Hasse Lake

In early June, we paddled Hasse Lake. Hasse is a pretty small lake but is full of birds. The water was still pretty good in June with only a tiny bit of floating algae.

The parking lot is large, has a portapotty, and there is both a boat launch and a good-sized dock a few hundred feet to the north. There were ten people fishing of the dock on a random weekday morning! 

There is also a playground just south of the launch. The launch is super shallow and the bottom is very soft and gooey, so best plan to try and get in dry footed.

The lake shore is basically reeds in front of aspen, although there is some cleared far land to the south and a sandy bit of shore over on the east side.

We chose Hasse because it was shallow. My wife got a small kayak sail and we wanted to go on a windy day, but to avoid big waves. Hasse fit the bill and the sail was pretty fun (worked best with the skeg down).

The lake was, as usual, full of birds, including a dozen pelicans, loons, grebes, gulls, terns, ducks, and caribou shore birds. The island is chock full of birds and smells like it if you get downwind.

Overall, a fun paddle. Hasse is pretty so-so (small, gooey, prone to algae in the summer and fall) but was a good lake on a windy day and a fun place to try out the kayak sail without having to sweat big waves.