Priest Lake
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Priest Lake is a lake in
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, in the northernmost portion of the Idaho Panhandle, 80 miles northeast of
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
. The northern end of the lake extending to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Canada–US border. The primary lake, lower Priest, is 19 miles long and over 300 feet deep. Upper Priest is connected by a 2.5 mile thoroughfare to lower Priest.


History

The history of the lake dates back almost 10,000 years to the end of the last
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
. After the vast glaciers that had covered most of the area receded and vegetation started to regrow, humans started to resettle the area. That is evident from historical artifacts found in the area and ancient rock art along the lake. In the early 19th century fur trappers established trade with the native
Kalispel The Pend d'Oreille ( ), also known as the Kalispel (), are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau. Today many of them live in Montana and eastern Washington of the United States. The Kalispel peoples referred to their primary tribal range a ...
tribe. In the 1840s Jesuit priest Pierre-Jean DeSmet began working with the Kalispel tribe along the nearby Pend Oreille River. From the tribe's information about Priest Lake, De Smet was able to create a map and named the lake Roothaan Lake for one of his superiors in Rome. The name would not stick though and in 1865 Captain John Mullan, a U.S. Army Captain who was traveling through the area under orders to build a road (later known as the "
Mullan Road Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by U.S. Army troops under the command of Lt. John Mullan, between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Ben ...
") from
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...
to Fort Benton,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, after the discovery of silver in the central Idaho mountains along what today is the route of Interstate 90, would rename the lake Kaniksu. The lake was later named Priest Lake.


Logging

Since the 1890s, logging has played an important role at Priest Lake. Logs were floated down the lake, and eventually to the outlet where they would travel down the Priest River until they reached the mills on the Pend Oreille River. National concern over conservation of natural resources led to the
Forest Reserve Act of 1891 The General Revision Act (sometimes Land Revision Act) of 1891, also known as the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, was a federal law signed in 1891 by President Benjamin Harrison. The Act reversed previous policy initiatives, such as the Timber Culture ...
, under which the Priest River Forest Reserve was established in 1897. This forest reserve subsequently evolved into the
Kaniksu National Forest The Kaniksu National Forest (pronounced "Kuh-NICK-su") is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington, the Idaho Panhandle, and northwestern Montana. It is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National ...
– which has been recently incorporated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests system. Most of the area on the east side of Priest Lake became school or endowment land for Idaho. In 1911, the state wanted to consolidate the three million acres of scattered parcels it received with statehood into a compact body to better manage timber sales effectively. It took 10 years of talks with the Secretary of Agriculture, a proclamation from President William Howard Taft, multiple court cases, much lobby by timber interests, and an act of the U.S. Congress for Idaho to receive title to the Kaniksu National Forest's eastside land in 1917. In 1950 these state lands to the east of Priest Lake were designated as Priest Lake State Forest. Later, in the 1980s, the State executed land exchanges with private companies that added nearly 13,000 acres (53 km2) to the state forest and resulted in its present boundaries.


Wildlife

Priest Lake has a pristine variety of wildlife both in and around the lake. The standard bear, deer, and moose population that can be seen throughout northern Washington and Idaho is present about the lake, as well as a small population of grizzly bears. Priest Lake also has a large population of fish, including Cutthroat trout, Kokanee,
Lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
, and
Dolly Varden trout The Dolly Varden trout (''Salvelinus malma'') is a species of salmonid fish native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. It belongs to the genus '' Salvelinus'', or true chars, which includes 51 recognized ...
. The largest lake trout caught in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was caught at Priest Lake, by a Spokane Washington man, Lyle McClure, in 1971 and weighed 57 lbs. 8 oz. The average lake trout ranges weighs in between 4 and 10 pounds. In 2006,
Eurasian milfoil ''Myriophyllum spicatum'' (Eurasian watermilfoil or spiked water-milfoil) is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. It ...
, an aquatic invasive species, was discovered in Priest Lake.


Tourism

Today, the lake's biggest draw is tourism. There are several large private resorts on the lake including Cavanaugh's Resort, Elkins Resort and Hill's Resort. Popular campgrounds include Indian Creek and Lionhead run by the State of Idaho as well as Beaver Creek, Reeder Bay, Osprey, Outlet Bay, and Luby Bay, which are all located in and run by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Several hiking trails circle the lake, also connecting to the Upper Priest Lake. In the wintertime, the larger resorts cater to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. There is also a Bed and Breakfast -the historic Old Northern Inn, Coolin Motel, Nordman Resort (Nordman, Idaho), and three marinas, one located at the lake's largest town, Coolin. The Priest Lake Public Library, located at the corner of Luby Bay Road and Highway 57, is open year-round. Housed in the historic Lamb Creek School, the library has wireless internet access and an extensive local history collection. The Priest Lake Museum, located in a 1935 USFS Guard Station on Luby Bay, hosts exhibits and programs on the area's rich heritage. The area is known for its
huckleberries Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a Nort ...
which visitors are encouraged to hike in and pick.http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_018792.pdf


Weather

Both summer and winter activities at the lake are made possible by a truly four-season climate. Summers are generally warm and sunny with high temperatures around 85 degrees
Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined hi ...
(29 degrees Celsius). Swimming and boating are very popular in the summer. Winters are cold and snowy, and although not as cold as east of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
, the area does get much more snow. Sixty inches (1.5 m) precipitation falls in the mountains around the lake each year with almost half of that coming in the form of snow. Cross country skiing and snowmobiling are popular winter activities.


Gallery

File:Autumn Sunset over Priest Lake.JPG, A sunset in Autumn File:Buck eating through the snow.jpg, Buck in winter File:Elkins Resort on Priest Lake.png, Elkins Resort on Priest Lake File:Fall afternoon.jpg, On the beach File:Huckleberry season.jpg, Unripe huckleberries File:Water sports.jpg,
Wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
File:Autumn,_a_beautiful_season_at_Priest_Lake.jpg, Autumn - Photo P. Cox


References


External links

*Priest Lake's website
Priest Lake Community Facebook PageJewel of the North
Documentary produced by
Idaho Public Television Idaho Public Television (also known as IdahoPTV and Idaho Public TV) is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member network serving the U.S. state of Idaho. Consisting of five television stations, it is operated and funded by the Idaho State Bo ...

Live at Priest Lake

Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Idaho Panhandle National Forest Lakes of Idaho Lakes of Bonner County, Idaho Tourist attractions in Bonner County, Idaho