camping/swimming/kayaking in Oregon or SW WA

Honeyman State Park just south of Florence has very close access, within walking distance, to two lakes, Cleawox and Woahink. Also located nearby are Sutton, Munsel, Siltcoos, and Takenitch lakes, and the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area. Ocean beaches are also a couple of miles away. Just north of Florence is Sea Lion Caves and the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Now you know why I chose Florence to move to 31 years ago!

Nice to get info from first-handers here. I love Detroit Lake, because it's close.  There are millions of stinky jet-skiers and WANKers there in the late summer.  Another big lake to get away is Green Peter Res. a little further south..   Clear Lake near Government Camp has a 10 mph speed limit, the campgrounds are nice and scenic. There should be lots of input on this thread.

A flat summer's day on Suttle is rare.  That thing gets blown out a lot.  But when it's calm, it's fantastic.  The eastern-most campground is the most private, and has a tent only area far from the RVs......

Lost Lake is always good from camping & kayaking, and has plenty of amenities.

http://lostlakeresort.org/default.php


LaPage park at the mouth of the John Day is another great spot, and the water almost makes it to reasonable swimming temps in the summer. Timothy & Trillium are on my list for this year.

http://www.us-parks.com/camping/or/lepage-park-campground.html

Lost Lake is always good from camping & kayaking, and has plenty of amenities.

Good recomendation.  View + lack of motorboats/jetskis makes it very pleasant.  Nice hiking trail around the lake when you want a change up from paddling.

apparently Lost Lake resort is on the downslope: reviews from Yahoo:

outrageous pricing Make no mistake, this is no wilderness getaway, it's a cut-throat business operation that usurped a gorgeous lake. My friends and I drove up after camping elsewhere just to check it out. They wouldn't even let us drive in to see the lake unless we shelled out $7 per car, so that was $21 for us to park and walk 1/4 mile with our toddlers for an hour. The lake is very serene and beautiful. I like that there are no motors on the lake, but I had such a sour taste in my mouth concerning the money. And campsites fit 4 people and ONE car, for $25. So, if you bring a couple friends in a separate car, you'll be getting two campsites for a $50/night stay... for a piece of dirt! (if you are lucky enough to score them, because there's no reservations, and it's a long 14 mile drive up there to check it out, and if you're out of luck, you'll be driving 14 miles back down, because there's nothing else around except clearcuts). There's another plus up there, however, and that is the old-growth forest. REALL lovely to be in the big old trees (that are surrounded by clearcuts - did I mention that depressing aspect?). Anyway, all I could think of is how the Forest Service is cutting like mad, and then in the areas where they preserve OUR land, they charge us up the nose to experience it even in the simplest ways, like just looking at it.

and

We booked a trip here with our 3 and 5 year old after seeing the cute cabin pictures on their site. We booked cabin #7 at 120 per night. We arrived to see that the cabins looked like a shanty town with peeling paint and pieces of wood thrown around them. The darling split wood fence from the web site photo had totally fallen down and long nails were poking from the rails along with rebar poking up from the ground (right near the cabin where children would play). The inside was much worse than the outside with floors that had shifted and were now sloping away from the fireplace. There were holes in the walls that went all the way though and pieces of the wall paneling were missing. The propane cooking burners had simple toggle switches so kids could barely touch them and turn them on filling the place with propane gas. There is no outdoor area near the cabins to build a fire - all are quite some distance away. Upstairs the floor was shifting as well and had several tears and holes in the flooring from what seemed to be serious water damage. There were large old water stains in the ceiling and the whole place smelled. The beds were worn out springs and most of the mattresses were visibly sagging - all were covered in a plastic bag, so when you roll over the bed both bounces and crinkles - it was truly the worst bed I've ever slept on! The upstairs wall was missing a large piece of paneling and had a hole revealing a light that stayed on all night. The fireplace screen was torn with sharp edges. Some of the windows wouldn't stay open and there were holes in the screens. The other windows had no screens so you couldn't open them at night without feeding yourself to mosquitoes. Needless to say it was absolutely filthy and smelled musty. There is no running water inside and no flush toilets - only outhouses. They charge your $4 to take a shower and the showers are only open during certain times. If you need wheelchair access to cabins there is none available.

Pros: The lake is beautiful
Cons: The cabin we stayed in was horrible!!!

  I guess YMMV with this one, some people love the resort and return yearly!!

ear Reader
My family has been going to Lost Lake Resort close to 10 years. We try to work in going to this quiet, pet friendly lake at least 3 times a year. We love it! Since there are no motor boats allowed it is so peaceful and enjoyable! I keep bringing family and friends keep up with us so they can experience the great outdoors with great benefits! My mom has back problems so she and my dad stays in a lodge room while we kids sleep in the tent! If you like a lake that has great fishing, is quite and has a wonderful perfect view of Mt. Hood then Lost Lake Resort is for you. Plus hiking trails are excellent! The Staff are very helpful and friendly. The Resort store is always ready to meet any of your needs. The boat rentals are way cheaper then most Resorts that charge for rentals and are in good condition. Last year one of my friends caught a 4lb rainbow trout!

