This expansive, calm lake is perfect to kayak on a sunny day... then have a picnic and play some volleyball at the park!
We hopped in at Vancouver Lake Regional Park - and somehow we were the only ones in the water!
We headed to the island in the distance (later learned its called Turtle Island) with the hopes of pulling our kayaks on the sand and exploring. When we got close, however, we found it too shallow to keep paddling (aka we got stuck in the mud) and it was such SLICK mud we didn't want to stomp around to get closer!
Not a bad excuse to just lay back and soak up the sun (Grant was on his paddle board, the lucky dude.)
Apparently the whole lake is pretty shallow, 15 feet at the deepest and an average of 3 feet. A plaque at the park notes that once the entire lake froze over and everyone went ice skating!
On a clear day you can see the mountains and in the summer you can swim at the beach. The park itself is pretty, clean, and large - with lots of space to bike, have a picnic, and play volleyball.
We didn't take a good picture showing the size of the lake, so here's one with our friend from another day. (Hi Travis!)
Distance from Portland: 30 minutes / 15 miles
Difficulty: Easy
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