A friend of mine and myself decided to embark upon an awesome kayaking adventure today. During the morning hours, we kayaked upon Fish Lake and in the early afternoon hours, we drove just a couple miles down the road to enjoy Clear Lake. This post will be about our adventures at Fish Lake and the next post will be about our trip to Clear Lake! Hold on to your hat because today was absolutely fantastic!
If you haven’t heard of Fish Lake or have never embarked upon it’s beautiful waters. Go now! It will be gone soon!
“Located up Highway 126, 22 miles northeast of McKenzie Bridge, Fish Lake is a seasonal lake fed by snowmelt. The lake disappears during the summer months into the lava rock below, creating a lush meadow. This historic site was once a wagon road stop complete with a hotel and saloon that burned in the 1920s.”
In a word, Fish Lake is absolutely STUNNING! The water is very clean and as you kayak around the area, you can see the various plants just below the water waiting for dryness. And it will happen soon! Last year, I kayaked Fish Lake on June 12, 2023. The shore lines already showed signs of the decreasing depth as shown in the photo below.
However, Fish Lake was full today! Yay!
When you embark upon this journey, MAKE SURE you kayak/boat to the furthest distances. As you leave the boat dock, go to the right and just stay to the right. You can’t see where you’ll be headed because it winds around, but it does reach back quite a ways. At the furthest points, there is a water channel (which you can see by the depth of the water) that winds around the brush and grass and takes you back even further.
As you leave the boat ramp, you’ll pass by this beautiful cove where there are almost always ducks and geese swimming about. The wood buildings are fun to look at as well. As you can see from the photo – it’s just beautiful with all of the reflections upon the water. Once you have passed this area, you will embark upon your trek across Fish Lake.
We picked THE perfect weather day! It was absolutely gorgeous with a bright blue sky and awesome reflections upon the water’s surface!
We came across 4 different creeks of water leading into the lake, but this one was, by far, the best one! Truly mesmerizing! You just know that water is super clean, probably clean enough to drink without a filter. Personally, I could sit in front of these types of waterfalls for hours. The sound is so incredibly soothing.
One of the interesting parts of today’s journey was to see the “final” onslaught of Spring. Here in the Willamette Valley where I live, all of our deciduous vegetation are fully loaded at this point, with new branches and leaves. But, here at Fish Lake, the season is a bit different. They had just received (most likely) their last snowfall of the year just a week ago. So, Spring starts a bit later and it was beautiful!
I’ve always found it quite enjoyable to see the signs of new growth everywhere. For me, it’s being able to finally say goodbye to the dreariness of winter! Yay! The middle picture above is interesting. The red color are the tops of these bushes that are beginning to grow and the green below is under the water’s surface and it’s all of the grass ready to sprout of the water! All very fun to look at!
I thought this was one of my coolest photos. This is at the very back of the lake where the water can get very shallow if you don’t stay within the depths of the channel. And today, the grass was shining so brightly. It was gorgeous! I haven’t seen a stretch of healthy grass growing in the middle of the water very often.
Because Fish Lake is beginning it’s spring weather season and subsequent growth, that means all of the “big” mountains in Eastern Oregon still have quite a lot of snow on them.
They were a beautiful addition to our kayaking adventure!
I want to make a couple of helpful decisions should you decide to visit Fish Lake.
- Go as early in the day as you can. The reason for this is because the parking lot is very small. Once it’s full, there’s no where else to park. So, if you want room to load/unload your kayak – plan your time accordingly. Oh, parking is also free.
- The boat ramp is not paved. It’s just a dirt path, so to speak. However, it’s very easy to put in and take out. It’s a short walk from where you park your vehicle, so you may need a kayak cart or someone to help you carry your kayak.
- There is a public restroom you can use.
- Lastly, take a lunch or other items to eat. There are a number of picnic benches to be used and the views of the lake are outstanding!
- Mostly – have fun and get out there before the end of June because the water will be all gone.
This is only the 2nd time I have visited Fish Lake and it’s definitely one of my favorite spots!
Be sure to read about the 2nd half of my day when we kayaked at Clear Lake.
2024 – KAYAK TRIP #20
Can’t wait to go! jo