Amenities

Shore launch, boat ramp, dock. Vault toilet and parking.

History

The town of Lakeview came into being in the early 1880s when the first prospectors filed claims. A nearby silver deposit had been found in 1881, and miners rushed to find local silver, gold, lead, and zinc. Within ten miles of Lakeview, over 20 claims and mines soon sprung up. By 1890, Lakeview’s population had grown to at least 1,000 — partially due to a false story in a San Francisco newspaper claiming gold was found at the now-abandoned town of Chloride, uphill of Lakeview. Five years later, 17 saloons, a general store, the Lakeview Hotel, a post office and a log school house had sprung up along Main Street. However, miners soon realized there was no gold to be found in the hills, and the population dropped to 150 in 1903. 

In the early 1880s, limestone deposits approximately 200 feet thick were found at Lakeview, offering another mining opportunity. The International Portland Cement Company opened two cement plants near Lakeview by 1912, where 100 men produced 500 tons of cement a day — you can still see remnants of the quarries and processing plants from the water. The market fell in the 1930s with the Great Depression, and the population of Lakeview subsequently dropped to 21. It had a resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s when it became popular as a fishing destination. Visitors established vacation homes and enjoyed summer breaks on the shores of the lake.

Today Lakeview is a small community with only a few year-round residents. There are three ways to access the area: by boat; by a Forest Service Road over the High Drive area from Clark Fork (2-4 hours); or a one-hour drive up the Forest Service Road from the Silverwood area. Both Forest Service Roads are closed during the winter months, limiting road access to AV or snowmobile only.