Best Frontage Road & Smith Lake
Seasons
Checklists
Location
From I-84, take Exit 302 and travel east on Hwy 86 for about 0.1 miles. Turn south on Best Frontage Road and scan the ponds on your left. There are a total of 4 ponds but the eastern-most pond is difficult to see. You may get a better look if you turn left (east) on “H” Street and circle around to Atwood Road. To find Smith Lake, go to the south end of Best Frontage Road and turn left on “H” Street. Take “H” to Atwood Road and turn right. The road quickly turns east and becomes Sunset Lane. Turn right between the two farm houses and go 0.25 miles to the lake. All these ponds and access to Smith Lake are on private land. Occasionally, access to Smith Lake is challenged.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
This, like most of the small ponds around Baker City, can produce just about any form of waterfowl, shorebird, or wader one might expect to find in Baker County. Snow Goose, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, a dozen other duck species, grebes, Common Loons, Great Egret, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Spotted Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, several species of gull, and a few others might be found here. Occasional visitors have included Eurasian Wigeon, Wood Duck and Longtailed Duck.
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