Horseshoe Lake is a nice paddle lake north of Spokane. Though
most of the land surrounding the lake is privately owned, there is
a put-in and parking area for the public. If you decide to
explore the entire lake, its about a 4 mile trip. You will
need a vehicle access permit to park here so see
this:Vehicle
Permits for more info on how to obtain one.
Directions (taken from "Paddle Routes of the Inland Northwest"
by Rich Landers and Dan Hansen): From US Highway 2, about 20
miles north of Spokane, turn west onto Eloika Lake Road.
Drive about 3 miles, then turn north onto Division Road, a dusty
gravel road that changes direction several times. Division
becomes Horseshoe Lake Road at slightly more than 2 miles. It
is another 5 miles to the lake. YA: Parts of this road
are washboard, so you'll need to take it slowly.
OK, onto the cache info! I was out here in July and there
weren't that many folks around. Motorboats are allowed, but
the posted speed is 5 mph so mostly you'll just see other canoes
and kayaks playing around or fishing. While en route to the
cache, be sure to stop by the waterfall (part of the west branch of
the Little Spokane River). In the late summer/fall you may
not be able to maneuver all the way into the falls, but I had no
problem in July. There is a little hiking trail nearby, and a
nice little epitaph sign near the falls. After visiting the
falls, continue around the horseshoe bend into the straits, and
soon your GPS will be telling you that this cache is nearby.
Soon after the cache hide (if you choose to continue) you will
enter an area of lily pads and other floating vegetation. I
suggest you go quietly for the next quarter mile or so and look
closely at the logs. If you are lucky, you might see a turtle
convention stretched across the logs, or in the water. I saw
about 50 turtles in the water, and a few on the logs when we came
through. I also saw great blue herons, osprey, and if you're
lucky, maybe you'll see a beaver!
The Geocache is a kayak drybox with a few trade items and a
logbook. I don't think you'll have any problem finding it,
but check the spoilers if you'd like.
Have fun out there and enjoy the
paddle!
Watch out for the Turtles! (especially you,
TurtleTrax!) Special thanks to SpoTgr for the Turtle pic.