Our campground hosts are very knowledgeable on area attractions and points of interest here in Island Park, Idaho. They suggested a driving loop to visit Cliff Lake and Wade Lake, two very pretty lakes in Montana about 25 miles from the campground, and then on to Quake Lake. The ride over was just beautiful, driving in the shadow of the mountains. As we neared the lakes, we followed the signs to Cliff and Wade Lakes, which are part of the National Forest Service.
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| riding by the mountain peak we can see from the campground |
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| driving through a beautiful valley with a few nice ranches and houses |
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| these last 7 miles are on a gravel road...through the meadows |
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| pretty |
To reach these pristine lakes, you drive 7 miles down a gravel road, up and down gentle hills, through meadows and ranches, until you reach the lakes. We consider this pretty remote...after all, we are coming from NJ!
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| limited sight distance on these last 7 miles |
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| cattle can be on the road...but they eventually move-haha |
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| passing a lonely cabin |
We reached Cliff Lake first....and but for a handful of campers, we were the only ones there. The water was a beautiful aqua color. The wildflowers were stunning as well. The road ended at the hill leading down to the remote campsites along the lake. There was no parking, except at the individual campsites, so we turned around (which was pretty dicey) at the top of a hill on a narrow gravel road and went to the day use area, which had minimal parking.
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| We made it to Cliff Lake! |
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| reminder |
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| isn't that gorgeous |
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| pretty large lake...with campsites right along the coast |
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| small parking lot above the lake |
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| bear spray...don't leave home without it.. |
With all the bear warning signs, we I was a little nervous, so we kept talking as we admired the lake and nearby wildflowers, which are everywhere. No worries though, Tom was locked and loaded. We originally were planning on eating our lunch there, but it was a little early.
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| down at the lake, enjoying the views |
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| isn't this nice? |
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| more flowers |
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| a new one! |
About a 5 minute ride from Cliff Lake, we reached Wade Lake, which is another pristine aqua blue lake in a magical setting. There were several campers and fishermen, and a much larger parking area. Picnic tables for day use were nicely located in the shade right next to the lake. There is a no wake rule, so there are no motors on the lake. All you hear is birds. The fish were jumping out of the water. It was really peaceful.
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| made it to Wade Lake |
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| another warning |
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| nice place to camp |
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| beautiful and serene |
We took a short walk around part of the lake, and just admired the scenery. There were several people camping here, with sites right on the lake. Some even had campers (travel trailer) -which must have been fun driving down ot the lake. It really looked like a fisherman's paradise though! Camping right on this lovely lake and then fishing all day. Anyway, as a non-fisherman, we enjoyed the lake as well. Love the color of these lakes!!
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| taking a little walk around the lake |
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| such a peaceful place |
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| is it lunchtime yet? |
Still too early for lunch, unfortunately.....so we ventured back to the highway via the 7 miles of backcountry (to us) road. We were kinda wishing we were in a jeep or a pickup truck, like most of the locals seem to have. We had a great view of both lakes from the road.
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| Wade Lake |
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| Cliff Lake |
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| more wildflowers...sorry...just so nice! |
Actually, the road was mostly in good shape, and the scenery was really nice. We even spotted a new to us wildflower.
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| see how the road meanders through the meadows-7 miles! |
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| the road back |
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| little barn and cattle |
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| another new to us wildflower |
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| how pretty is this? |
We drove about another half hour before coming to Quake Lake, the story of which is amazing! For the full story, click
here and
here. As we drove along the Madison River, through beautiful forested mountains, we reached a scarred mountain landscape. We stopped in the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center, and learned the story behind Quake Lake. Unlike Cliff and Wade Lakes, this was a reminder how things can change in an instant, no matter where you are. Even if you are in a paradise setting such as this.
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| rockslide scarred mountainside |
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| more |
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| very interesting visitor center |
The visitor center is really interesting, with a nice open room to view the educational movie. Look to one side, and the landslide is visible. Look to the other side, and Quake Lake is visible. Look straight ahead to watch the movie. Wow...the movie describing the "night of terror" was sobering to all, especially to campers.
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| landslide out the right side of the room |
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| Quake Lake out the other side |
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| visitor center - movie-straight ahead |
After the movie, and before going on the drive to explore this story more, we ate a quiet lunch at the top of the overlook. Looks like there was a stare-down on who would win the lunch!
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| this is MY lunch |
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| please share? |
So here is the story: On Aug.17, 1959, near midnight, an earthquake (7.5 on the Richter scale) near the Madison River triggered a huge landslide. This landslide, seen from the visitor center, traveled 100 mph down the face of the mountain and created such a wind tunnel that cars were overturned and people blown away. Imagine winds of 100 mph out of nowhere in the middle of the night! The landslide dammed the river and the water rose quickly. Being that it was the height of the summer season, all the campgrounds and cabins along the Madison River and Hebgen Lake were full. Unfortunately, 28 campers lost their lives in this natural disaster. Some were swept away by the rushing water, some were crushed by bolders. The individual stories in the visitor center were heartbreaking.
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| view of Madison River from the observation point (where we ate lunch) |
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| another view of the rockslide |
The landslide blocked the flow of the Madison River, and Quake Lake was born. The Army Corp of Engineers cut a channel through the landslide so that Quake Lake could flow through to the Madison River, eliminating even more devastation from massive floods and destruction of a dam already in place should Quake Lake continued to rise. They completed this channel in 2 months time. Eventually, Quake lake will drain into the Madison River and basically disappear, but it will take many more years.
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| Quake Lake |
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| still dead trees after more than 50 years |
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| more |
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| Bald Eagle (enlarge pic to see it!) |
Additionally, the nearby Hebgen Lake slanted and rose 8-10 feet on one side, so the surrounding road was washed away, as well as some cabins near the lake. Some cabins actually were lifted up and floated away. Along the drive, you can stop at these locations to see the remnants of some of this devastation. We walked through a beautiful meadow and saw a cabin that had been washed away. So sad to think that as we walked through this beautiful meadow, there was such a horrific scene playing out over 50 years ago.
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| pretty meadow |
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| sand crane in the meadow |
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| such beautiful wildflowers |
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| nice, huh? |
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| more |
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| more |
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| more |
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| more |
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| this was such a pretty meadow we walked through |
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| view of one of the cabins that floated away that awful night |
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| can see a cabin in the distance...i think there are 7 cabins down there |
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| very nice meadow walk |
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| more flowers |
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heading to the scene of a fault scarp
(half the campsite fell 20 ft...so the fire ring was 20ft below the tent site) |
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| more pretty flowers on the hike there |
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| walking down to the lake-another viewpoint of the cabins on Hebgen Lake |
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| bird chirping along the path |
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| another pretty wildflower |
Farther along on the drive, we stopped and walked down to the water where some of the cabins were destroyed by the rising water or were washed into the lake itself. This was also the scene where the road was washed out. Can you just imagine how frightening this "night of terror" was?
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| cabin washed into the lake |
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| more |
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| destroyed by the water |
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| more |
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| it WAS a beautiful place for cabins |
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| heading back from the cabins |
We drove along Lake Hebgen on our way back to the campsite. It is a large, beautiful lake with gorgeous mountains in the background. The Quake Lake story was another humbling reminder to me that anything can happen anywhere anytime. So enjoy the moment!
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| Lake Hebgen |
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| Lake Hebgen....gorgeous view! |
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