I live in Clackamas and we drive about 1 hour and a half from LLR

hmm, I've never stayed in the cabins, or even really looked at them. Bummer to hear they're in such bad condition. As for everything else, I don't think much has changed in the 10 years I've been going up there. It's a little on the pricey side, and a wilderness experience it's not, but for family camping & fun, it's a hard place to beat. The scenery is incredible, the paddling & fishing is fun, and store, showers, and cabins are available for those that want them. The hiking trail Snopro mentioned is also a nice bonus for those that don't want to be on the water. We go up a few times each summer, and the kids have a blast. The camp staff have also been easy to work with, and were very lax on our people & car numbers when we were camping there last summer.

Plenty of other options around, too. No shortage of lakes in this area.

I see the campsites are $25/nite.  How are they for privacy and shade and cleanliness???   Water temp in mid-July is....?

I am with Alkasazi's comments on Lost lake....I too do not camp but fish or hike around the lake.
I also buy the seasonal parking pass for about $40.00....this is a good buy for unlimited entry into the resort.
Late last season, I hooked a 5 3/4 pound, 26" long trout using one of my home made kokanee bugs while trolling in my Hobie Outback.....so, nice sized fish are there and mid-week outings are the best for smaller crowds..... 

it's a big campground with spots side by side, so privacy isn't great. if you can get up there early to mid week, you can be a bit pickier & find some that are a bit more protected. Plenty of trees & shade, though in almost all sites, and it's clean.

Edited to add a copy of the campground map:
http://lostlakeresort.org/old-site-files-may07/main_campground.jpg

& congrats to the doc on his trout! I've never had any luck there, although the kids always seem to get some.

LaPage park at the mouth of the John Day is another great spot, and the water almost makes it to reasonable swimming temps in the summer. Timothy & Trillium are on my list for this year.

http://www.us-parks.com/camping/or/lepage-park-campground.html

I've heard that there is a boat-in only campground up the John Day river about 3-4 miles from the mouth.  Anyone visited or know about it?  Years ago the Chemeketans in Salem would make a paddle up to it each summer.

I stopped there once. basically a big field with boat docks and a bathroom. We just found our own campsite a little further upstream.

I have two friends I meet for an annual fishing trip at the John Day boat in camp.  There are pro's and con's to the boat in site.  It's called Difillipie (not sure of the spelling) and it's just up from the mouth.  I think closer to at least 4 miles.  It has new docks, two large separate mooring coves.  The large shade trees are nice, the grass is green and maintained.  There are bathrooms that have showers and they are solar heated.  The camping area is has no vehicle access, only the maintenance crew can drive in.  You might think this would keep out the trash, noooooo.

We fish there for the wide variety of spiny ray species available.  Mostly the large channel catfish up above at the narrows.  We usually stay for four days, and in late May/June...never on the Memorial Weekend.  This keeps our experience pretty quiet, mostly.  There have been times when the inbreds show, and man we are talking crazy.  We had a couple with kids and grandpa stay over night one trip that got very close to a serious domestic violence situation.  You would think that in a park of around twenty acres, you would not show up and set up camp right next to three guys sippin' whiskey, smokin cigars, and playing cards.  But after about the first hour of the Nascar family camping next to us, I realized they viewed us as perfect babysitters for the mess of kids from as many fathers.  That's rude of me, but it was glaringly obvious!     

NOT a comfortable outdoor experience, and luckily the profane/alcohol/meth fueled affair diffused- at around 3AM! They packed up and left sometime the next day

The wind is a real issue.  The river is by no means any better than the Columbia for high sustained wind gusts.  It can get so bad your not able to sleep, because the roof of your tent is slapping your face.  I recommend it for powerboats, because you can leave if you need to due to bad company or bad weather.  Sometimes leaving is difficult if the white caps are really bad, 4 foot swells are very common.

With all that, it is well maintained and serviced by the Corp of Engineers.  There are no fees, it is a free camp.  The camp is a gift by the Corp and you only pay for parking at the park at the mouth of the river.  The big catfish are in the narrows (about 13miles up from the mouth) to spawn.  They head up through the falls in the spring when the John Day is experiencing spring flows (anything above 3500 CFS to 5,000) is prime time in May/very early June.  Most fish are about 5lbs.  Some up to 8lbs, and a few 15lb-20lbs.
I'll look for a John Day photo to attach.


I would go to Detroit Lake or Walton Lake (east of Prineville), that's my kinda lake for kayaking, especially the Blowout or Kenny Cr. arms for camping/fishing.  Here is a pic of me and my daughters, my brother-in-law with his son on a fishing trip at Walton Lake.
-Scott

Thanks Scott for the report on camping up the John Day.  Sure destroys an outing when the neighbors are such luddites.

I could see this thread going on some.  I love Walton Lake!  I have a picture of me 10 years old, with a 14" trout from there.  Didn't like the way it was developed and busy last time I was there..
Any body have much to say about Lake Champlain?  Do I have the name right: big, eastern Wash. 
I love Lake Billy Chinook: big, Kokanee as big as Green Peter. 
I still want to spend a few days floating the John Day River.