we always WAnder.......
  • Where We Wandered
    • Arizona >
      • Forest Rd 611, North Rim Grand Canyon
      • N Timp Point, North Rim Grand Canyon
    • California >
      • Alabama Hills
      • Benton Hot Springs
      • Panther Flat
      • Redwood National & State Parks
    • Idaho >
      • Amanita Campground
      • Dworshak State Park
      • Farragut Lake State Park
      • Grandjean Rd
      • Jerome County Fairgrounds
      • Kootenai Falls & Suspension Bridge
      • Morman Bend
      • Lake View Campground - Stanley Lake
      • Northwest Passage Ponderosa State Park
      • Petit Lake
      • Ponderosa State Park
      • Priest Lake Lionhead Unit
      • Schweitzer Mountain Ski Lot
      • Stanley Lake Campground
      • Wood River
      • Woodhead Power Park
    • Montana >
      • Avalanche Campground
      • Big Arm State Park
      • Bowman Lake
      • Dalles Forest Service Campground
      • Emery Bay Campground Hungry Horse Reservoir
      • Glacier Rim River Access
      • Lake Como Horse Camp
      • Painted Rocks State Park
      • Route of the Hiawatha
      • Slowey Campground
      • Wayfarers State Park
      • Whitefish Mountain
    • Nevada >
      • Pyramid Lake Wino Beach
      • Walker Lake Sportsman's Beach
    • Oregon >
      • Breitenbush Campground
      • Cape Lookout State Park
      • Cascade Locks Marine Park Campground
      • Cottonwood Canyon State Park
      • Detroit Lake, OR
      • Fort Stevens State Park
      • Jasper Point State Park
      • Kiwa Spring Rd / Forest Service Rd 4130
      • La Pine State Park
      • Little Crater Paulina Lake
      • Memaloose State Park
      • Mt. Bachelor Overnight RV
      • Mt Hood Meadows Ski Parking
      • Olallie Lake, OR
      • Opal Creek Wilderness North Fork Rd
      • Phil's Trails Dispersed
      • Rufus Landing Recreation Area
      • Silver Falls State Park
      • Skull Hollow Campground
      • Tillicum Beach
    • Utah >
      • BLM 340 Dispersed Site
      • Devil's Canyon
      • Devil's Garden - Arches National Park
      • Goosenecks State Park
      • Lone Rock Beach
      • Watchman Campground - Zion
      • Valley of the Gods
      • Red Canyon Forest Service Campground
      • Gooseberry Mesa
    • Washington >
      • Burke Lake - Ancient Lakes, Quincy WA
      • Glacier View Campground
      • Entiat WA FS Rd 5800
      • Fox Creek Campground - Entiat
      • Frenchman Coulee
      • Hamma Hamma Campground
      • Ike Kinswa State Park
      • Jameson Lake
      • Lakeshore RV - Chelan
      • Lake Takhlakh Campground
      • Lake Wenatchee State Park
      • Mad River Rd Entiat WA
      • Manastash Rd Dispersed
      • Maryhill State Park
      • Mission Ridge Ski Parking
      • Moses Lake Sand Dunes Dispersed Site
      • Plymouth Park
      • Taneum Creek - Shadow Cr Rd Taneum Creek Rd Dispersed Site
      • Taneum Creek Dispersed
      • Tieton River Dispersed Sites
      • Turkey Hole Lyle WA
      • Wenatchee Confluence State Park
      • Wynoochee Lake
    • Wyoming >
      • Bridge Bay Campground
      • Grand Teton National Park
      • Lizard Creek
      • Lonesomehurst Campground
      • Pebble Creek Campground
      • Signal Mountain Campground
      • Tower Fall Campground
      • Yellowstone National Park
    • Wineries List
  • Camp Cooking
    • Campfire Fajitas
  • Camper Mods
  • Wandering Wisdom
    • No Wandering Without...
    • GoPro and Camera
    • Wisdom of Other Wanderers
    • We have been featured!
  • Camp Reads
  • Wanderer's Wishes....
  • Different Kind of Wandering
    • Cruising! >
      • Cruise Ship Style
      • Cruise Ship Fun
  • National Parks Visited
  • The Wanderers
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    • Contact Us
  • Where to Wander Next.....

Priest Lake State Park - Lionhead Unit 

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When a long summer road trip starts with a great spot like this you wonder if it can get any better.  This campground is on the East shore of Priest Lake at the far north end.   It is a remote area with 47 sites and caters mostly to tent campers.  We got one of the largest sites (#114) and we barely fit.  No trailers here.  No electricity, no water hookups but there is central water.  Pit toilets.  What you will find is a very peaceful campground with nice tree cover for shade in the heat of summer.   Trails throughout the campground take you to the water and a trail from the boat launch area will take you to the shore away from the crowds and you will likely have a nice beach all to yourselves like we did.    And while there are no hookups, there was a nice big dump and fill area at the south end of the lake (last picture).   This is bear area...... we ran into one on the road to the Lookout Mountain hike!  
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Yep..... Mason loved it here!  

Getting There:     

Take Highway 57 North from Priest River for 23 miles then turn right onto Dickensheet Rd. towards Coolin.   At Coolin turn right on the East Shore Rd. and go for 24 miles to Lionhead Unit.

Nearby Hikes, Bikes & Other Sights.....

