Priest Lake

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For the similarly named lake in Nashville, Tennessee, see Percy Priest Lake.

Sunset over Cavanaugh Bay, Priest Lake

Priest Lake, Idaho, United States is located in the northern most portion of the Idaho Panhandle with the northern end of the lake extending north to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Canadian border. The history of the lake dates back almost 10,000 years to the end of the last ice age. After the vast glaciers that covered most of the area receded and vegetation started to re-grow, humans started to resettle the area. This is evident from historical artifacts found in the area and ancient rock art along the lake.

1 History
2 Logging
3 Tourism
4 Weather
5 Priest Lake facts

[edit] History

The first white settlers arrived in the early 1800s. These early settlers were mainly fur trappers who quickly established trade with the native Kalispel Tribe. Jesuit Priests would eventually settle the lake in the 1840s and establish a base camp at Kalispell Bay. One of these priests, Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, a native Belgian who had escaped from European persecution and became the most trusted of the white men among the Western Native Americans, 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 the "Mullan Trail" from Walla Walla, Washington to Fort Benton, Montana after the discovery of silver in the central Idaho mountains along what today is the route of Interstate 90, would re-name the lake Kaniksu. Kaniksu is believed to be the native word for “black robe” and because of the Jesuit presence the lake was later named Priest Lake.

[edit] Logging

From 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, under which the Priest River Forest Reserve was established in 1897. This forest reserve subsequently evolved into the Kaniksu National Forest - which has been recently incorporated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests system. Most of the area on the east side of Priest Lake was gradually consolidated into State of Idaho lands beginning after Idaho's entry into statehood in 1890. 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.

[edit] Tourism

Today the lake's biggest draw is tourism. There are several large private resorts on the lake including Kaniksu, Hills, and Elkins Resort. Popular camp grounds include Indian Creek, Lionhead, Beaver Creek, and Luby Bay, which are all located in and run by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest Service. In the winter time the larger resorts cater to cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. There is also a hotel and marina 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.

[edit] Weather

Both the 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 (29 degrees Celsius). Winters are cold and snowy, and although not as cold as east of the Rocky Mountains 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.