Grebe Lake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grebe Lake
As seen from Observation Peak, 1964
Grebe Lake Location in Wyoming Show map of Wyoming Grebe Lake Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Yellowstone National Park, Park County, Wyoming, US
Coordinates	44°45′03″N 110°33′31″W / 44.75083°N 110.55861°W / 44.75083; -110.55861 (Grebe Lake)
Primary outflows	Gibbon River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	.75 miles (1.21 km)
Max. width	.75 miles (1.21 km)
Surface area	156 acres (0.63 km2)
Surface elevation	8,023 feet (2,445 m)

Grebe Lake is a beautiful lake located deep in the wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. It covers about 156 acres (0.63 km²) of water. This lake is especially famous for its population of Arctic Grayling fish.

Grebe Lake is also important because it is where the Gibbon River begins. You can find the lake about 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north of the Norris-Canyon part of the main Grand Loop Road. The path to the lake goes through mostly flat forests of Lodgepole Pine trees and open grassy areas. A geologist named J.P. Iddings gave the lake its name. There are four special camping spots around the lake for people who want to stay overnight in the backcountry.

Meet the Arctic Grayling Fish

Grebe Lake Grayling

In 1921, people from the U.S. Fish Commission brought Arctic Grayling fish to Grebe Lake. Before this, the lake had no fish at all! The grayling they brought were a special type that lived in lakes, and they came from Georgetown Lake in Anaconda, Montana.

Arctic Grayling also naturally lived in the Madison River and parts of the Gibbon River below Gibbon Falls. From 1931 to 1956, over 72 million grayling eggs were collected from Grebe Lake. These eggs were sent to fish hatcheries to help bring grayling back to other western states. Most lake-dwelling grayling in the western United States today can trace their family back to the fish from Grebe Lake.

Because of these important fish-raising efforts, Grebe Lake was closed to fishing until 1944. Other nearby lakes, like Wolf Lake (about 2 miles (3.2 km) west) and Cascade Lake (about 3 miles (4.8 km) east), also have grayling.

Fishing Fun at Grebe Lake

Today, Grebe Lake is home to both Arctic Grayling and Rainbow trout. It's a very popular spot for visitors to go fishing during the summer. You can fish from the shore, but many anglers like to use float tubes. These tubes let them get out onto the water and reach the deeper parts of the lake.

If you want to use a float tube on any Yellowstone lake, you need to get a special boating permit from the park service. The lake is open for fishing during the entire Yellowstone season, which usually runs from the end of May to early November. However, it's often hard to reach the lake until mid-June because of snow on the trail. The path to Grebe Lake starts about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Canyon on the Norris to Canyon road.