June Camping: Timothy Lake and Wapiti Park

Summer has been formalized with two camping trips in two weeks this past month!  The first trip to Timothy Lake fell into our laps, after friends had to forfeit their reservations due to the school district extending its year by another week due to Covid.  We took their spot at this beautiful location just south of Mt. Hood, literally right on the lake.  Although it rained the first 24 hours (really hard the first night), the second 24 hours was quite mild and pleasant, staying clear enough for the boys to try some fishing out on a canoe.

My mom just happened to be visiting, so we brought her along, making this our first trip of four in our 16' foot trailer (plus the dog).  She hadn't camped in over 30 years (since I was about my son's age), when our last family camping trip was cut short due to our tent flooding from a freak rain storm in the Sierras.  In June.  So it was ironic that it rained the entire first day we were there.

We mostly just enjoyed the grounds, walking around, exploring, chatting with the Canadian geese that were looking for snacks and staying dry.  We grilled, we smore'd, we drank, we laughed and we camp-fired.

The campground didn't have any hook ups, so we were totally self-sufficient, which means we got to test out our solar panels for the first time.  Even in thick tree cover on mostly-cloudy days, they still managed to maintain 11.4 volts on a 12 volt battery to power the trailer.  We brought an extra 5-gallon container of fresh water (in addition to the fresh water tank in the trailer), and only stayed two of the 3-night reservation, so the waste tanks didn't get too full, even with an extra person on board.  The heater and cook top ran off the main propane tank, and we grilled our food outside whenever possible.

Mt. Hood is normally in view with the lake in the foreground, but it hid behind the clouds the whole time we were there, so we didn't get any pictures of it.  However, we still got some other beautiful shots regardless, and made another fun family memory.

The following weekend, we headed to the coast to Wapiti RV Park in Lincoln City.  The park is nestled in a little private valley two miles inland from Hwy-101, with no Wi-Fi and very minimal cell reception.  It was great.  

Although the physical spaces were just in a large, gravel parking lot, they all backed up to an open grassy field with large, shady trees.  There was a small swing set and monkey bars for the kids, electrical and sewer hookups (dump station at the exit for sewer), and the fire pits were old, big-rig tire rims which was pretty amusing.

The park had three shelter spaces for group entertaining/ parties which had running water, electrical outlets and wood-burning stoves in the middle of the room, presumable on days where the weather is too terrible to party outside.  The park also had a half basketball court, horseshoe pits and disc golf for guests to enjoy.

On the morning of our third day, right after breakfast, a herd of about 30 elk came strolling through the campground.  Everyone came out to take pictures and the entire campground just froze in appreciative pause.  The elk didn't seem to care too much about us humans, provided we didn't get too close, and they just grazed in the field for about an hour and then gradually returned back to the hills.  We saw a couple of older males with antlers, but most of them were females or adolescents, including 3 or 4 adorable young calves.

Monday was a balmy 64 degrees on the beach, with foggy mist hanging all around, and a very light breeze... perfect T-shirt and jeans weather.  We hung out on the beach for a couple hours, collecting shells, admiring driftwood and doing some people-watching.  There were few crowds on the beach (mostly families) and the traffic in and out of town was pretty cooperative for a weekday departure.

Out of the two locations, they both had their pros and cons:  Timothy Lake didn't have any hookups ($22/night) but it had gorgeous scenery and a private location with spacious sites - right on the lake!!  Wapiti ($35/night) had hookups, roomy green fields and was very close to town, but the sites weren't private at all - literally a gravel parking lot.  The elk were a huge bonus, however, and apparently stroll through the grounds quite often, according to the camp host.  Both campgrounds allow for tent and RV camping, so the flexibility is there depending on your preferences.  Three stars to both locations, but if we had to pick a return trip, it would probably be to Timothy Lake.  👍

Next month's trip: Champoeg State Park!