This cache is located in the area of the falls
where Rock Creek enters Lake Como. There is a trail all the way
around the lake and so you may take either the north side trail or
the south side trail. Since they do not allow horses in the
campground on the north side from whence that trail starts, if you
are riding a geohorse you must take the south side trail. The south
trail is by far the more scenic and enjoyable anyway! It is more
varied with some ups and downs (nothing steep) and there are far
more trees for shade and beauty and more chance of seeing wildlife
(I saw a beautiful Osprey sitting in a tree). You may want to take
your swimsuit, as there are many great places to cool off. There is
a double water crossing (Little Rock Creek) but if you are on
“shanks mare” there are flattened logs to cross on so that you do
not get your little toes wet. If you have a boat or canoe you could
get to the cache that way. It is only about 2 tenths of a mile from
a good landing at the west end of the lake.
Lake Como was originally a natural lake.
Father Ravalli named it after Lake Como in his native Italy as it
reminded him of it. In the early 1900’s a dam was built to enlarge
the lake for irrigation. It has since been enlarged more and is
very popular as a water recreation spot. However late in the year,
the water level drops making the lake not much more that a large
puddle.
It is 3.7 miles one way from the equestrian
trailhead (N 46* 03.819 W 114* 13.895) to the cache. The elevation
gain is less than 140 feet. The “Como Cache” is located on the
north trail about a mile from the campground and so you may want to
grab that on the same trip. In the summer there is a $2.00 parking
fee ($20 annual) for use of the park.
Being an “equestrian” cache – there are a
number of horse related goodies in the cache. There is a brand new
blue lead rope as a “first finder” trade item for the first person
to find the cache via horseback! If you are so very unfortunate to
not have a geohorse, any trade item will work!
If you were to attempt
this cache in the winter, I would put the terrain difficulty at a
3.5 because of the distance and snow.