Crane Prairie Reservoir: A Lesson in Tranquility
Getting There: Map and Directions to Crane Prairie Reservoir / About a 3 and a half hour drive from Portland.
Camping/Lodging/Food and Supplies/SUP Rentals Nearby: Campground / Crane Prairie Resort / Sunriver
Crane Prairie Reservoir is a secret gem of paddling tranquility. Away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Cultus, Wickiup, and Elk Lake, CP offers peace and calm waters. Are there fishing boats? Sure, but they are restricted to 10 MPH and there are not hordes of them. To be sure, CP is a fishing lake, the abundant rainbow trout population and small mouth bass near the shore make it a destination for anglers. But the fisherman were courteous and gave me a wide berth as they motored by.
The lake is shallow, with a max depth of 20 feet and an average of 15. The shoreline is 22 miles, and the lake has a surface area of 5 miles.
The reservoir is named for the blue grey cranes that are abundant and majestic, and for the Deschutes River prairie that covered the area before the construction of the dam in 1922.
The best place to launch is on either side of the boat trailer parking lot where you will find a few small sandy beaches broken up with lava rocks and logs. I paddled out to the middle of the lake and was treated to an expansive view of South Sister, Mt. Bachelor, and bit of Broken Top poking through. You can also see the mountains from the shore, but they seem more intimate and imposing when you are beholding them from the water.
It was a hot day, and I took advantage of the lake’s delightfully temperate waters and took a few laps around my board, enjoying the cloud patterns as I floated on my back.
My son took a turn on my board as I watched from the shore, and was equally content as he mastered the balancing act and ventured out into the middle of the lake.
We stayed a couple nights with family at the clean and well maintained campground, and enjoyed the rustic and cute “resort” store where they rent SUPs and kayaks.
It was a wonderful trip and I’m sure we’ll be back to enjoy the tranquility of Crane Prairie again soon!
