Best lake in the greater PNW?

Purple_Pills

What is the best natural lake in the greater PNW (WA, OR, ID, western MT, & southern BC)

YellowSnow

Crater Lake, OR

How do you define “best”? Crater Lake is the most breath taking rather easily. But I’m never swum or boated in it.

I raced a row boat on Chelan against WSU and Gonzaga pussies.

BleachedAnusDawg

I'm not qualified to vote on this one, but Diablo Lake is pretty spectacular to look at.

Purple_Pills

I define best as “all categories.” Crater Lake scores mega high in scenery, but way low elsewhere in my opinion. I am hoping “other” wins handily with cool suggestions.

PurpleThrobber

Lake Coeur d’Alene, ID

Any of the big 3 in N Idaho are better than anything in WA or OR.

Pend Oreille is mammoth and so deep the navy tested subs there. Sandpoint is better in the winter but a solid lake town.

Lake CDA has the best parties from fancy CDA city in the north to redneck AF Harrison and Conklin Park in the south. 30 miles of booze. Fuck the Californians but most of them only show up for a week every summer.

Priest is the most pristine but it’s hard to get to and you’re not doing just a day trip. Three days is required. Don’t fuck around near John Stocktons compound and definitely don’t ask for his autograph.

The Throbber is biased toward Lake CDA but that’s more the personality of the people who have cabins there vs the other two. Hayden is where the beautiful people hang at the country club but the lake is too small. The two feed rivers are also a plus. It gets real remote real fast going up the CDA River and there’s usually Deliverance banjo music a few miles up the St Joe

We know lakes in the inland northwest. There’s a fuck ton of them. Diamond, Badger, Williams, Newman, Liberty, Loon, Hauser, Twin, Sacheen, too many to list. Something like 76 in a 100 mile radius of Spokane. Or 100 in 76 miles or 69 at One Shot Charlie’s (which could happen)

Lake Roosevelt should be on the list for WA lakes. Massive size which means it’s rarely crowded. And houseboats. Motherfucking houseboats just like the SEC.

And for the true lake aficionados, Kootenay in BC is the shit.

dnc

Flathead Lake, MT

BleachedAnusDawg said:

I'm not qualified to vote on this one, but Diablo Lake is pretty spectacular to look at.

Not real, but it's spectacular

BennyBeaver

other (name In comments)

Green Lake

DerekJohnson

other (name In comments)

Phantom Lake

Lake Crescent

CFetters_Nacho_Lover

other (name In comments)

Lake Conner

RaceBannon

other (name In comments)

Capital Lake

The gem of the Capital city is a swamp that dogs won't go in

40 years of talk

Appropriate

YellowSnow

Crater Lake, OR

BennyBeaver said:

Green Lake

My Green Lake brutha!

YellowSnow

Crater Lake, OR

PurpleThrobber said:

Any of the big 3 in N Idaho are better than anything in WA or OR.

Pend Oreille is mammoth and so deep the navy tested subs there. Sandpoint is better in the winter but a solid lake town.

Lake CDA has the best parties from fancy CDA city in the north to redneck AF Harrison and Conklin Park in the south. 30 miles of booze. Fuck the Californians but most of them only show up for a week every summer.

Priest is the most pristine but it’s hard to get to and you’re not doing just a day trip. Three days is required. Don’t fuck around near John Stocktons compound and definitely don’t ask for his autograph.

The Throbber is biased toward Lake CDA but that’s more the personality of the people who have cabins there vs the other two. Hayden is where the beautiful people hang at the country club but the lake is too small. The two feed rivers are also a plus. It gets real remote real fast going up the CDA River and there’s usually Deliverance banjo music a few miles up the St Joe

We know lakes in the inland northwest. There’s a fuck ton of them. Diamond, Badger, Williams, Newman, Liberty, Loon, Hauser, Twin, Sacheen, too many to list. Something like 76 in a 100 mile radius of Spokane. Or 100 in 76 miles or 69 at One Shot Charlie’s (which could happen)

Lake Roosevelt should be on the list for WA lakes. Massive size which means it’s rarely crowded. And houseboats. Motherfucking houseboats just like the SEC.

