Trillium Lake, Oregon - June 23rd to 26th, 2024
Trillium Lake is a small lake near Mount Hood. A National Forest Service campground sits right on the shore of the lake. It is a lovely place to spend the night or longer.
Sunday was a short travel day, from Crooked River Ranch to Trillium Lake Campground near Mount Hood. We stopped in Madras for gas and groceries. Our only other stop was at the Pelton Wildlife Overlook on the Warm Springs Reservation for a picnic lunch.
Traffic on the two lane highways was heavy. We had a hard time making a left hand turn onto highway 97 when we left Crooked River. It was even hard to turn right onto the highway because there was a steady stream of vehicles and a lack of stop lights to create spaces. We’re assuming all the traffic is because highway 97 and 26 is the major route between Bend and Portland.
Trillium Lake seemed to be a popular place. Not only is there a campground, but also a day use area. The place seemed crowded with people, at least compared to places we had been recently. The small lake was full of people on paddle boards and kayaks having a great time. Trillium Lake is just a little over an hour’s drive from Portland, so it’s an easy day excursion on the weekend. We’re hoping the crowds will die down during the week, but we’re not holding our breath.
The camp sites are lovely, nicely spaced apart in thick woods. Our site backs up to the lake. After setting up camp, we went for a walk around the lake. There is a nice, easy trail around the lake, about two miles long.
At various points along the trail, Mount Hood is visible above the trees. The best view of Mount Hood is from the south end of the lake, on the dam. The south end is also the day use area and where most of the people were. Even with all of the people, it was still a beautiful setting.
Ann is hoping to get her paddle board out while we were there, but waiting for a little warmer weather. It was barely in the 60’s and dropping as the evening wore on. The forecast called for higher temperatures on Tuesday, so she made plans to paddle then.
Monday, we checked out the nearby town of Government Camp along with the historic Timberline Lodge up on Mount Hood. We’ll cover that in our next post.
When we got back to camp, Ann walked the two mile trail around the lake again to try to burn off some of the calories from lunch and work up an appetite for dinner. We decided not to cook and just ate some leftovers. Somehow we managed to each eat a quarter of the large donut we purchased at the Huckleberry Inn Restaurant in Government Camp. Despite not being very hungry, we found the donut very tasty, but also very rich. We forgot to take a picture of it before we ate half of it.
Tuesday turned out to be a beautiful day, full sunshine with temperatures reaching into the upper 70’s. In the morning, we made our daily walk around the lake. In the afternoon, Ann got out her paddle board (paid link).
It was nice to be able to carry the board a short distance to the lake and launch it right behind our campsite. Even though it was a weekday, the lake was busy, with lots of people paddling on boards, kayaks, and inflatable rafts. The shoreline was lined with people fishing. Others were swimming in the lake. However, it still seemed peaceful on the board out on the lake, with the sound of water gentling lapping at the board. Plus, it was hard to beat the view. Mount Hood is visible from every point out on the lake.
The water was pretty calm, so Ann was able to stand on her board this time. She had lost her nerve to stand up on her paddle board so far this season, but the previous times were on rough water with motor boats creating wakes. One of the last times she paddled last season, she fell and hurt her back (Lost Dutchman State Park, Arizona - September 17th to 20th, 2023). So it felt good to build up her confidence once again.
The people in the camp site next to us were waxing their snow skis. It was wild to think that here we were, with people paddling and swimming in a lake, while just ten miles away, people were skiing on snow.
Wednesday we drove the Mount Hood Scenic Loop. Again, we’ll cover that in our next post.
When we got back to camp, Ann made a quick lap around the lake to help burn off all the calories we consumed that day. There was no view of Mount Hood this time as it was hidden behind the overcast skies. As we were getting ready for bed, it started to rain. We easily fell asleep to the light pitter patter of raindrops on the roof of Red Tail (our Winnebago EKKO).
Whether or not you want to explore the rest of the area, Trillium Lake is a wonderful place to hang out. Wildlife, wildflowers, a peaceful lake to paddle on with views of Mount Hood, and a trail around the lake through the woods to stretch your legs on. It’s as good as it sounds.
Check out our related video: Trillium Lake, Oregon
(Ann)