With two lakes considered amongst the world’s most beautiful (Pend Oreille and Coeur d’Alene) and more than 2,000 other named lakes (as well as thousands more unnamed ones),

Idaho

is a water lover’s paradise. Its lakes and reservoirs provide recreational opportunities year-round.

What better way to enjoy freshwater amid the Gem State’s cedar forests and breathtaking, majestic mountains? You will never run out of fun things to do when venturing out to one of Idaho’s ten biggest lakes, one of which happens to be the fourth-deepest lake in the country.

If you’re looking for a guide to Idaho’s ten biggest lakes, you’ve come to the right spot—the

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, has put together all you need to know to enjoy Idaho’s best freshwater spots!

Pend Oreille (94,720 acres)

Location: Hope, ID

Website:

Lake Pend Oreille

North Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille is the state’s biggest, measuring 43 miles long and offering 111 miles of accessible shoreline. It is also 1,158 feet deep, making it the fourth-deepest lake in the U.S.

What to do at the Gem State’s biggest lake? The real question should be what can’t you do at Lake Pend Oreille? Nestled between three of the Rocky Mountains’ frontal ranges, you’ll be able to camp on 65 acres of prime land within Sam Owens Campground & Park, enjoy beaches and playgrounds at City Beach in Sandpoint, or rent a jet ski, sailboat, kayak, and other watercrafts from one of the many boat launches surrounding this massive lake.

Naturally, the fishing is fantastic—so whip that line into the water and do your best at wrangling a Kamloop (rainbow trout), mackinaw (which can weigh as much as 20 pounds), bass, pike, walleye, and more.

Keep an eye out for wildlife—it shouldn’t be a surprise to spot ospreys, bears, spawning kokanee salmon, and other glorious lifeforms.

Bear Lake (69,760 acres)

Location: St Charles, ID

Website:

Bear Lake

The gorgeous Bear Lake is known for its brilliant turquoise color, which its nickname the “Caribbean of the Rockies”.

Granted, the activities at Bear might be different from a sun-soaked Caribbean beach, but they’ll be enjoyable all the same. Bear Lake is 20 miles long and straddles the border between Idaho and

Utah

. Bear is open all year and is a fantastic spot for camping, sailing, scuba diving, water skiing, and swimming on its host of public beaches.

Beak lake is also a great jumping-off point to visit

Cache National Forest

Minnetonka Cave

, and the

National Oregon Trail Center

Also, don’t forget to hit the

Limber Pine Nature Trail

, a stunning trek that tightropes the Idaho-Utah line.

Lake Coeur d’Alene (31,878 acres)

Location: Coeur d'Alene, ID

Website:

Lake Coeur d'Alene

Lake Coeur d’Alene was created when two massive pieces of ice receded from the ice caps during the last Ice Age.The result is a lake measuring 26 miles long, with 135 miles of shoreline, fed by both the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe Rivers. Lake Coeur d’Alene’s outlet forms the Spokane River.

There are a ton of fresh-air activities to do here, but be sure to hike Tubbs Hill, a 165-acre natural peninsula featuring amazing hiking trails and even more stunning views.

From November to February, keep your eyes peeled for migrating bald eagles that feed on spawning salmon near Wolf Lodge Bay.

Lake Cascade (30,080 acres)

Location: Cascade, ID

Website:

Lake Cascade

Lake Cascade forms part of the Cascade Reservoir and sits a very drivable 75 miles north of

Boise

.Run in tandem by Idaho Parks & Recreation and the National Forest Service, you’ll find plenty to do in and around Lake Cascade—including fishing in both winter and summer for rainbow trout, coho salmon, perch, smallmouth bass, and other lake creatures.

Of course, there are plenty of land activities as well, from hiking, camping, and bird watching to biking, cross-country skiing, and ice fishing.

MORE:

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Priest Lake (26,003 acres)

Location: Coolin, ID

Website:

Priest Lake

Tucked just below the Selkirk Mountains and a scant 30 miles from the Canadian border,Lake Priest stretches 19 miles and is 300 feet deep in some spots.

