Hauser Lake Missouri River
— — a slow river held still between canyons.
Not only on a wall.
“Hauser is the middle reservoir of three on the upper Missouri, sitting between Canyon Ferry above and Holter below. The dam went in just after the turn of the last century and gave the river a long, quiet pool where eagles winter and brown trout grow heavy. Drive the gravel road in from York. The water reads the colour of the sky most afternoons. — from the studio
Hauser Lake Missouri River, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Hauser Lake is a 3,720-acre reservoir on the Missouri River in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, about ten miles northeast of Helena. It was created in 1907 when Hauser Dam was completed by the Helena Power Transmission Company, one of the earliest hydroelectric dams in the state. The lake stretches roughly fifteen miles upstream toward Canyon Ferry Dam, threading a string of basalt canyons. Public access comes through Black Sandy State Park and several shoreline sites along the western shore.
The water moves more than it looks. Hauser is a flow-through reservoir, and the Missouri's current keeps the upper end cool enough through summer to hold rainbow and brown trout in the eight- to ten-pound class. Bald eagles concentrate on the lake every winter to feed on kokanee salmon that run up out of the depths. Ice-fishing for perch happens off Black Sandy through January and February. The wind comes hard down the canyon most afternoons, which is why the local sailing club chose the lake.
Black Sandy State Park, on the western shore about seven miles off Interstate 15 at the Lincoln Road exit, is the main public entry. The park has a paved boat ramp, a small day-use beach, and twenty-nine campsites that fill on summer weekends. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks charges a day-use fee for out-of-state vehicles. The York Bridge, ten miles further up the canyon, gives shoreline access without the gate. Cell service drops as the road turns into the canyon.