Baker Lake is a lake in northern
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state in the
United States.
The lake is situated in the
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and
Baker River valley southwest of
North Cascades National Park and is fed by the Baker River along with numerous smaller tributaries. The lake is approximately north of the town of
Concrete, Washington
Concrete is a town in north-central Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, and had a population of 705 at the 2010 census.
Early history
The town of Concre ...
.
The lake covers an area of and holds up to of water. Water levels fluctuate an average of annually. Formerly a smaller natural body of water, it was enlarged and raised in 1959 in conjunction with the construction of the
Upper Baker Dam
Upper Baker Dam is a dam spanning the Baker River in northern Washington in the United States of America. It is one of two dams on the river, the other one being the Lower Baker Dam a few miles downstream. The dam is used to generate hydroelect ...
, a concrete gravity hydroelectric dam capable of generating 91
megawatts.
Baker Lake is a popular recreational area for fishing, camping, and boating and attracts local residents from adjacent
Whatcom and
Skagit counties. The Baker Lake area is also home to Swift Creek Campground which features 55 private campsites for tents or RVs, 2 group site as well as a boat ramp and marina. The campground can be found about halfway up on Mt. Baker Lake across from Park Creek. Formerly known as Baker Lake Resort and Tarr's Resort before that.
It lies entirely within
Mount Baker National Recreation Area.
See also
*
Lake Shannon
Lake Shannon is a long, narrow reservoir on the Baker River in Skagit County, Washington in the United States. Formed in the 1920s by the construction of an arch dam just above the town of Concrete, the lake is approximately long and averages ...
*
List of lakes of Washington
*
Skagit River
The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 ...
References
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Reservoirs in Washington (state)
North Cascades of Washington (state)
Lakes of Skagit County, Washington
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest