Olallie Lake Washington

Located just down the road from Takhlakh Lake is another amazing lake. Beautiful view of Mt. Adams and next to nobody there. I would have to wonder how many people stop at Takhlakh instead of traveling a bit further to Olallie? Nice camping area, clear lake water and up front and personal views of Mt. Adams. Pretty nice place to stop.

Free Campground – Council Lake Washington

Washington is quickly becoming one of my new favorite playgrounds. Recently I explored a few of the lakes around Mt. Adams – situated in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. These lakes are located on the western side of Mt. Adams. One of the lakes – Council Lake, appears to be a deep water lake with a small campground near its southwestern tip. There’s a fairly steep drop down to the lake, but that makes it easier to lower your canoe to its shore. The camp sites are nestled pretty close together, but still somewhat private amongst the older growth trees. And…it’s free! Those are becoming close to a Dodo bird phenomenon. The drive in was an easy gravel road. I didn’t have time to explore the lake on this trip, but based on the drive in, I think there is a large meadow towards the more northern in.

When I arrived, there were a few people pulling in their boats with a nice catch of fish from the day. The water is a deep blue and it’s what I would classify as a flat water lake. Overall, this is one lake that I will be returning to.
Lake Acreage: 43.7
Elevation: 4,225 feet

   A purple mushroom I found along the edge of the lake.

Summit Lake Oregon Pictures

Check out the post about Summit Lake too –

Larison Cove Hills Creek Reservoir – Canoeing

I usually do not include reservoir areas as recommended spots for canoeing – because of the wind factor, motor boats, lack of scenery etc, but the “arms” of Hills Creek Reservoir offer some great canoeing nooks. Larison Cove is one of those spots. A small parking area and canoe launch makes it easy to put in. Watch for small docks – a fun perch to eat lunch. Depending on the water level, you can go up the channel for quite awhile. I was there when the water was relatively low, but it was fun nonetheless. There were canoe campers near the back of the cove so canoe camping is a possibility. Take Kitson Springs Road/Hills Creek Road about 2 miles southeast of Oakridge. Turn on to NF Road 21 around the west side of the reservoir. Watch for the sign for Larison Cove on your right.

Timpanogas Lake Oregon

A little gem of a lake located high up in the Cascades near Summit and Crescent Lake. Great campsites flank one area of the lake offering instant canoe launching spots. Picnic tables and a turn-around loop is also great for trailers. There is an upper and lower lake. The lower lake require a small canoe portage through the brush, but a fun afternoon canoe trip. There was only one campsite taken on a Friday afternoon in August! If you want to get away with comforts of vault toilets and picnic tables, this might be the spot. The mosquitos were pretty terrible though, so bring the bug spray. The road from Crescent Lake is really terrible, so I would recommend coming in via Hills Creek Reservoir. I have driven a lot of barely passable back roads in my life the road between Crescent Lake and Summit Lake is top on my list of roads I don’t want to drive again. I do not recommend it!