Bonnie Lake in Washington

Trip Overview

Well this is the second time I've visited Bonnie Lake in Eastern WA. We put in off of Belsby road, I think was the name, it is a dirt road off the Rock Lake paved road. We put in at 11T MN 54894/31944 which is the area right next to the bridge going over the creek. We left our rig here overnight and no problems, the farmer that owns the land nearby said he has no issues as long as the pasture gates are not parked in front of.

We paddled north up the creek and the first obstacle is a beaver damn near the mouth of the lake. The beavers are active this year building up the dam so we had to get out and portage over the damn. This area is always spectacular. I've never failed to see multiple wildlife, deer, elk, raccoons, waterfowl, herons, etc. You get the picture, if youre quiet you'll see a lot. The lake is also a great warm water fish area. I've caught real nice largemouth bass on flies and crappie, sunfish are everywhere. There are also species of carp and catfish, which I've always seen folks doing well on.

Well we crossed over the dam and headed to the Island about a mile up the lake. Its owned by DNR and camping is allowed, but no fires. We camped here. The Island has a lot of poison ivy and sumac so be careful where you lay. Its also pretty dirty at the numerous campsites. Next time I go in I'll bring several large trash bags just to clean up the place a bit. Seems no one knows how to haul out their own trash. Anyway we camped on the Island and my boys explored all over. I did some bass fishing around the Island and all in all we had a fun day.

That evening the coyotes sung us to sleep and we had a visitor in one of our trees, a tom Turkey that gobbled at nightfall and like a rooster the next morning. I woke the boys up at 2:00am to look at the Milky Way which the sky was crystal clear and look spectacular from the canyon. Anyway we got an early start the next morning and headed back home.

Overall a great overnight adventure. If you want to just go visit the Island plan on about an hour to paddle there, hour to get back and hour for exploring. Also bring plenty of drinking water. I had a filter but the algae bloom in the lake is substantial and tends to clog filters quickly. Also there are no restrooms anywhere along this trip so please be considerate.

Accommodations:

None.

Outfitting:

Wenonah Adirondack and Bell Merlin II.

Directions:

South on Cheney Plaza/Williams lake/Rock Lake road, left on Belsby road which is dirt. Continue down a few miles and you cant mistake the drop into the canyon. Cross the bridge over Rock creek and put in on the right. Paddle north back under the bridge around a mile up the twisting creek to the mouth of the Lake. I'm pretty sure all land is private except the Island which is public.