aquatic grasses and looks to be too thick to paddle a kayak through. I had to go around the north end of the island.

This is the north end of the island. There was more water to the east so that’s were I headed next. The wind really picked up at this time.

I hugged the edge of the weed line to avoid the waves. At the east end of the lake there is a short (maybe one thousand foot) slough that is well worth exploring.

The slough is fascinating. I only wish that it was a lot longer. To me it was obvious that this was once the main river channel.

Instead of the middle of the flood plain, this slough was located right at the bottom of the bluffs descending from the mountains to the north. I only wish that there was a way to portage the kayak across the nearby river bank to the river itself saving a return trip through Swan Lake. It would make for an interesting loop as the slough ended not that far downstream from Medimont.

So I paddled back the same way I came for a five hour trip. Recrossing the lake in the face of a building west wind was a grind. At least I had a tail wind on the river back to Medimont. Later I found out that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game owns a piece of property (parcel number 48N02W290100) that would allow for a portage between the east end of the slough and the river. I’m thinking about lobbying them to do just that. A kayak “loop” would be awesome.

I’ve never met anyone else who has ever kayaked on Swan Lake. This is truly a hidden gem, over shadowed by more popular and/or accessible water bodies. The water clarity was good, the scenery amazing and the length of the trip made it quite a workout. The trip had a little bit of everything.

Lake Pend Oreille, Kayaking Farragut State Park to Lakeview

Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay) is an amazing body of water. It is Idaho’s largest lake and the fifth deepest lake in the United States. The lake is easily accessible from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane. During World Wat II, a naval training center was built on the south end of the lake. Farragut Navy Base is now Farragut State Park, the most popular park in Idaho.

Today I launched at Farragut State Park at the Eagle Bay Boat Ramp. About half a mile further on the park entrance road is a nice overlook. My destination for the day is the far shore almost dead center but I was going to cross the bay and follow the shoreline.

I checked the weather forecast carefully before I headed to the lake. The forecast called for very light winds. This is a big lake and I’ve had a couple of bad experiences over the years due to the wind rapidly picking up. At the start of my paddle as I crossed Idlewilde Bay heading towards the base of Bernard Peak the water was a lot rougher than I would like.

There were quite a few sail boats out and I briefly considered turning around. I’m glad I didn’t.

Just as I rounded the point in to the main body of the lake, the winds died down. I spent the next half hour skirting the base of the cliffs below Bernard Peak on an almost glass surface.

Bernard Peak dominates the south end of the lake. A serious wildfire raced through the forest from the beach to the ridge top a coup[le of years ago. I happened to be hiking on a nearby mountain that day and spent a couple of hours watching the air borne efforts to contain (unsuccessfully) the blaze.

About an hour in to the trip, I took a break on one of the very few beaches along the shore. Most of the shoreline is a rocky cliff side. This spot is a popular place for people to land and sometimes camp. It was probably a camper that started the wildfire a couple of years ago.

The mountain on the left side of this photo is Cape Horn just north of Bayview and Farragut State Park. My goal is on the right side of the photo.

I snapped this picture from the beach looking up the mountain. That is a lot of dead wood.

Looking north across about twelve miles and twelve hundred feet of water, about 300 feet deeper than Lake Michigan. Some of the mountains on the north end of the lake reach seven thousand feet, five thousand above the lake.

After leaving the beach, I continued following the shoreline east and then northeast. The rocky cliffs across the way are a favorite place for local mountain goats. I’ve seen them there several times while kayaking this section of the shore.

I paddled past this abandoned industrial site. I believe that they used to mine lime here and ship it across the lake to Bayview as part of a process to make concrete. The site is called Concrete on old maps.

Most of the eastern shore of lake Pend Oreille is National Forest land and open to the public. This old mine site is an exception. It is heavily posted and landing here is prohibited.

If you just have to check out an old mine site there is another one about one mile past Lakeview. I visited this place last year and these two pictures are from that trip.

My trip to Lakeview and back took about four and a half hours. Continuing to this old mine site would have added over an hour to the trip. Maybe some other time.

After Concrete and just before Lakeview there is one more must see. In this basalt wall there is a little crack that needs to be checked out.

Most boaters never notice this opening as unless you’re very close to the shore, it’s hard to see. They couldn’t fit through it anyway but I can.

At the tiny community of Lakeview, there are public docks and a dirt boat ramp. It is a good place to stop for a rest and stretch your legs. This is looking back across the lake towards Bayview.

Now it was time to head back. Of course I couldn’t resist paddling through the slot again. I did see several Bald Eagles and a mountain goat during the trip, but the photos didn’t do them justice.

Four and a half hours later I was back at the Eagle Bay Boat Ramp. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

My journey only covered a small area of the southern most part of this lake. Other trips for future posts include Garfield Bay to the islands near Hope and paddling the Clark Fork Delta.