Timothy Lake Sailing (Mt Hood, Oregon)
Our family has visited Timothy Lake every year for more than thirty years. Most of these trips have been so I can sail the different boats I have hauled up and over the many passes on Mt Hood. So I have some local knowledge to share with other sailors. First off, yes it’s a very good place to go camping and bring your boats. Timothy Lake has four main campgrounds each with its own boat ramp. I’ll list off the campgrounds so anyone that wants may google them and make reservations to camp. #1 Oak Fork Campground, #2 Gone Creek Campground, #3 Hoodview Campground, #4 Pine Point Campground. All four are great, but Gone Creek is my favorite for sailing. All the campgrounds have day use areas where you can park and launch your boat if you don’t plan to camp. It’s about two hours back to Portland, thirty minutes back to Government Camp. But don’t bring just any boat, deep draft fin keels may not float off your trailer. All the ramps are shallow which means if your boat needs two or more feet of water to float off the trailer you may be very unhappy, or plan to do some winching and shoving. Boats with dagger boards and some swing keels are fairly easy to launch and beach. Hobie Cats, Lasers, Lightnings and all the car toppers are perfect. There are no docks so plan to beach your boat or wade to shore. Timothy Lake is man made and before they built the earth dam back in the fifties it was a forest, so there are lots of large tree stumps just below the surface along the shore line. The stumps are a little creepy but really don’t pose a problem, and each of the campgrounds have nice beaches that are stump free (sort of). Unlike some lakes, at Timothy they never seem to lower the water level, we always have a full lake. The water is very clean and clear and eighty feet at the deepest. The water temperature is fairly warm, children and adults have no problem swimming and spending the day engaged in water activities. There is a ten mph speed limit so you won’t see any water skiers or jet skis unless they are risking a ticket. This is not a high wind lake in the summer. Some days are totally calm, which is great for canoeing. It’s a great place for beginners and children to learn boating and sailing. Even on calm days you can count on a little afternoon thermal breeze for about two hours. This is not to say that the wind doesn’t come up, I have capsized Hobies and flown a pontoon many times . Timothy Lake is about 1 ½ miles by 1 ½ miles which is small enough that you can see most the lake and know where you and the kids are, but it still makes a nice long tack depending on your boat speed. The hiking and biking trail around the lake is about 12 miles and very worthwhile. At 3200 feet elevation the evenings can get crispy around the campfire, but 75 plus degrees day time temperatures are common also. Many people park in the campground day use lots and boat camp across the lake in the woods. The campgrounds will fill up on weekends so reservations are a must in July and August.
John
