Timothy Lake
Getting There: Highway 26 to the Timothy Lake turn-off (optional route using Highway 224 through via Estacada)
Distance from Portland: About 2 hrs
Food / Supplies: Government Camp
Parking Permits: $5 Forest Service Day-Use Permit is Required (purchase at Gov. Camp or onsite)
Crowds: Heavy on weekends, light during the week. It’s a big lake, so you can always find solitude. No boat speeds over 10 MPH allowed.
It took me a long time to get up to Timothy Lake to paddle. I always was reluctant because of the perceived crowds I might encounter. So I decided to test my fear by heading there on a Saturday in August with my 14 year old son in tow.
Granted, it was a colder day than one expects from the furnace temps we’ve come to expect as of late, I don’t think the mercury got above 73 degrees while we were there, so that may have been a factor in the lighter use we encountered.
We decided to check out the Pine Point day use area, and lucked out with a primo parking spot close to the launch ramp.
The ramp provided an excellent paved launching spot and we cruised out onto the lake under overcast skies. The water was perfect: completely calm, not a riffle, zero wind. The kind of paddling conditions you dream about.
We followed the curve of the shoreline for awhile then cut across the lake to trace the banks of Meditation Point, a highly desirable walk-in or paddle-in only camping area. The mini-peninsula juts out into the lake on the north end, and boasts 7 primitive sites for a $5 fee.
Next time, I thought, that’s exactly the way I want to experience Timothy Lake…paddle-in camping at Meditation Point!
After a couple hours of enjoying the scenery and even some wildlife, a long line of little wood ducks and their mama, we started back towards Pine Point. Along the way we stopped for a swim, and the water temps were surprisingly comfortable! It actually felt warmer to stay in the water.
All in all it was a very pleasant trip and well worth the 2 hours it takes to get there from Portland. I can’t wait to get back and do some camping…during the week of course!
We stopped by Little Crater Lake on the way back and marveled at the deep eerily blue water…no paddling there, but a sweet little camping area and some fun trails.
