Dickey Lake
Trego, Montana
Verified · 4 independent sources · top-verified
- WATER
- lake
- ACCESS
- Designated swim area
- FEE
- $16/night
- SEASON
- Varies by conditions
About Dickey Lake
Dickey Lake is an 800-acre lake in the Kootenai National Forest near Trego, Montana, with two U.S. Forest Service developed recreation sites on its shore: North Dickey Lake Campground and South Dickey Lake day use area. The South Dickey Lake site is developed specifically as a swimming beach with a grassy sloped shoreline for public swimming, a genuine forest swimming hole and an easy lake to swim in.
The lake sits at about 3,100 feet elevation in northwestern Montana's Kootenai National Forest, surrounded by larch and fir forest, roughly 20 miles south of Eureka and about 65 miles from the Glacier National Park entrance, near the U.S.-Canada border.
Swimming at Dickey Lake
Swimming is centered on the South Dickey Lake day use area, where a grassy lawn gently slopes down to the water forming a maintained swimming beach; the lake also supports boating, fishing (kokanee salmon, kamloop, and rainbow trout), and water skiing, and swimming is also possible from the North Dickey Lake Campground shoreline.
How to get to this swimming hole
For South Dickey Lake swimming beach: from Eureka, travel south on Highway 93 approximately 20 miles, then turn onto Lake Shore Road 3788 for about 2 miles. For North Dickey Lake Campground: from Eureka, travel south on Highway 93 about 13 miles through Fortine and continue just over a mile further.
Parking: Gravel parking surfaces at North Dickey Lake Campground; South Dickey Lake day use area has designated day use sites (one reservable, four first-come first-served).
The walk in
No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. This is a drive-up swimming spot, not a hike-in one. Recreation.gov describes the South Dickey Lake day-use sites as sitting directly on the shoreline with a grassy lawn sloping straight down to the water, so the walk from parking to the water's edge is very short (well under 5 minutes, no formal trail). North Dickey Lake Campground also has some hiking/mountain-biking trail access nearby, but those are separate recreational trails, not required to reach swimming.
Plan your visit
Bringing kids
Good for kids
South Dickey Lake day-use area is a maintained, gently sloping grassy lawn leading into the water (Recreation.gov describes it as 'a grassy lawn gently slopes down to the lake'), which gives a shallow, easy entry rather than a drop-off or rocky shoreline. No lifeguards are mentioned at either site. No hazards, currents, or steep banks were found in official sources, though water skiing and motorized boat traffic on the lake are things to be aware of near the swim area.
Parking
Lot
South Dickey Lake day-use area has 5 day-use sites (1 reservable, 4 first-come-first-served); no day-use parking fee was stated in the source reviewed. North Dickey Lake Campground has gravel parking surfaces plus a separate boat-ramp parking area; a $5 extra-vehicle fee applies there only if a second vehicle stays longer than 30 minutes (camping context, not day-use swimming).
Restrooms
Yes
Accessible vault toilets and potable drinking water at both South Dickey Lake day-use area and North Dickey Lake Campground (Recreation.gov).
Water clarity
Clear
A widely shared visitor photo captioned 'The mesmerizing blue-green waters of Dickey Lake' shows the lake's water as strikingly blue-green and clear; no visitor reports of murkiness or algae were found. Treat this as a visual, photographic impression rather than a measured clarity reading, since no numeric water-quality or Secchi-depth data was located.
Hours
South Dickey Lake day-use area: 10 a.m.-10 p.m., no overnight camping permitted (Recreation.gov).
On the water
Recreation.gov lists boating, fishing, swimming, and water skiing as lake activities and notes a boat ramp with dedicated parking at North Dickey Lake Campground, indicating motorized boats and water skiing are permitted. No no-wake zone, horsepower limit, or electric-only restriction was found in the sources reviewed, so restrictions are left null rather than assumed.
Rentals nearby
Kayaks, paddleboards, pontoon boats (18' and 22'), and jet skis
Prices: Kayaks/paddleboards: $50/full day; 18' pontoon: $500/full day; 22' pontoon: $550/full day; jet skis: starting from $130
Based in Eureka, MT (roughly 20 miles north of Dickey Lake). Their site names Lake Koocanusa (launching from the Rexford Boat Launch and Peck Gulch campground area) and Sophie/Glenn Lakes as the waters they serve, plus 'private property deliveries' -- Dickey Lake itself is not explicitly named on their site, so delivery there is unconfirmed and would need a direct call to verify.
What regulars say
Visitor reports are thin online. A widely shared 2014 visitor photo captioned 'The mesmerizing blue-green waters of Dickey Lake' suggests the lake has notably clear, vividly colored water worth seeing.
Dickey Lake: FAQ
Does Dickey Lake charge a fee?
North Dickey Lake Campground: $16/night camping fee, $5 extra-vehicle fee if staying longer than 30 minutes; no fee specified for South Dickey Lake day use area in the source reviewed.
Is Dickey Lake kid friendly?
South Dickey Lake day-use area is a maintained, gently sloping grassy lawn leading into the water (Recreation.gov describes it as 'a grassy lawn gently slopes down to the lake'), which gives a shallow, easy entry rather than a drop-off or rocky shoreline. No lifeguards are mentioned at either site. No hazards, currents, or steep banks were found in official sources, though water skiing and motorized boat traffic on the lake are things to be aware of near the swim area.
Do I need to hike to reach Dickey Lake?
No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.
Where do I park for Dickey Lake?
South Dickey Lake day-use area has 5 day-use sites (1 reservable, 4 first-come-first-served); no day-use parking fee was stated in the source reviewed. North Dickey Lake Campground has gravel parking surfaces plus a separate boat-ramp parking area; a $5 extra-vehicle fee applies there only if a second vehicle stays longer than 30 minutes (camping context, not day-use swimming).
Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Dickey Lake?
Recreation.gov lists boating, fishing, swimming, and water skiing as lake activities and notes a boat ramp with dedicated parking at North Dickey Lake Campground, indicating motorized boats and water skiing are permitted. No no-wake zone, horsepower limit, or electric-only restriction was found in the sources reviewed, so restrictions are left null rather than assumed.
What are the rules at Dickey Lake?
South Dickey Lake day use area is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. only, with no overnight camping permitted. North Dickey Lake Campground has a 16-day maximum stay, prohibits site-saving on first-come/first-served sites, forfeits unoccupied reserved sites without refund, and enforces a 'Don't Move Firewood' policy to prevent pest spread.
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