Hebgen Lake

About Hebgen Lake

Lake Hebgensee, an artificial reservoir created by the Montana Reservoir Irrigation Company on the Madison River in 1914, quickly became an ideal place for water recreation. The 12,500-acre reservoir is located in the heart of Yellowstone National Park, north of Helena, Montana. Fishermen find some of Montana's best silent water trout in Heb genseese, and the lake is home to a variety of other fish species.

So many have discovered Lake Hebden that there are 70 miles of coastline and campgrounds in the Gallatin National Forest. The best that Montana has to offer is in Hebgenseese, from beautiful Yellowstone National Park to the scenic Yellowstone River and its many lakes and rivers.

This area of West Yellowstone is a year-round tourist destination, and several seaside resorts offer a variety of amenities including tents, shared apartments, restaurants and hotels. Visitors to Lake Hebgensee can add a new dimension to their summer holiday by watching games on the wooded shores of the Gallatin National Forest or on one of the many campsites.

All three resorts operate as full-service marinas, where boats, canoes and kayaks are rented and boats are serviced that are brought to and from the lake. Boats and berths can be rented for overnight stays, as well as boat moorings with available rental contracts for overnight stays.

The bathing resorts have bathing areas and often also operate campsites for campers, and they often offer fishing and boating activities. The Hebgensee offers space for all kinds of boats, including canoes, kayaks, rafts, canoe and kayak boats, fishing boats and other recreational boats. Baits, equipment, gas and boat equipment are sold in the marinas, as well as a wide selection of food and beverages. Hebgener, considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the USA, has a single beach resort, but also a number of other resorts.

There are several commercial campsites on the lake, and there is always room for inflatables at sea. Two US Forest Service campsites offer cheaper, more primitive camping, while another has electricity and a campsite for campers without electricity.
Cherry Creek Campground has only a few campsites, but is located in the forest. Rainbow Point Campgrounds has a large campsite with campfires, picnic area and campsite for camping.

Bird watching is a popular activity, with many species of birds, from the great crested grebe to spotted animals such as the blue heron and the little owl.

The annual trout stocks on Lake Hebgensee are excellent, and many bays and laurel lakes provide a good habitat for the fish. Trout are well-grown and are best caught on dry flies, but the lake is also home to many bird species, from the Great Crested Grebe to the Blue Heron, as well as a variety of other birds.

Several West Yellowstone outfitters organize guided fishing trips to Hebgen Lake and nearby Quake Lake. Lake Hebgensee is also open for ice fishing, but a Montana fishing license is required and regulations must be followed.

The only marina in the resort ensures comfort for fishermen, but fishermen can choose to stay on the lake and fish in two ways: ice fishing or ice house fishing. In winter, the pontoon comes loose and the house is hurled into the ice to build a luxurious fisherman's hut. The resort is now experimenting with a year-round small house by the lake, and in summer, ice houses are mounted on pontoons to create authentic floating guest rooms. Ice houses float on docks or can be mounted on pontoons, creating an authentic "floating guest room."

Mount Hebgen rises east of Lake Hebgen and is one of the highest peaks in the USA and the second highest in North America after Mount Everest.

A number of hiking trails cross the lower slopes of the mountain to see a variety of animal species. Much of this east coast is within the Gallatin National Forest, and the southern part of Hebgen Lake National Wildlife Refuge borders the park.
The area is inhabited by a variety of wildlife, such as black bears, wolves and grizzlies, and occasionally black, wolf or grizzly can roam the lake.

Those who like to ride high on horseback can stay overnight in a guesthouse at the southern end of the lake and offer guided hiking adventures, or travel to the northern end. There are many trails along Red Canyon Road, including mountain biking, and for the more adventurous there is a sophisticated single lane route begging for more than 1,000 feet of elevation on the road.

During the forest fire fighting, the employees are happy to organize guided tours of their facilities and explain how to parachute in the event of a forest fire. There is one attraction nearby that many do not know exists, the Hebgensee National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest of its kind.

The base is located north of the city of West Yellowstone, and the western entrance to Yellowstone National Park is located just east of the city. The must-see attraction is the Hebgensee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest of its kind in the United States, with more than 1,000 acres of wildlife habitat and over 2,500 bird and mammal species, as well as a number of other wildlife attractions. In addition to the wildlife refuge, it also offers a variety of hiking, camping, fishing and other activities such as hiking and camping in and around the park.

One of the most attractive accommodations can be the Hebgensee-Lodge, a two-, three- bath house on the lake, and the rental often includes a boat or kayak.

The landscape is interesting, with many nearby slopes marked by the earthquake waves of the 1959 earthquake. The earthquake that severely damaged the Hebgen Dam and created Quake Lake changed the landscape here, although much of the damage was reclaimed and covered by nature.

In 1959, emergency repairs were made to the dam and lake, but a major construction project recently rebuilt much of the site to stricter standards. A recent inspection required modernisation to meet new, stricter regulations, and much has been rebuilt to these strict standards through major construction projects.

For more information about the devastation caused by the 1959 earthquake, please visit the page "Quakes in the Lake" (link on this page). The Hebgensee reservoir is owned by the energy company PPL Montana and is used for power generation, although it is subject to the same regulations as any other hydroelectric power plant in Montana, regardless of who technically owns the reservoir. That could change, however, as P PL Montana recently sold the dam and reservoir to NorthWestern Energy.

The gently rippling waves on the shore will lull you into a good sleep, but the trout are still waiting to be attracted.