Missoula Lake sits high up in the mountains on the Idaho-Montana border. It is accessible from the Idaho side by going through Avery on the St. Joe River Road and then staying on the St. Joe River Road until you reach Red Ives Ranger Station. At this point you head east on Forest Road 320. The road becomes narrower and rougher and much more adventurous. For the average car, I am not sure that I would recommend this route to the campground. The road is fine until Red Ives, so long as you watch for the major potholes. After Red Ives, I can only recommend vehicles with ground clearance and proper tires.

There are a lot of campgrounds and areas where one could camp all along the St. Joe River. I think you could probably spend a week up there camping at a different campground every night and not have to stay in the same one once. There are also quite a few areas large enough to set up a tent and do some fishing. There were some spots along NF320 that were large enough to camp at, usually near creeks. There was also Heller Creek Campground, which looked like a pleasant place to spend an evening.

The road grows even rougher from the intersection with NF715, which leads to Pierce, ID. The views from the summit are worth the endless climb up rocky and rutted road. It is from the summit of Cascade Pass that you get your first glimpse of the lake. Descending about .7 miles from the summit brings you to the entrance of the campground. Once you have found a spot and established camp, find the trailhead at the northern part of the campground and hike roughly 1/2 mile or so to the lake itself. There is one campsite on the lake, if you want to hike your kit in with you. Otherwise, enjoy the view and the serenity of this mountain lake. I did see fish jumping and found no indications that fishing was not allowed, so bring your pole and try your luck.

Continuing to head north on NF320 will get you to I90 at Superior, MT. The road from the campground to Superior is a better road and probably manageable by most vehicles. I saw several vehicles along the road with people searching the hillside for something. My assumption is that they were looking for mushrooms. The closer to Superior one gets, the better the roads become.

I definitely enjoyed the trip to and from the lake. The views were amazing and the lake quite peaceful and serene. If you have the vehicle to get you there, it is worth the time and the hike is worth the effort.

For more information, I found this pdf: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwic-afT4aWAAxWIHTQIHWepBhoQFnoECA8QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmyfwp.mt.gov%2FgetRepositoryFile%3FobjectID%3D90308&usg=AOvVaw0RN6p-fB7c3KVXpANjwsLk&opi=89978449

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