Lower Priest Lake to Upper Priest Lake Paddle 

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​This waterway takes paddlers from the large & busy 23,000-acre Priest Lake to the secluded, quiet 1,300-acre upper lake.  The 3 mile route to the upper lake, is easy paddling and usually suitable for beginners.   First you cross from the boat launch at Lionhead to mouth of the waterway and are soon greeted by the solitude of the mossy lined banks on either side of the narrow waterway.   Trees towered on either side of the waterway, and we saw only 2 other groups of kayakers, even on a Saturday in summer.......providing for a quiet peaceful paddle.  After about 3 miles the waterway opens up to the beauty of Upper Priest Lake.   There is a camping area on the shore where we stopped for a while and enjoyed the beauty before paddling back to our camp.  There was a little wind on the return and trying to cross the open water back to the boat launch proved to be a little more work than expected.  
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Lookout Mountain Hike 

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The views from this hike are some of the best in the area!  Views of both lower & upper Priest lake. There are now 2 lookouts at the top, one is new and the other is a national historic lookout built in 1929. The hike to the top is 2.5 miles and 1500 ft. elevation gain.  If you do not want to go the entire way, the short distance to Lookout Lake at .75 miles in is worth it. From the shore of the lake you can look up and see the peak to where you are headed and see the lookout towers if you look really hard! Campsites dot the lake shore here also. At the beginning of July there was still some snow near the lake and we buried 2 beers in the snow to have as a reward on the way down! It is a steady even climb from the lake until you reach the last 1/4 mile or so and it is steep and very rocky. Worth the climb when you reach the top!   
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Where we are headed as seen from Lookout Lake
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Getting Here:
From Lionhead Campground:  continue 4 miles past the Lionhead campground and then a slight right onto Forest Road #44. Continue on Road #44 for 2.5 miles to Forest Road #432. Take a right onto #432 and go 3.75 miles to the trail head on the left.   It is a little hard to see, but a metal sign that says Lookout Lake on a big rock marks the starting spot.  
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  • Where We Wandered
    • Arizona >
      • Forest Rd 611, North Rim Grand Canyon
      • N Timp Point, North Rim Grand Canyon
    • California >
      • Alabama Hills
      • Benton Hot Springs
      • Panther Flat
      • Redwood National & State Parks
    • Idaho >
      • Amanita Campground
      • Dworshak State Park
      • Farragut Lake State Park
      • Grandjean Rd
      • Jerome County Fairgrounds
      • Kootenai Falls & Suspension Bridge
      • Morman Bend
      • Lake View Campground - Stanley Lake
      • Northwest Passage Ponderosa State Park
      • Petit Lake
      • Ponderosa State Park
      • Priest Lake Lionhead Unit
      • Schweitzer Mountain Ski Lot
      • Stanley Lake Campground
      • Wood River
      • Woodhead Power Park
    • Montana >
      • Avalanche Campground
      • Big Arm State Park
      • Bowman Lake
      • Dalles Forest Service Campground
      • Emery Bay Campground Hungry Horse Reservoir
      • Glacier Rim River Access
      • Lake Como Horse Camp
      • Painted Rocks State Park
      • Route of the Hiawatha
      • Slowey Campground
      • Wayfarers State Park
      • Whitefish Mountain
    • Nevada >
      • Pyramid Lake Wino Beach
      • Walker Lake Sportsman's Beach
    • Oregon >
      • Breitenbush Campground
      • Cape Lookout State Park
      • Cascade Locks Marine Park Campground
      • Cottonwood Canyon State Park
      • Detroit Lake, OR
      • Fort Stevens State Park
      • Jasper Point State Park
      • Kiwa Spring Rd / Forest Service Rd 4130
      • La Pine State Park
      • Little Crater Paulina Lake
      • Memaloose State Park
      • Mt. Bachelor Overnight RV
      • Mt Hood Meadows Ski Parking
      • Olallie Lake, OR
      • Opal Creek Wilderness North Fork Rd
      • Phil's Trails Dispersed
      • Rufus Landing Recreation Area
      • Silver Falls State Park
      • Skull Hollow Campground
      • Tillicum Beach
    • Utah >
      • BLM 340 Dispersed Site
      • Devil's Canyon
      • Devil's Garden - Arches National Park
      • Goosenecks State Park
      • Lone Rock Beach
      • Watchman Campground - Zion
      • Valley of the Gods
      • Red Canyon Forest Service Campground
      • Gooseberry Mesa
    • Washington >
      • Burke Lake - Ancient Lakes, Quincy WA
      • Glacier View Campground
      • Entiat WA FS Rd 5800
      • Fox Creek Campground - Entiat
      • Frenchman Coulee
      • Hamma Hamma Campground
      • Ike Kinswa State Park
      • Jameson Lake
      • Lakeshore RV - Chelan
      • Lake Takhlakh Campground
      • Lake Wenatchee State Park
      • Mad River Rd Entiat WA
      • Manastash Rd Dispersed
      • Maryhill State Park
      • Mission Ridge Ski Parking
      • Moses Lake Sand Dunes Dispersed Site
      • Plymouth Park
      • Taneum Creek - Shadow Cr Rd Taneum Creek Rd Dispersed Site
      • Taneum Creek Dispersed
      • Tieton River Dispersed Sites
      • Turkey Hole Lyle WA
      • Wenatchee Confluence State Park
      • Wynoochee Lake
    • Wyoming >
      • Bridge Bay Campground
      • Grand Teton National Park
      • Lizard Creek
      • Lonesomehurst Campground
      • Pebble Creek Campground
      • Signal Mountain Campground
      • Tower Fall Campground
      • Yellowstone National Park
    • Wineries List
  • Camp Cooking
    • Campfire Fajitas
  • Camper Mods
  • Wandering Wisdom
    • No Wandering Without...
    • GoPro and Camera
    • Wisdom of Other Wanderers
    • We have been featured!
  • Camp Reads
  • Wanderer's Wishes....
  • Different Kind of Wandering
    • Cruising! >
      • Cruise Ship Style
      • Cruise Ship Fun
  • National Parks Visited
  • The Wanderers
    • Our Truck Camper History
    • Contact Us
  • Where to Wander Next.....