Priest Lake: Idaho’s Crown Jewel That Bites Back

I pushed north past Pend Oreille’s brooding depths, past Coeur d’Alene’s tourist roar, chasing the last real wilderness in the panhandle. What I found was Priest Lake—19 miles of glacial-carved sapphire, over 300 feet deep (some say pushing 369 in the black holes), elevation around 2,441–2,500 feet, fed by streams tumbling off the Selkirks like liquid secrets. The northern tip stretches within spitting distance of Canada, 80 miles northeast of Spokane, surrounded by cedar forests so dense they swallow sound, sandy beaches that look airbrushed, and an Upper Priest Lake connected by a narrow thorofare that’s accessible only by boat, foot, or sheer stubbornness.

This isn’t the party lake or the trophy abyss with submarines; Priest is the quiet savage, the least developed, the one that whispers “crown jewel” while daring you to pollute it. Lower Priest sprawls with resorts like Elkins and Hill’s, state parks at Indian Creek and Lionhead, Forest Service campgrounds hugging the west shore—Beaver Creek, Reeder Bay, Osprey—but it still feels remote, like the developers gave up halfway. Boating here is pure: rentals for pontoons, kayaks, or your own hull slicing through water so clear you count the rocks 50 feet down. Hiking trails snake along the shores, up to panoramic ridges, through virgin cedar groves that smell like eternity. Winter turns it into a snowmobile paradise—400+ miles of groomed trails—or Nordic loops at the state park units.

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And the sunsets? They don’t fade; they explode in gold and fire across the water, reflections so sharp they cut. Beaches like those at the state parks offer sandy escapes—swim, picnic, pretend the world ended somewhere south. Fishing? This is where the paranoia really kicks in. Priest Lake is Mackinaw (lake trout) territory—the Idaho state record 57½-pounder from 1971 still haunts the depths, with trophies 15–30+ lbs common on downriggers, jigs, or wire line. Year-round open season, six-fish limit, but the predators dominate. Kokanee salmon schools fuel the frenzy (rebounding strong), while native Westslope cutthroat (Idaho’s state fish, genetically pure here) offer excellent catch-and-release action—recent proposals even floated limited harvest starting 2025 due to stable numbers. Bull trout lurk in the cold (threatened, strict catch-and-release only), with brook trout in the creeks, rainbow and brown trout scattered, smallmouth and largemouth bass in the shallows, yellow perch, black crappie, and the occasional walleye (illegal stocking, harvest encouraged to control).

In the end, Priest Lake is the savage joke on progress: crystal-clear, indifferent, trophy-laden, and still mostly untouched. You come for the escape, the fish that fight like they own the place, the silence broken only by osprey cries—you leave knowing the real crown jewel doesn’t need your approval. It just waits, patient and pitiless.

Priest Lake Fish Species

Priest Lake boasts one of the most predator-dominated fisheries in Idaho’s Panhandle, with lake trout (mackinaw) reigning supreme as the primary species—thanks to that legendary Idaho state record of 57½ pounds hauled in back in 1971, a monster that still looms over every deep troll like a ghost from the old kokanee boom days. Recent surveys (as of 2024-2025 data) show stable lake trout populations widely distributed across the lake, though body condition has varied with food availability (mysid shrimp declines hit hard in prior years, but trends are promising). Kokanee salmon are rebounding or present in supporting numbers, fueling the big predators, while native species like Westslope cutthroat trout (Idaho’s state fish, genetically pure here) hold strong in modest-to-moderate abundance—enough that proposals floated limited harvest starting around 2025 due to stability.

The full species lineup draws from cold-water natives, long-ago introductions, and panfish in the shallows:

• Lake Trout (Mackinaw) — The dominant trophy species; 15–30+ lbs common historically, with good numbers of 16–24 inch fish in typical years; year-round harvest limit of 6.
• Kokanee Salmon — Landlocked sockeye schools that support the predators; excellent when abundant, great table fare.
• Westslope Cutthroat Trout — Native, moderately abundant, and pure-strain; strong catch-and-release action, with recent state records coming from the lake/system.
• Bull Trout — Native, threatened; mostly in Upper Priest (catch-and-release only, strict protection).
• Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout — Scattered, with some hybrids possible.
• Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass — Solid in rocky points and shallows (smallmouth often the star here).
• Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Pumpkinseed Sunfish — Warm-water panfish fun in bays and nearshore.
• Walleye — Illegal stocking; populations low but harvest encouraged (no limits) to control.
• Others: Mountain Whitefish, Brook Trout (in tributaries/creeks), occasional hybrids.