Fort Peck Lake and Fort Peck Dam.gif)
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| The
Empty Spillway at Fort Peck Lake |
Fort Peck Lake is the largest lake in Montana. It was created
by the building of Fort Peck Dam, which finished construction
in 1940. The dam itself is the largest earth-filled dam in
the world, and measures 21,026 feet in length with a maximum
height of 250.5 feet. Fort Peck Lake is 134 miles long, has
1520 miles of shoreline, and has a maximum depth of 220 feet.
The entire lake also lies within the massive Charles M. Russell
Wildlife Refuge.
Fort Peck Dam is located in the small town of Fort Peck,
Montana. Fort Peck Dam was authorized in 1933, as part of
the public building boom that occurred during the Great Depression
years. During the construction phase, the town of Fort Peck
was a bona fide boom town, as thousands of workers were involved
in creating the dam. Additionally, not only did they build
this huge dam, they also built a recreation area around the
dam. This recreation area consists of several nice campgrounds,
some smaller ponds, day use areas, and interpretative sites.
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| Fort
Peck Lake and the surrounding "grassy hills" |
Fort
Peck Lake is located in one of the remotest area of Montana.
Glasgow is the nearest major town to Fort Peck Dam and
the small town of Fort Peck. But beyond the dam itself,
huge
expanses of the shoreline of
Fort Peck Lake is located in, quite simply, the absolute
middle of no-where. Yet, at the same time, that isolation
on Fort Peck Lake is what makes it such a neat place to visit.
Numerous back roads head off into the wilds of the area,
allowing the truly adventurous travelers to see some really
remote and seldom visited areas of Montana.
Trees
are in very short supply around Fort Peck Lake. Indeed,
except for a very tiny part of the lakes shoreline (one
of my "secret" camp sites that shall remain nameless),
the lake itself virtually is treeless once you step away
from the town of Fort Peck and the various developments
around the dam. Instead of trees, the terrain consists
of grassy hills, bluffs and buttes.
Fort
Peck Lake is known throughout Montana for its walleye fishing.
Each year the Governor’s Cup is held at Fort
Peck Lake, which attracts anglers from all over the place
in search of large walleye. To fish Fort Peck Lake really
requires a boat, preferably once with a powerful motor. A
powerful motor – and stable boat – is needed
on the lake not only because the lake is so large but also
because the lake can be, at times, very windy. The wind can
create some very sizable waves on the lake at times – waves
which are large enough to capsize smaller boats.
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| Powerplant
at Fort Peck Dam |
Hunting
is also a very popular activity around Fort Peck Lake.
The Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge has excellent
hunting for deer, elk and upland birds. Other activities
that are popular around Fort Peck Lake include hiking, horseback
riding, riding ATV’s and just general exploring.
If you
do plan on exploring the Fort Peck area, be sure to have
a 4x4 vehicle. This is especially so if it rains.
When the roads in the Fort Peck area get wet due to rain,
the roads get incredibly slick and sticky – all at
the same time. A normal passenger car will have great difficulty
navigating these roads when wet. And since the nearest town
of any size can easily be more than 50 miles away, getting
stuck out here can lead to more than a few problems! Indeed,
to be honest, if it rains, it is generally a good idea to
stay off the back roads entirely. Even 4x4’s can easily
get stuck in some of the worse condition roads that are commonly
found in this area.
Overall,
a trip to Fort Peck Lake and Fort Peck Dam should be a
mandatory twenty mile side-trip off the Montana Hi-Line.
The dam itself is impressive to see and the lake can be
quite beautiful at times - at least when the Corps of Engineers
hasn't drained the water out of it. Additionally, the dam
is rich in history.
See
more pictures of Fort Peck Lake and Dam
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