The Park Today
February 5, 2012
Happy New Year! Start your new year with purchasing an annual pass for 2012 for all of your park visits.
Priest Lake State Park now has a facebook site.
All water has been turned off for the season at both the Indian Creek and Lionhead Units. The park has vault restrooms available for use as well as a 24 hour restroom with water at the park headquarters building located at Indian Creek.
All five cabins at Indian Creek are reservable year round for visitor use.
Campsites at both the Lionhead Unit and Dickensheet Unit are currently snowed in and closed for the winter season. There will be two campsites with electricity plowed throughout the winter for visitor use at Indian Creek.
Park Store is closed for the season and will reopen in May of 2012. Gas is available 24 hours with credit card.
Indian Creek Campground was hit by a severe windstorm on May 14, 2011. Due to the amount of trees that fell we have closed some areas of the park, mainly trails. Areas have been marked with caution tape or barriers, please stay out of these areas for your safety. Staff is working to clean up the debris as fast as we can.
Thank you for your patience during this time period.
The Lionhead campground will be on a reservation system for the 2012 summer camping season.
Reservations can be made nine (9) months in advance of your stay. The system is open for the start of the 2012 summer season.
Due to budget restraints, Pack-It-In,Pack-It-Out trash procedures are in effect at Dickensheet Campground.
About the Park:
The park offers 151 campsites, 5 camping cabins, and a group camp. Since the time of the original Indian settlers and the Jesuit Priests of the 1800s, Priest Lake has offered a diversity of activities. Park visitors can enjoy anything ranging from boating and fishing to snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
Lying at about 2,400 feet above sea level, Priest Lake State Park has an abundance of beautiful scenery and recreational opportunities. Visitors will enjoy the dense cedar-hemlock forests and the wildlife, such as whitetail deer, black bear, moose and bald eagles. The stately Selkirk Mountain Range towers nearby and numerous streams tumble down the slopes.
Noted for its clear water, Priest Lake extends 19 miles and is connected to the smaller Upper Priest Lake by a placid, two-mile-long water thoroughfare.
Steeped in a history of Jesuit priests, Indian villages, homesteaders and logging camps, Priest Lake offers park visitors great diversity ranging from boating and fishing to snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
Summer visitors enjoy the large sandy beach along the lakefront. Camping, fishing, boating, water-skiing, hiking and picnicking are some of the more popular activities.
In the winter, Indian Creek Unit offers access to over 200 miles of marked, groomed snowmobile trails and a myriad of cross-country skiing opportunities.
Park Restrictions:
Pets are welcome in the park, however they must be on a leash and attended at all times. Pets are not allowed on the beach areas.
WILDLIFE FOOD STORAGE REQUIREMENTS AS OF June 10, 2011
It is prohibited to possess or store any food (human food or animal food, including pet food) or refuse EXCEPT as specified in this order.
UNDER THIS ORDER IT IS REQUIRED THAT:
1. Human and pet food, garbage, and all other attractants (dirty dishes, toiletries) shall be stored within buildings (buildings that are secure from wildlife entry), hard-shelled vehicles, within approved bear-resistant storage containers (coolers are NOT bear-resistant), or suspended at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet from any vertical support at all times (night and day) unless it is being prepared for eating, being consumed (eaten/drank), being transported, or being prepared for acceptable storage.
2. Attractants (such as food leftovers, bacon grease, fish entrails, etc.) shall not be buried, discarded or burned in an open campfire. They shall be disposed of in bear resistant garbage containers or stored in bear-resistant storage containers until such time as they can be packed out of the closure area or disposed of in bear-resistant garbage containers.
3. Bird Feeders (liquid or seed) are not allowed in the park.
4. No person shall provide food of any kind to any wildlife species.
This FOOD ENCLOSURE ORDER is necessary for the protection of public health and safety due to increased black bear activity in the immediate vicinity of Priest Lake.
Written and effective @ Priest Lake State Park on this 10th day of June 2011, pursuant to IDAPA 26.01.20.075.02 (interim rules), 26.01.20.200.05 (condition of campsites), 26.01.20.175.06 (littering), and 26.01.20.575 (protection of wildlife).
Violation of these prohibitions are punishable by a citation and fine.
FAQ's
- Where's a good place to fish?
- It depends on how you're fishing: by boat on the lake, off the bank at the lake, or on a stream. If by boat, are you capable of trolling deep or are you confined to near the surface? Surface trolling "hot spots" on the east side are along the east side of Cavanaugh Bay, and off the end of Pinto Point. Bank fishing is best along the east side of Cavanaugh Bay, and where the East Lakeshore Road runs beside the lake. Deep trolling off Kalispell and Bartoo Islands seems to be the most popular. Most streams are only open in July and August, but Soldier and Hunt Creeks are open during the regular season.
- Where are some day hikes?
- To Hunt Lake, Standard Lakes, Lookout Mountain, Upper Lake. Ask rangers for directions
- Where are the huckleberries?
- They ripen at the lower elevations usually starting in mid July. The Lion Creek drainage seems to be consistently productive. Berries ripen there in later July-early August. Later pickings are better up high.