Float Homes of Bayview: Floating homes, Lake Pend Oreille
The "Floating Village" near Bayview, Idaho has been part of the community's history since 1910. These homes are fully equipped for full time residents or vacationing families.
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Float Homes of Bayview
The “Floating Village” at Bayview, Idaho has been a unique community for over 100 years. There are over 200 of the historical floating homes in Idaho with about 100 of them being in one central location of Scenic Bay on Lake Pend Oreille.
The float homes started appearing along the shoreline in the early 1900’s. The original homes were simple fishing shacks to shelter fishermen that came to the lake for the Kokanee salmon. The homes were connected to the shore by crude plank walkways. The shacks had been built on a deck covering large cedar logs that had been tied or chained together forming a type of raft. The homes could be moved from job site to job site along the lake.
As fishing, boating and vacationing on the lake became more popular, more float homes appeared in all of the marinas. Families would spend weekends and holidays on the lake in their homes. By the 1970s float homes had been built in all five marinas in the bay. Each home was unique from the others and no longer as mobile as in the past. Permanent docks stretched into the bay from shore and the float homes occupied boat slips along those docks. By 1991 due to environmental concerns the homes were required to be connected to the sewer system on shore creating a more permanent location.
New float homes are not allowed to be constructed. The last home that the state approved was in the 1970s. Home owners are allowed to remodel existing homes as long as they retain the original “footprint” meaning the existing flotation system of cedar logs. The homes could not be expanded in width, but a second story could be added. A few home owners realized the hard way that with a second story the home becomes unstable and could tip on its side. Several homes met this fate in January 2015 due to the heavy snowfall. Now plastic 55 gallon barrels called “totes” are put in a stainless steel cage and bolted to the logs under the home. This helps stabilize the home and supports extra weight.
Owning and living on a float home is not as cheap as it was in the early 1900s. Today, the home is considered personal property and the owner pays a personal property tax to the county like they would a car or motor home. The State of Idaho charges the marina about $250.00 for each float home on submerged land and that cost is handed down to the owner in the form of rent (moorage). This rent is determined by the square footage of the float home. The home owners were concerned that the marinas would unduly increase the rent to cover the state charges and make a profit. Another concern that arose was the threat of eviction in order to free up space for rental homes by the marinas. It is not an easy task to pack up and move a float home.
In 1995 the Floating Homes Association was founded to maintain moorage fees and prevent homes from being forcibly moved to a location with a lesser view. In 1998 Idaho passed the Floating Homes Residency Act (Title 55 Chapter 27) to protect the homes and owners from unfair moorage increases and evictions.
Setting aside the economic complications, waking up every morning to the sound of water lapping at your door and the ospreys welcoming the day would be truly awesome!
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The two story float homes resemble little cabins on the lake.
Float homes in Scenic Bay July 2013. Many of the homes have been remodeled to modernize the inside to include full kitchens and bathrooms. Second stories have been added which requires additional flotation devices so the home will not tip over. Courtesy of Powell Shoemaker.
Float home at the Bayview Marina in 1970.
Some of the Bayview Float Homes in 1970. The homes started as fishing shacks and were later remodeled to one story cabins on cedar logs in a boat slip. Courtesy of the Museum of North Idaho
The back of float homes at the Boileau Marina in 2015.
Many of the float homes have a boat house on the rear of the home to park their boats. The water levels do not change much through the year allowing the owners to use their boats year round. Courtesy of Mary Garrison.
The Best Family Float home in 1910.
The Best family at their Bayview float home in 1910. The two homes were a simple layout with a place to sleep and stove for heat and cooking. Outhouses were on shore. This is one of the first homes to arrive in Scenic Bay. More homes used as fishing shacks arrived in the 1920’s. Courtesy of the Museum of North Idaho.
Float homes at Bayview in 1940.
Looking toward downtown Bayview in 1940. The float homes were becoming popular at all five of the marinas. Docks were built out from shore into the bay and the float homes were docked like boats in slips. Courtesy of the Museum of North Idaho.