Elsie Lake, Shoshone County, Idaho

ELSIE LAKE

200 acres and up 80 feet deep

This lake is in a spectacular setting with high alpine mountains all around the lake. The boat launch into this lake is a primitive gravel launch which drops off quickly into the lake about 20 feet or less off the shore. No motors are allowed. The lake is home to rainbow and brook trout; the wilderness area is home to black bear, moose, mountain lions, elk, deer, and a variety of foul. Make sure to keep all food contained as any food left open will be most likely visited by Moose, maybe a black bear, etc. No fee camping areas are mostly along the north shore but none on the east and most of the south shore where there are a steep mountain and cliffs. There is one accessible restroom not far from the launch area. Hiking in this area is a must! It's a popular ATV and dirt bike area. Maps: View Google map google.com/maps type in GPS coordinates 47.427598, -116.022882 or type in Elsie Lake Idaho or follow these Directions: Elsie Lake is 12.6 miles from the I90 exit 54/Big Creek Exit. The road to this lake is paved for a short distance through the very small city of Deep Creek, then the rest of the road is gravel. The road was improved recently especially through the rockslide area. This road is not marked nor are their signs giving directions to the lake, however if you stay on the largest and obvious road it will lead you to the lake. As mentioned, there is a portion of the road that goes through a slide area that can potentially deposit large boulders/rocks on the road, so be careful. Best to travel on this road when it's drier during the summer versus spring and certainly not during the winter. Some parts of the road get rough at times with very deep ruts. When you get close to the lake you will come to a saddle area between mountains and then you will take a deep descent to the lake that is less than a mile. Once near the lake there is a road that goes north to the restroom and primitive launch area. There is also a road that goes south to a turnaround area. From the turn about one could potentially camp but would require portaging your gear to a suitable campsite. See below for assessment and article about my trip to Elsie Lake... I camped at and sailed on this lake.

11 designated camp sites

Elsie Lake Primitive Launch (fairly hard packed gravel, dirty/sand, and mud mix). Maps: View Google map google.com/maps type in GPS coordinates 47.427598, -116.022882 or type in Elsie Lake Idaho.

ACCESSIBILITY: PARKING... Gravel/dirty/sand/mud combo parking area; PATHS/TRAILS... No developed paths/trails. Wide gravel/dirty/sand area to beach/launch area. Primitive single-track trails allow hiking and Mt biking through the forest but are not wheelchair/wheeled mobility device accessible. Many wider rough trails used by ATV's and Dirt Bikes; RESTROOMS/FACILITIES/SHADE… Fully accessible restrooms. Shade via trees; DOCKS/LAUNCHES/PLATFORMS… No accessible docks/platforms. Single lane primitive /sand/gravel/dirt/mud combo launch at about 4% grade. Launch from bank/beach also; DIRECT WATER ACCESS… No developed access for wheeled mobility devices; TRANSFER SYSTEMS... None; SENSORY... No sensory tactile markers for those with visual and other impairments; CAMPING... No/Accessible Tent and RV campsites, with/no hookups. However some camp sites are fairly level that would work for wheelchairs with tires that work on dirt and gravel surfaces; O.T.H.E.R… Oddities/Barriers: Sand/mud/marine vegetation; Terrain: Level to 4% grades over lawn/sand/gravel/dirt surface, and steeper on non-wheelchair accessible trails; H2O/Water: Water clear or murky depending on the time of year. Water temperature in the summer can be around 40 to 60 degrees. No Drinking water available; Environmental Conditions: Varies; Resources: Food, drinks, and gas in town of Kellogg or Osburn, ID.

PAST ARTICLES ABOUT ELSIE LAKE...

MOOSE ATTACKS :)

I recently went to this lake again to camp on September 21. The plan was to stay for 3 days but due to bad weather we left the following day. Nothing has changed sense my last visit in August of 2016 when I did some accessibility work with a friend (see articles below).

However, the one new bit of information I learned is the moose are quite active around this lake (my camping trip in 2010 I saw no moose). If you leave your food out at night the moose will for sure come and eat your food. Another camper indicated that the moose arrives between 1 and 3 am to find food. On the night we camped the moose were yelled at in several campsites to get them to leave. One camper had the moose come to his campsite twice. A moose came to our campsite for a few minutes. All are food was inside our truck. Obviously, the advice to store one’s food properly always applies as best practice.

From Coeur d'Alene Idaho it’s only about a 2-hour drive to the lake, so it is easy to make a day trip to this lake from that distance.

