Lake Mills

Birthday weekend continues…… :)  After lunch at Marymere Falls we went to check out Lake Mills.  Seeing this lake was a high priority to us because they are in the process of removing the dam, and then Lake Mills will be no more :(  Lake Mills is formed by the Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River, and ever since its completion in 1927 the salmon that used to use the river for spawning are blocked from the upper 50+ miles of the Elwha watershed located within Olympic National Park.  From talking to people around here I’ve learned that there a lot of strong feelings on this issue, both for and against, but apparently things are set into motion and it’s definitely going to happen.  Hopefully it works out well for the salmon and all others involved :)   

This trail took us along the west shore of the lake.  There were wonderful views of the lake and forest all around! 

The Glines Canyon Dam from a distance….soon to be removed.

It’s weird to think that this beautiful lake will soon be an empty valley (at least until it has time to regrow).  So very thankful for the opprotunity to see Lake Mills while it still exists!

~Teri

~ by tirello on March 2, 2011.