Lake Mills, lake of the United States of America

Lake Mills was a reservoir in Olympic National Park, Washington, formed by the Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River about 13 miles from the river mouth. It existed from 1927 until it was fully drained by October 2012, leaving sediment upstream of the former dam site. The former lakebed is now being revegetated by Olympic National Park crews.

Lake Mills formed in 1927 when the Glines Canyon Dam was completed on the Elwha River, after the lowland forest on the river bottom was clear-cut. The dam had no fish passage, blocking anadromous Pacific salmon from more than 50 miles of the upper Elwha watershed. The Elwha Ecosystem Restoration project removed the dam in 2014, and the reservoir had fully drained by October 2012.

Lake Mills takes its name from the reservoir that existed here from 1927 to 2012. The surrounding lowland forest was clear-cut before the Glines Canyon Dam filled the valley. Today Olympic National Park crews are revegetating the exposed sediment to speed ecological restoration and improve habitat for returning salmon.

Access to the area is from the Madison Falls Trailhead near Port Angeles, with multiple trails available for exploration through recovering forest and along the river. Visitors should bring water or be prepared to treat it from streams, carry map and compass, and dress in layers for rapidly changing weather conditions.

Lake Mills was home to rainbow trout, bull trout and Dolly Varden trout, which grew to adulthood in the reservoir because the dam cut them off from the Pacific Ocean. After the Glines Canyon Dam came down, these fish were expected to resume their natural anadromous life cycle.