People share the lake and the mountains that surround it with birds and wildlife. Loons, great blue heron, rednecked grebes, and mergansers feed and nest on the lake. Deer and bear roam the woods nearby. Hall Mountain, which rises on the east side of the lake, is home to a herd of not-so-wild bighorn mountain sheep.

Bighorn sheep probably ranged on Hall Mountain naturally until about 1900, when disease or unregulated hunting eliminated them. In 1972, the Washington Department of Wildlife released eighteen Rocky Mountain bighorns in an effort to re-establish a herd. The department now manages about sixty sheep near Sullivan Lake as a source of transplants to other areas in Washington.

Although the sheep could survive well on natural feed, they are fed each winter at the south end of Sullivan Lake so they will be available for research, veterinary treatment and viewing. Hay is in the feeders at all times, and feed pellets are added once a week. Each spring, the feed is slowly reduced and finally eliminated, to encourage the animals to return to natural summer forage.

People often visit the feeders to get a close-up view of the bighorns, the largest sheep in North America. Rams can reach 300 pounds and grow thirty-pound horns.

The history of the Sullivan Lake area is summarized by interpretive signs along a mile-long, barrier-free trail at the Mill Pond, a mile down the road from Sullivan Lake. The trail passes ruined cabins and a five- seater outhouse to reach the slumped remains of the 2.5-mile wooden flume that used to carry water from Mill Pond to the town of Metaline Falls.

Sullivan Lake was raised forty feet in 1910 by a dam. Another dam on Sullivan Creek created Mill Pond downstream. A wooden flume, wide enough to drive a car through, provided water and electricity to the new cement plant and the town it spawned, Metaline Falls. This system of dams and flumes was a technological wonder in its day.

A boardwalk on top of the flume transformed it into a trail between Metaline Falls and Sullivan Lake.

Move on to Colville National Forest Index

Return to Top

RELATED GORP LINKS
GORP Washington Resources
GORPtravel Adventure Vacations