Henry’s Lake is a small alpine lake about 4 miles by 2 miles in the upper northeast corner of Idaho. It is surrounded by the Continental Divide on 3 sides and about a 15 minute drive to West Yellowstone in Montana. Due to the unique location of the lake the area can get winds from Targee Pass, Raynolds Pass, and Red Rock Pass, all coming from different directions which means wind can crop up at any minute and be very unpredictable. The lake is known for its great fishing and has a beautiful state park located on the south end of the lake.
The campground has 2 loops, Adams Loop and Caddis Loop. Adams Loop sits on the main lake and the Caddis Loop is on Howards Slough but still with great views of both the slough and the lake. Most sites are fairly large and fairly level. There are also a few rental cabins scattered around and a small amphitheater.
Campground: Adams Loop
Location: Island Park, Idaho
Site: 9 (back-in) – lakefront
Cost: $70.33
Services: E (50 AMP)
Comments: An absolutely beautiful state park and campground with scenic views from almost every site. We lucked out and got a perfect site with fantastic views. We loved it here. We had a shared water spigot that is to be used only to fill your tank and then unhook so others can use it. The dump on site is closed for the foreseeable future due to drainage field issues.
The day use area offers picnic tables and grilles along with a boat launch. There are also kayaks for use and there was even a kayaking class while we were there.
The lake was being used regularly while we were the mainly by fishermen and of course, lots of different birds. But occasionally there were some kayakers and some days even some wave runners which I am sure the fishermen loved!
The lake is home to a variety of birds including White Pelicans, Eagles, Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Gulls, Bufflehead Ducks, Avocets, Canada Geese, Osprey, and even Sandhill Cranes. The majority of birds were saw were the pelicans, ducks, and gulls. We saw a few hawks and only one bald eagle. We heard the cranes but never saw them. It was a great bird watching area made even better by our terrific lake front site.
There are a few short hiking trails around the park which take you through some diverse terrain from along the lake, the river fork, an aspen grove, and sage brush meadows.
We had a few days of high overcast smoke from the wildfires as did most of the west in North America. But some days were beautiful blue skies, it all depends on which way the wind blew. We loved this park and hope to return one day!
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