We went to Waldo Lake in the central Oregon Cascades for a 4 day visit this past weekend. Met my sister-in-law and her family. A lake kayaking mecca! It is reported to be the second-largest natural lake in Oregon and is crystal-clear; the water looked like some tropical paradise (well, with cold water, no fish, and plenty of mosquitoes!)

No combustion motors are allowed on the lake, and there must have been 20 kayaks and a few canoes on the beaches at our campsite alone. There are 3 USFS campgrounds on the lake - we stayed at one of the northern ones (Islet Campground). All have pit toilets, nice sites, and water. The southern campsite takes reservations, and the other northern site (the most popular one; all the lake sites were taken when we arrived at 2 PM Thursday) is slated to take reservations starting in 2012. We got 2 lake sites next to each other at Islet Campground by arriving on Thursday.

The mosquitoes were pretty bad, but other campers said they are normally not so voracious by mid-August. The late, wet spring is likely the culprit there. The mornings and evenings were dead calm (you could see 100 feet down into the lake - a little spooky at times) and there was a light wind in the afternoons. My husband and brother-in-law went for a sunset/night paddle and had a great time. Here are a few photos:







It's a long drive from Seattle; I'd like to stay longer next time - it would be fun to do longer day paddles and explore the other side of the lake, maybe even do an overnight campout. There are plenty of other small lakes in the area that could also be explored and lots of hiking trails too. Days were warm, but expect cold nights.

Wow, looks like a nice place to paddle (especially the lack of powerboaters)! That clear water just begs me to jump in.

I was checking it out on Google maps...what's with the landscape at the very north end of the lake? Is it all rock? Sand dunes? I zoomed in, but can't tell. Looks like a cool place to explore!

To me it looks like a burn from a few years ago on dry soil. Perhaps the photo is in spring, before the vegetation (e.g. fireweed) has greened up.
That's my guess anyway.

Thanks for the report. It would be amazing to paddle over water that clear.

Bryan

Yes, it is a burn from a few years ago (some friends of ours were actually there the night it burned - they were woken up at midnight and told to evacuate the campground - with their 3 small kids and all their gear!) It is kind of cool looking at the moment - the burned trees are still standing and new pines are sprouting up. This was a morning paddle when the lake was like glass.