Polson, MT and Flathead Lake – May 2019 – Updated
Well, the weather stayed icky for several days, so in addition to just living, you know, like doing laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, that kind of stuff, we managed to take a tour around the lake to check out put-in spots for kayaking, because surely, the weather had to break for us sometime! Here’s what we found on our circle-tour:
side of the lake>>
at the northernmost end
microbrewery>>
their deck
Yay, the next day dawned bright and sunny! So it was time to load up the kayaks and fishing gear and head back up to the north end and the town of Somers. All around the lake there are public points of access where you can put in boats or small watercraft, really fantastic. The haze you see in the pics is caused by some wildfires up in Alberta, Canada, and the winds from the north are bringing the smoke down to Montana.
golden eagle
for comfort on the big
lake, we made our
way to
Lake Mary Ronan
Not ready to end the day (it stays light until almost 10:00pm), we headed south of Polson to see the dam that was installed on the Flathead River. For those interested, here’s a little history:
The Kerr Dam, since 2015 officially known as the Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam, was built in 1938 and raises the level and increases the size of Flathead Lake. The dam was designed to generate hydroelectricity but also serves recreational and irrigation uses.
The dam was originally named after Frank Kerr, president of the Montana Power Company, which undertook the construction with federal assistance during the Great Depression. The dam is located within the Flathead Indian Reservation and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes operated it jointly with successive electric companies. In 2015 the tribes and their energy company completed purchase of the dam. –Excerpted from Wikipedia
The next day was even nicer, 80 degrees and no wind. So off to the east side of the lake we headed, to Blue Bay and a private campground with a boat launch. Once again, no luck fishing for Gary but it was a beautiful day to be out on the water. I was experimenting with the GoPro most of the time and so neglected to take any pics! I’ll get the vids uploaded to YouTube and will share a link as soon as they’re ready.
Realizing we were only about 75 miles from Glacier National Park, we decided to take a day trip there even though some of its most famous areas were still closed by winter snows, namely the Going to the Sun Road. But we saw some amazing sights anyway, and have vowed that we’ll return one of these summers, perhaps on the way to the 2020 summer trip to Minnesota? (looking at you, Rob and Stacy!) OMG, the Flathead River has got to be one of the most beautiful rivers in the entire country, with its fast-flowing turquoise waters. Unreal…
open for the first 16 miles
So that’s a wrap for this trip to Polson, Montana and the Flathead Lake area. We will definitely return someday, and now, on to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and quality time with some great friends!
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Holy. Cow.
Apologies to all Montanans but we had never heard of Polson or Flathead Lake before. I booked this place as a last resort when I had forgotten about Memorial Day weekend and full campgrounds. This was the only place that had an opening within a couple hundred miles of Coeur d’Alene, where we need to be on June 2.
Boy, were we in for a surprise…
Twenty-eight miles long and 15 miles wide, the shot above is just the south end of the lake. It is simply magnificent… we’re in a KOA on the outskirts of town, perched on a hill overlooking the lake, a beautiful campground with our own little yard and deck!
We’re here until June 2, so here’s hoping the weather turns and we can get the kayaks out on this lake. Bubba’s itchin’ to go fishin’! Stay tuned!
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