A popular Idaho lake – which is technically a reservoir – was once the location of a bustling town.
Van Wyck used to be where Lake Cascade in Valley County is located today.
Discovered by Levi Kimball in 1888, Van Wyck was home to the first post office in Valley County, which opened that same year. According to the census of that year, by 1890, 538 people had resided in the Van Wyck precinct.
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However, in 1948, the Cascade Dam was built on the Payette River, and the reservoir was created to retain water and control flooding.
“The back waters from this dam covered some of the best farming and ranch land in the valley and caused the rerouting of Highway 55 over Little Donner,” the Valley County website notes.“It also caused many families to be relocated, some of them against their will.”
In 1999, the name Cascade Reservoir was officially changed to Cascade Lake because it ‘had a better ring to it.’
Today, Lake Cascade is the fourth largest lake in Idaho and is a popular fishing and camping spot. It’s also where the world record was made for the largest perch ever caught on a tip-up.
The Van Wyck Campground and boat ramp are located off Lakeshore Drive in Cascade.
