Kayaking an Inland Sea

June-July 2001

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Shawn Baker

Gulls cry, cormorants swim, and mergansers bob. Pilings from longforgotten lumber operations rot above the high water mark. A wooden jetty is falling into the sea, the insides of its once sturdy backbone spongy like the gums of a toothless old sailor. Memories remain, but their days of toil are past.

Sea kayaking on Flathead Lake. Photo by Shawn Baker: Sea Kayaking on Flathead Lake.

No, this is not some seacoast scene, but rather Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. The old derelict logging and railroad tie-cutting operations at Somers could be found near any harbor town with an abundance of sturdy timber. It's just like paddling the coast, except that the tidal currents and cloying salty taste you get from real sea spray are missing.

The Lake even has "tides", except that they rise and fall only once a year, rather than twice a day. The lake's level is closely regulated by the joint supervision of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes. Its elevation is lowered in the winter, in anticipation of spring runoff, then reaches a

maximum at 'full summer pool'. With 191.5 sq miles (495.9 sq km) of surface area, there's plenty of room to play!

My favorite times to paddle the lake are the "shoulder" seasons of spring and fall. Traffic is never much of a problem-this is a huge lake after all-although the numbers of sailboats, ski boats, cruisers, and fishermen do add up, and it gets a little more hectic in peak season.

The put-ins are marked with dots

During "my" kayaking season, it's usually just me and a few hardier fishermen. The lake has the pungent, yet pleasant fishy smell, and the birds always seem to be out

in full force. It's a bit windier, too, but that usually makes for better surfing.

The lake is 27 miles (44km) long, so there's a pretty good fetch to build up surfable waves. The surface temperature of the lake ranges from an average of 36 F (2.3 C) in mid-January and rises to about 68 F (20 C) for a brief spell in August. Drysuits or full wetsuits are recommended. Really, this is just like northern coastal kayaking, except for the absence of marine life!

What I like about paddling Flathead, other than the challenges that its unpredictable weather can provide, are the vistas.

This huge mountain lake is flanked by the Mission Range to the east, while the Swan Range and Whitefish Range rise in the distance to the North. There are no tidewater glaciers or breeching gray whales, but I wouldn't trade this nearly Alaskan grandeur in my backyard for anything!

Most of the lakeshore is privately owned, so permission should be secured before landing on private land, but the state of Montana has had the foresight to set up a marine trail system between the seven state parks around the lake. Primitive boat-only campsites are reserved until 7:00pm for kayaks and canoes. There are also several fishing accesses that are accessible to handcarried watercraft.

If you're lucky, you may even find the petroglyphs on the cliff walls abutting the lake. Most of the lakeshore is quite rocky, and the painted rocks are difficult to view from motorboats, but we kayakers are fortunate enough to be able to paddle our lowdraft craft right up to the shore to visit these windows on the past. .

Shawn Baker lives in Kalispell, Montana. His website is www.geocities.com/ shawnkayak/