Blue Creek Bay Recreation Site
Area Map | Wallace Forest Conservation Area – Special Area
This small, three unit picnic area with non-motorized boat launch was a former log landing used to dump logs into Lake Coeur d’Alene where they would be floated down to one of several mills in the area. From 1991 through 2003, the BLM acquired 736 acres around Blue Creek Bay to provide public access to the lake and for their conservation, recreation, and historical values. The Blue Creek Bay Recreation Site is located within the Wallace Forest Conservation Area (link to Areas of Interest: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/coeur_d_alene/special_areas.html)
Directions: Six miles east of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Follow Interstate 90 east from Coeur d’Alene for eight miles to the Wolf Lodge Bay exit (Exit 22), then turn north and follow the Yellowstone Trail Road for about two miles, then turn south onto the Landing Road which leads to the site.
Facilities/Fees:
- No fee
- Day use area only
- Boat launching area designed for non-motorized/hand-carried watercraft
- The boat launch is most accessible when water levels in Lake Coeur d’Alene allow safe boat launching; typically from Memorial Day through late October.
- Fishing/swimming dock
- Mooring (day-use only)
- Delineated parking area
- 3 picnic sites with grills & tables
- Vault toilet
- Pets on leash
- Trail access
Use season: year-round
Rules for the 736 acres of public land at Blue Creek Bay
(effective as of 1/08/2011):
- No occupancy or use of the public lands from one hour after sundown to one hour before sunrise.
- No overnight boat moorage on any BLM-managed structure or shoreline.
- All fires must be contained only within permanently installed fire grates or grills.
- No discharge of firearms (powered by compressed gas or gunpowder) for hunting, target practice or other purposes except that:
- Waterfowl hunters may hunter waterfowl below the high water mark of Lake Coeur d’Alene within Blue Creek Bay.
- No motor vehicles are allowed off county roads.
- No firewood cutting or collecting.
A portion of the Mullan Road, the first constructed overland wagon route through the Northern Rockies, crosses through the uplands. Completed by hand in 1862, the trail connected points east of the Continental Divide to Fort Walla Walla, WA.
Coming soon: Other facilities that are in the planning stages include an upland trailhead, accessible interpretive and wildlife viewing trail, and Mullan Road interpretive trail.
BOATERS - BE AWARE OF A NEW STATE LAW!
The Idaho Invasive Species Law and Boater Registration
Under the new law, any boat that is registered in Idaho or another state, and any non-motorized vessel (canoe, kayak, raft, drift boat, etc.) will be required to purchase and display IISF stickers in order to legally launch and operate in Idaho. Inflatable, non-motorized vessels must be less than 10 feet in length to be exempted from this requirement.
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