Upper Priest Lake

The Thoroughfare

At the north end of the main lake the shoreline pinches into a narrow, winding channel about two miles long. This is the Thoroughfare. It is shallow in places, lined with cedar and cottonwood, and posted no-wake from end to end. Boats idle through it single file. Kayaks and canoes have the better of it, and on a still morning the water is so clear you can watch the bottom slide by.

Wildlife is the reason to go slow. Moose feed in the shallows, osprey and bald eagles work the channel, and river otters are common. In late summer, kokanee and bull trout move through on their way to spawning creeks; bull trout are protected and must be released.

The upper lake

Upper Priest Lake is about three miles long and entirely undeveloped. It sits inside a scenic area managed by the Forest Service, which means no cabins, no docks and no road access. There are a handful of boat-in campsites along the shore, first come, first served, with the kind of quiet that is hard to find on a big lake in July.

The no-wake rule applies on the whole upper lake. Most visitors come by kayak or by small boat idling through the Thoroughfare, or on foot along the Navigation Trail from Beaver Creek campground on the west shore or the Lakeshore Trail from Lionhead on the east.

Planning a trip

Start early. Afternoon wind on the main lake can make the run north rough for a small boat. Carry water, a map and bear-aware food storage; this is grizzly country. Check Forest Service fire restrictions before lighting anything. And go before Labor Day if you want the campsites, or after it if you want them to yourself.

• Launch from Lionhead (east) or Beaver Creek (west) for the shortest run
• Navigation Trail: about 7 miles one way from Beaver Creek to the upper lake
• Boat-in campsites at Plowboy, Navigation and Trapper Creek
• No motors above idle in the Thoroughfare or on the upper lake
• Bull trout catch and release; check current Idaho Fish and Game rules