And for the true lake aficionados, Kootenay in BC is the shit.

We had some family frens who had a cabin on Priest Lake. The mom was a former Olympic Medalist in skiing. Spent 3 days there. Just gorgeous. I've been fairly far un Lake CDA and I get the appeal.

Crater Lake still crushes them all in terms of scenic value but yeah @Purple_Pills it's just not much in the way of recreational usage.

I'd probably be inclined to say Flathead but I haven't spent much time there but it feels like the the Lake Tahoe of Montana.

If I had in Portage Bay and Lake Union into Lake Washington that the emotional ties are the strongest. I have more hours logged on those waters than the rest of this place combined. And (clean era) Lake WA is easily the best urban lake in the US.

YellowSnow

Crater Lake, OR

PurpleThrobber said:

Any of the big 3 in N Idaho are better than anything in WA or OR.

Pend Oreille is mammoth and so deep the navy tested subs there. Sandpoint is better in the winter but a solid lake town.

Lake CDA has the best parties from fancy CDA city in the north to redneck AF Harrison and Conklin Park in the south. 30 miles of booze. Fuck the Californians but most of them only show up for a week every summer.

Priest is the most pristine but it’s hard to get to and you’re not doing just a day trip. Three days is required. Don’t fuck around near John Stocktons compound and definitely don’t ask for his autograph.

The Throbber is biased toward Lake CDA but that’s more the personality of the people who have cabins there vs the other two. Hayden is where the beautiful people hang at the country club but the lake is too small. The two feed rivers are also a plus. It gets real remote real fast going up the CDA River and there’s usually Deliverance banjo music a few miles up the St Joe

We know lakes in the inland northwest. There’s a fuck ton of them. Diamond, Badger, Williams, Newman, Liberty, Loon, Hauser, Twin, Sacheen, too many to list. Something like 76 in a 100 mile radius of Spokane. Or 100 in 76 miles or 69 at One Shot Charlie’s (which could happen)

Lake Roosevelt should be on the list for WA lakes. Massive size which means it’s rarely crowded. And houseboats. Motherfucking houseboats just like the SEC.

And for the true lake aficionados, Kootenay in BC is the shit.

Elk Lake (my home lake these days) is no slouch by it's a puddle compared to the big lakes on this list.

dnc

Flathead Lake, MT

Wry tin

Fishpo31

Lake Pend Oreille, ID

Spent a lot of time in Bayview in the 90’s, Pend Oreille is my fave.
CdA #2, and I liked Okanogan as well, but I haven’t been to it in a long tim…

chuck

other (name In comments)

Not qualified, and my favorite lakes are all small and have pretty kick ass trout fishing which is all that really matters to me.

YellowSnow

Crater Lake, OR

chuck said:

Not qualified, and my favorite lakes are all small and have pretty kick ass trout fishing which is all that really matters to me.

Free Pub for me here! But fuck if Snow isn't one of the most crowded hiking trails in the world.

PurpleThrobber

Lake Coeur d’Alene, ID

Fishpo31 said:

Spent a lot of time in Bayview in the 90’s, Pend Oreille is my fave.
CdA #2, and I liked Okanogan as well, but I haven’t been to it in a long tim…

Bayview is cool as shit. The Monarchs rising out of Lake Pend Oreille is breathtaking.

Spent a bunch of time on Hayden during college/young adulthood. Hot ass rich bitches there. Made up for Rev Butlers compound being just up the road. Those pesky Aryans.

PurpleThrobber

Lake Coeur d’Alene, ID

No love for Soap or Moses?!?

Grant County haters. I mean, it’s deserved but still.

Got laid in Ephrata once. Which was nice.

CFetters_Nacho_Lover

other (name In comments)

I’m also a big fan of Liberty Lake.

PurpleThrobber

Lake Coeur d’Alene, ID

CFetters_Nacho_Lover said:

I’m also a big fan of Liberty Lake.

Nice asses there. Lot of Mormons also.

I like to say Cocolalla -just north of Athol.

I like to say Athol too.