Henrys Lake State Park

Henrys Lake State Park is one of those places that fishermen usually just dream about. A high mountain lake about 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, Henrys Lake opens the Thursday before Memorial Day and usually closes around Halloween (weather permitting). You might want to call ahead and see what services are still available if you want to visit after September 15. When open, there are 44 campsites and 3 camping cabins available for rent, all directly on the shoreline of this beautiful, 6,000-acre lake. 27 of the campsites are reservable from spring opening through Labor Day weekend. Henrys Lake State Park also offers hiking, wildlife viewing, interpretive trails, boat ramps, launching docks and 2 day use areas. Once you get a taste of the cutthroat, rainbow and brook trout fishing here, you won't want to go anywhere else... there's just something about those 3-5 pound cutthroats, the up-to-12-pound cutthroat-rainbow hybrids and brookies that sometimes weight in at 3 pounds. There's also excellent stream fishing nearby in the Gallatin, Madison and Henrys Fork Rivers.

This is an area on the western side of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with 8,000'-to-10,000' mountains around. Winters are cold and harsh, spring comes late and summer is often over before you know it. But if you can catch that open summer window, you might have the fishing vacation of a lifetime.