Hello from Oregon

[DavisAR195]

Greetings from Happy Valley/Damascus, welcome! What lakes/rivers do you frequent?

 

[Thom]

Up until now, our boating has always been in Maine where we spend a few weeks at camp in August every year. Now that we have a boat here I'm planning to do a bunch of exploring, so if you have any suggestions I'm all ears. We live about 15 minutes from Foster Reservoir and Green Peter is just a few miles further, so I suspect much of our time this year will be spent there. We're planning a Shasta trip in June and Priest Lake in July. I'd also like to hit Cour d'Alene on the way home from Priest if the timing works out.

 

[Scuba_ref]

We are also hoping to hit Priest and CDA. It would be nice to see another Yamaha out there!

 

[DavisAR195]

It depends on what your looking for. A favorite spot for most Oregonians is Lake Billy Chinook in Central Oregon. Another favorite is Detroit lake for a great family camping spot. We spend a lot of time on the river in the summer since it's less then a ten minute drive.

 

[gsbrown]

Congrats! Love the red & black. That's a sweet setup you've got there!

 

[Thom]

Thanks!

@DavisAR195 have you done Billy Chinook? That's on my list too, but I've read that there are sometimes issues with algae blooms. Any insight there? I suspect we'll hit Detroit as well. My employer has facilities in Detroit that I sometimes have to visit, maybe I'll drag the boat up on and sneak some time on the water.

@Scuba_ref it'll be the very end of July, first of August for us, if you'll be up there then drop me a line.

 

[Scuba_ref]

@Thom we are still working out the details of our summer - have to work around my wife's nursing schedule (weeks on and weeks off type of stuff). I will definitely let you know!

 

[DavisAR195]

@Thom The algae bloom generally pop up toward the tail end of summer and last for a week or two. Generally any time prior to mid-August you're good to go. The lake sits down in a canyon which generally runs about 10 degrees warmer there for the cause of the algae blooms towards the tail end of summer.

 

[Thom]

Sounds like I should add Billy Chinook to the June weekend list, then.

 

[R502]

It is a bit of a trip, but there are some nice lakes out in E. Washington between Ephrata and Coulee City I like quite a bit. No algae, nice clean warm water throughout. Haven't tried Banks Lake yet but it is on my list. Nice to see some fellow Oregonians on here, I am a bit jealous of the guys from the southeast weather wise after the winter we are having her, geez.

 

[R502]

Nice shop, man that lift is awesome. Still work under jack stands myself.

 

[Scuba_ref]

It is a bit of a trip, but there are some nice lakes out in E. Washington between Ephrata and Coulee City I like quite a bit. No algae, nice clean warm water throughout. Haven't tried Banks Lake yet but it is on my list. Nice to see some fellow Oregonians on here, I am a bit jealous of the guys from the southeast weather wise after the winter we are having her, geez.

I would say that Banks lake, the north half is a must do lake...the best out here in my opinion.

 

[Thom]

@R502 Thanks! The lift was one of the best purchases I've ever made. Pretty inexpensive, too.

And yes, this winter has been miserable. Snow at my house the last two days.

@Scuba_ref I'll have to add Banks to the list, it looks pretty sweet. Any recommendations on where to stay? I haven't figured out how to take the travel trailer and the boat, so I think for this year we'll be doing mostly cabin/hotel stays. The wife caught me eyeing truck campers and didn't completely shoot it down, but after being spoiled by the TT I don't know if I would like the size of the truck camper.

 

[Scuba_ref]

@Thom We have always stayed at Steamboat Rock State park, you have to book your campsite there as soon as they become available - typically November of the prior year. It always sells out for the summer but you can luck into a cancellation or two every once in a while. A couple of years ago they put in some cabins on the north most loop so you could look for availability there. In past years when we haven't been able to get a site at Steamboat we have stayed at Sun Lakes State park (there is also a commercial camp ground adjacent to it that has cabins) and just trailered our boat up to Steamboat for a day or so and then also boated on the lake at Sun Lakes.

There are a couple of commercial camp grounds north of Steamboat:

Sunbanks Resorts has cabins and homes in addition to camping: http://www.sunbanksresort.com/

Coulee Playland Resort I think has some rentals as well, although this is known to be a party camp ground and is located at the north end of the lake beyond the interesting part of the lake: http://www.couleeplayland.com/index.html

We go to Steamboat for a week every summer and will be there Aug 3 - 10 if you happen to be in the neighborhood. We do tow both the camper and boat over, but it is only a 75 to 90 minute drive.

 

[malibu Dan]

I wonder if they still do the laser light show against the dam during the summer nights...

 

[Scuba_ref]

I wonder if they still do the laser light show against the dam during the summer nights...

They do indeed! I heard that they updated it in the last year or two.

 

[Thom]

Thanks @Scuba_ref. It looks like there's even some availability left for vairous weekends at Sunbanks Resort.

 

[R502]

I stay at Sun Lakes resort, spent all my time in Park Lake with the boat. Will be there in early August and already plan on a trip up to the North end of Banks Lake, the satellite view shows lots of room and some pretty cool looking channels, inlets and islands.

 

[Thom]

@R502 Have you stayed in the cabins, or do you camp? Looks like another good option.

 

[R502]

Both, need to reserve cabins early on in the year. You can get a day or two during summer weekdays, but weekends are typically booked. Always seem to be able to get a camper or tent site though.