CAMPING AND SAILING

On Aug 8th, 2010, I traveled with friends and family to Elsie Lake, Idaho from Coeur d’Alene Idaho (about 50 miles from Coeur d’Alene). From Coeur d’Alene you take HWY 90 east past Kellogg Idaho and exit the HWY at Exit 54 (Big Creek Exit). Then one travels at first southwest after exiting the HWY on Big Creek Road to the lake. This road is paved a short distance before it turns to a smooth gravel road for a few miles and then into to a very rough road suited only for 4x4’s with good ground clearance (you will pass over big ruts in the road as well as pass through a slide area). Once you come to a wooded saddle near the top of the mountain you will descend down a 9% grade to the lake. The road is not well marked but staying on the main road will get you to the lake. See updated road condition information above in the main article... Road was improved in 2016.

Elsie Lake is in a beautiful setting of heavily wooded area with steep mountains. Fishing, swimming, and hiking are popular activities here. Even in the summer months the water is still quite chilly. This lake is stocked with Rainbow and Brook Trout. Only small electric motors are allowed on this lake (no gas), otherwise it’s all paddle and wind power. There are camp sites all around the lake except on the east shoreline and most of the south shoreline where there are steep mountains and cliffs. There is one restroom at this lake with no running water. The lake is about 80 deep at its deepest and visibility in the water is about 20 feet or more. The lake is a round shape of about 200 acres in size.

I took my small 16 foot sailboat to the lake and had some great mid-day winds to sail with. While I sailed, I consistently saw fish jumping. The lake’s beauty is absolutely stunning. We spent the night around the campfire listening to the sounds of wildlife and gazing at the abundant stars.

I ran out of time to hike the area as my family, and I spent all our time on the water. While there, we were told of a hiking trail that takes you along a ridge that allows you to see for miles in any direction and to look down on the lake. We will do this next time we go there. Since it’s only 50 miles from Coeur d’Alene it’s an easy enough trip to do in a day.

ELSIE LAKE ACCESS WORK, SERIES OF POSTS ABOUT THIS, 2015-2016

As some of you who visit this site regularly know about great man (previous articles), Tom McTevia and his female passenger passed away in a tragic ATV accident in spring of 2015. I have known Tom for some time, but it was during the winter of 2015 that we became friends. On a trip with his ATV at the end of last winter Tom wanted to show me the inaccessible accessible restroom at Elsie Lake, unfortunately we discovered there was still too much snow at that time to get to the lake. Boulders were placed around the restroom to protect it but also block someone in a wheelchair to get to the accessible designed restroom.

BOULDERS BLOCK ACCESS TO RESTROOM

On June 13th, 2016, I drove up to view this restroom and the to check the accessibility of the camping area around Elsie Lake as Tom had wanted. The restroom itself is actually accessible due to the fact it meets the ADA guidelines but unfortunately due to the Forest Service effort to protect it from vandalism they placed rocks around it, which makes it in-accessible to those who use wheelchairs. They installed boulders placed in front and around the restroom are not any further apart then 2 feet, which is well under the required 36” for a wheelchair to fit through. That is the typical width of a wheelchair, so its needs to be a bit wider. One path through the boulders needs to be at least 42 inches. So of course, the logical fix is to move one of the rocks over to create the space needed for a wheelchair to get through. With vandalism being a concern, one can place another boulder sixty inches back to create a curved path. This allows a wheelchair to get through but makes it difficult for anything larger to get through.

Another issue we hope that can be resolved is access to the southeast beach area. Again, rocks have been placed in front of the path to this beach. The good news is there is another beach that is not blocked off that also works as a primitive launch into the lake (is the main designated launch). Still, it would be good if people using wheelchairs could get to both beaches.

There are 11 campsites around the lake, 4 of which one could consider accessible when the area is not wet and muddy. The road going to this lake has been greatly improved via road upgrades and a new bridge that allows regular passenger cars to drive up to this lake (passenger cars not recommended). However, I would not drive a car up to this lake until the dry season when snow has been gone for a while, and the slide area which the road goes through is clear. And a note of caution to those driving a car up to the lake… it is likely the underside of your car will hit the ground when going over some of the bumps on this road.

We will be contacting the Forest Service about these two issues and since this organization has always been accommodating of persons with disAbilities we are sure these issues will be resolved shortly… we will post a follow up once these issues have been fixed.

Elsie Lake is an amazing place to camp, fish, and boat on, and it is our hope that our efforts will make this site accessible as Tom had wanted.

TOM MCTEVIA WOULD BE PROUD

It is official on June 30th 2016 the Elsie Lake restroom in Shoshone County was made fully accessible.  As some of you know previously large boulders were placed around the restroom to protect it from vandalism that were unfortunately placed too close together to allow wheelchairs to pass through to restroom. Now there is one spot on the south side where there is a gap of 42 inches to allow wheelchair access.

Tom McTevia who passed away last year wanted this issue fixed as Tom's loved this lake and the area around it. I know Tom would be pleased with this.

Great appreciation goes to Josh Jurgensen of the local Forest Service for working with us on this project. Josh personally made this happen. As always, it’s a pleasure to work with the Forest Service as they like us want all people to be able to access the outdoors.

All articles written by Miles Moore of FunToSAIL.com