Filled from streams tumbling down from the Selkirk Range, Priest Lake is known for its crystal-clear water.Naturally, this makes it an ideal spot to both fish, boat, or just relax in the water on a warm summer’s day among the cedar, fir, and tamarack forests that surround this beautiful body of water.

There’s also lots of wildlife to peek at, including bears, deer, moose, and bald eagles.

For even more adventure, trek to see Upper Priest Lake, accessible only by boat, foot, or bike along a two-mile thoroughfare.

Palisades Reservoir (16,100 acres)

Location: Caribou Targee National Forest, Irwin, ID

Website:

Palisades Reservoir

Spanning southeast Idaho and West-central

Wyoming

, Palisades Reservoir was formed by a dam that actually makes up part of Snake River.

With 70 miles of shoreline, Palisades boasts five campgrounds, lots of picnic areas, six boat launches, and two boat clubs. Private cabins dot the shoreline, built with permits issued by the National Forest Service.

Perhaps not surprisingly, fishing among the forest hills and spectacular valleys is the thing to do on Palisades, especially if you’re looking for cutthroat, brown trout, and mackinaw.

While Palisades’ busiest fishing season is during the summer, it's actually best to fish during the spring, fall, or winter.The cooler temperatures keep the fish more active, and the water levels are more stable.

MORE:

The coolest abandoned places in Idaho

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Lake Lowell (9,800 acres)

Location: Nampa, ID

Website:

Lake Lowell

Situated within Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Lowell stretches 28 miles and sits just 5 miles southwest of the town of Nampa.

Lake Lowell offers boating, fishing, and wildlife viewing. It also has the distinction of being the first storage reservoir finished for the Boise Project, created by an act of Congress in 1902 to develop irrigation systems to develop the western U.S. You can see the historic embankment dams, which were headworks for four canals and feature lava-rock parapet walls emblazoned with decorative designs.

Lake Lowell is also known as a birthing spot for more than 200 species of birds and features incredible concentrations of avian creatures during migration season.

Henrys Lake (5,120 acres)

Location: Island Park, ID

Website:

Henrys Lake

Henrys Lake is a high mountain lake that sits just 15 miles from

Yellowstone National Park

Henrys Lake is open only from May to the end of October and is regarded as one of the most prized fisheries in the western U.S. Fish for cutthroat, brook, and a rainbow-cutthroat hybrid trout.There’s also a modern fish cleaning station near the boat ramp.

You can also camp at Henrys Lake in-season at one of the area’s 88 campgrounds.

Market Lake (5,071 acres)

Location: Idaho Falls, ID

Website:

Market Lake

Market Lake is actually a part of the Market Lake Wildlife Management Area, as it's a stopover habitat for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds.

From April 1 through the end of July,Market Lake is closed to human traffic to protect nesting and migration. It’s a staging area for thousands of birds, including 50,000 to 150,000 ducks (mostly Northern Pintails), 40,000 Snow Geese, 400 Canada geese, and many other types of birds.

You can also hunt, fish, and hike in and around Market Lake, which was originally a flood plain for the adjacent Snake River.Today, about 20% of the original floodplain has now been restored as a protected waterfowl area.

Payette Lake (4,987 acres)

Location: McCall, ID

Website:

Payette Lake

Payette Lake is a clean, nearly 400-foot-deep glacial lake sitting more than 5,000 feet up in the Idaho mountains. It was originally carved out 10,000 years ago from the remnants of a glacier that stood 1,000 feet high and was 2.5 miles wide and 8 miles long.

Today, it's the perfect spot for boating, fishing, and swimming, with plenty of sandy beaches and amazing scenery.You can also take advantage of hiking and biking trails and campsites amid all this natural beauty.

Half of the lake is actually a protected area—

Ponderosa State Park

—which juts out onto a peninsula in the middle of the lake and features more than 100 acres of land for outdoor activities.

Protecting yourself while you travel

We won’t be surprised if you immediately drop everything to head off to one of Idaho’s perfect lake spots—but before you do, be sure to protect your car with an affordable insurance policy from

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