Idaho Fish and Game creates new winter parking at popular ice fishing lake near Boise
Local anglers will have a safer way to access Lake Cascade this ice fishing season thanks to a team effort by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Valley County and a private landowner.
Working through Fish and Game’s Access YES! Program, the landowner allowed a new parking lot to be created at the popular Stonebreaker Lane/Sugarloaf access to Lake Cascade, where Idaho 55 meets Stonebreaker. Anglers have been accessing the lake from Stonebreaker for years, but without any formal parking, vehicles often spilled onto the highway and a nearby snow plow turnaround, causing traffic and safety hazards.
The new parking lot will accommodate about 20 vehicles. It will be free to park there this winter, but Fish and Game is asking anglers to abide by the following rules:
Parking hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (no overnight parking)
Pack-it-in, pack-it-out. There will be a portable restroom, but no trash services.
Anglers must access the lake via Stonebreaker Lane (no crossing onto the private land on either side of the road).
It’s worth noting that the parking lot is a decent distance from the water, so anglers will need to walk or snowmobile down Stonebreaker to get on the ice. The lot will be open Dec. 1 through March 31. For complete details about the new parking lot, read this IDFG news release.
Lake Cascade usually isn’t ready for ice fishing until late December or early January, but with the recent cold snap, there is already ice covering most of the lake, and a few anglers have been fishing on the north end. As always with early-season ice fishing, make sure to fish with a buddy, drill test holes as you go and exercise caution on the ice. Tight lines!
Jordan Rodriguez has been fishing Idaho waters since he was a teen. Share your fish stories, adventures and questions with him at tightlinesboise@gmail.com, or visit www.tightlines208.com for the latest local fishing reports and upcoming class offerings.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 9:11 AM.