Hike amid the trees circling the water or just float under the sun in this popular spring-fed volcanic crater lake.
First off, this park is BUSY. If you want to be cocooned in the profound serenity and solitude of nature, this is not your spot.
Recreation abounds everywhere you look - families grilling by the shore, kids diving off the dock and wading around the swimming area, teens jumping off rope swings into the farther corners of the pool. After hiking the lower loop around the lake, we jumped in our inflatable tubes and floated among the kayakers and fishing boats. On a hot summer day this area bustles like a forested metropolis.
Nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, Battle Ground Lake began as a 400 foot mountain in what's known as the Lava Boring Field, a cluster of volcanoes which became active several million years ago and only stopped erupting 57,000 years ago with Beacon Rock.
When this particular volcano blew it left a giant crater in its wake, which was filled in by a natural spring... becoming the gorgeous lake you see before you!
With 10 miles of hiking trails, a boat launch, and plentiful camping options, there's no reason not to love Battle Ground Lake.
Distance from Portland: 45 minutes / 27 miles
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