Fantan Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (WY)
Approaches: Off-highway track, about 15 to 20 minutes of rough driving to the shoreline

Elevation: 9,538 feet
Fish: WYG&F data pending
Coordinates: 44.91158, -109.52675
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

Turn off the main highway onto the off-road track. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to reach the lake. A stock truck can make it, but the road is genuinely rough and you will meet some rugged obstacles on the way. This is not a passenger car drive.

The track brings you right to the water, so you can unload gear or launch a boat straight from the shoreline.

The hike

There isn't one, and for what this lake is good for, that is the point.

At 55 acres Fantan is large enough to be worth putting a boat on, and there is a small island out in it. That combination, drive-up access and real water, does not exist anywhere else in this part of the range. You can launch a kayak, paddle out to the island, swim, build a fire and spend the day there without walking a step.

Fantan sits at 9,538 feet. Wyoming Game and Fish data has not been pulled for it yet.

Tips & safety

• Bring a boat. Fifty five acres and an island are what make this lake worth the drive, and you can put in at the shore.

• The weather is the catch. It has been windy or rainy on most of our visits, often enough that we never got much fishing done. Bring layers and wet weather gear even on a good forecast.

• The road is rough. Stock trucks manage it, but expect obstacles. Know what your vehicle can do before you commit.

• Camping: the shoreline is drive-up accessible, which makes it one of the few places in this country where you can camp with real gear rather than what fits on your back. At 9,538 feet with open water beside you, wind is the thing to plan for.

• Fishing: no Wyoming Game and Fish record pulled yet for this lake.