From fishing to tubing, Holter Lake a peaceful vacation spot
I grew up in the Valier-Dupuyer area northwest of Great Falls, and enjoyed spending time with friends and family swimming and boating on Lake Frances. But for anyone who has recreated on Lake Frances, you know it’s not without its challenges of low levels during drought years and high winds most of the time.
But in 2000 when my future husband took me to his family’s cabin at Holter Lake, I remember saying to myself, ‘Wow, now this a lake I can really take pleasure in!’ PPL Montana uses Holter Lake as a storage reservoir for electricity generation at its Holter Dam. The lake draws people because of its beauty and because it has a consistent elevation. And it’s huge at about 26 miles long, which provides ample space for water sports and recreation.
I love the scenery around Holter. My family and I spend almost every summer weekend at my mother-in-law’s cabin at Oxbow Bend. We enjoy warm days water skiing, tubing, swimming and fishing — and getting reacquainted with many friends who come there. It’s a unique vacation community of about 75 cabins that are accessible only by boat. You get to do a little bit of everything there.
From the cabin’s large deck, we love taking in the views of the rolling hills shadowed by distant mountain peaks around Oxbow Bend. Upstream at the Gates of the Mountains, a deep gorge cut by the Missouri River between Helena and Great Falls, the rugged terrain and scenery is just one of those places you can’t seem to get enough of.
A typical day for us at the cabin starts out with a cup of coffee while basking on the deck in the early morning sun. This is generally followed by a water skiing session, before the wind and boats start kicking up the waves. After that, we work on projects around the cabin and spend the late afternoon tubing or rock jumping with the kids.
An early evening barbecue is often followed by a boat a cruise that leaves lower Holter Lake and heads north through the Gates of the Mountains in the Big Belt Mountains. For me and my family, one of the best parts of this experience is observing the wildlife — you can almost always expect to see bald eagles, herds of mule deer and mountain sheep.
Late in the day, the sun hitting the mountain sides and cliffs creates a quite a light show.
At the end of the day, we love to cook s’mores on the campfire or go night fishing.
We use a floating light to attract the trout from our boat anchored just off the end of the dock. Mesquite-smoked trout is one of our family favorites. I think Holter Lake trout fishing is among the best in the state.
Access: Follow I-15 north of Helena, take exit 226 and turn left 3 miles along Missouri River Road to lake. Reconstruction of Holter Dam Campground, a popular spot for lake access above PPL Montana’s Holter Dam, was completed in 2007 to accommodate both overnight campers and day users. Improved facilities are accessible to individuals with disabilities and include designated RV and tent campsites, drinking water, sealed vault toilets, trash cans, fire rings, a boat ramp, shoreline fishing improvements, interpretive facilities, informational signs about the area’s recreational opportunities and a designated parking area for day users. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) owns, operates and maintains the campground and day-use area. PPL Montana contributes operation and maintenance dollars annually to the BLM for this site.