Description
Gravel parking area with a limited number of spaces. A dirt footpath leads to the water (about a quarter mile), and to swimming areas with predominantly rocky beaches. Shore launch is possible for transportable water craft.

History

Prior to the building of the Albeni Falls Dam in 1952, much of Oden Bay was a grassy meadow during the summer months when the lake level receded. The area was first inhabited by the Kalispel people as a seasonal campsite. Oden Bay is now a part of the Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area, making up roughly 300 acres of the larger management area. The area also includes Raymond Slough, named for early settler E. G. Raymond, and is managed by Idaho Fish and Game.

The path from the parking lot passes a ruin likely inhabited by members of the Ramsey family before the shoreline permanently moved inland. This part of the land was originally deeded to Elliot R. Ramsay by the United States in 1897, and stayed in the family for a while afterward.

Homesteaders started arriving in the early 1900s and found the fertile meadow land perfect for agricultural pursuits. Marcus D. Valentine arrived in Bonner County along with his wife, and purchased 60 acres on Oden Bay that he called the Sunnyside Ranch. He grew timothy hay, wheat, seed potatoes, cabbage, turnips, carrots and beets. He shipped some of his produce back to his home in New York. In June 1908, he retired and sold the ranch to Thomas Kirby.