Lake gone lost

Jefferson County is not exactly known as a land of lakes, but it is home to 25 named bodies of water. In the late 1800s, in fact, well-to-do folks would travel from far and wide to visit a stunning aquatic destination in the county’s southwest corner – of which now barely a shadow remains.

Between Boulder and Butte along Interstate 15, two miles south of the Bernice exit, a flat riparian area sits along the base of Bear Mountain. Here, on private land, Bison Creek meanders through willows, deadfall, and the subtle remnants of beaver-built dikes. Look closely, though, and you can see an unnatural feature jutting out into the open area. 

More than a century of running creek water have made their mark, and grass and sagebrush obscure its manmade attributes, but this eroding barrier, which appears as a blue circle on the map, is the dam that once made Lake Wilder.