Lake Shannon, body of water

Lake Shannon is a long, narrow reservoir in Skagit County, Washington, stretching roughly 7 miles from the town of Concrete. The lake is created by the Lower Baker Dam, completed in the mid-1920s and rising about 285 feet high into a narrow canyon.

The reservoir was created in the 1920s when the Lower Baker Dam was built to generate electricity for the region. A fish passage system was later installed in the late 1950s to help salmon navigate upstream after the dam blocked their traditional spawning routes.

The lake takes its name from the Shannon example set by the Skagit River, and its shoreline is used for fishing, boating and water skiing. Anglers catch landlocked kokanee salmon, a by-product of salmon spawning in the lake's tributaries. The Baker River Road runs along the east side, and the North Cascades Highway crosses the Baker River just below the lake.

The lake is accessible via a public boat launch on the eastern shore, which is the only developed access point for water activities. Most exploration involves hiking trails or fishing, though road access to the area is limited and visitors should check current conditions before traveling.

The reservoir drowned the first railroad bridge across the Baker River, a wooden trestle 190 feet high, when it first filled in November 1925. Salmon returns fell from over 20,000 in some years to a record low of 99 fish in 1985. A concrete weir in Concrete now lifts fish by elevator and flume to Baker Lake.