Camping at Cove Palisades
I've been perusing the Campfire Cuisine recommended previously on the camping gourmet post in excited anticipation of our first camping trip this year. I'll be one of those filling up the tank with $4/gallon gas (ugh!) next weekend for our first time camping east of the Cascades. I should probably rethink packing the dutch oven (thanks for the tip, Sunny) to lighten the load but eating well is a priority. Searching through the archives The Cove Palisades the campground I've reserved for Memorial weekend, did not make the list on our previous discussion on family-friendly campgrounds. Have you been there? Did you like it? I'm sure we will pack the fishing poles and do some hiking, but any must-not-miss activities?
I spend a good portion of my childhood summers at the Cove. It brings back a lot of memories for me. We haven't camped there with kids yet, but we've done a few local trips and my one piece of advice is to set up a tent just for toys and shade for the kids to use. We fine that it give them a good spot to play with stuff and they love having their own little space - and it created a good place for them to play that is shaded, so that's a bonus.
Enjoy - we'll be camping that weekend, too, but a little closer to home.
Posted by: Andy | May 17, 2008 at 11:27 AM
i camped there once, years ago. from what i remember, it was desert-y and hot! i don't remember a lot of shade except one place we were hanging out at by the water. and it was crowded. but it was a lot of fun and we had waverunners, too! and we took the boat trip to inspect the geologic strata.
Posted by: shannon | May 17, 2008 at 02:10 PM
I wrote a bit on Cove Palisades in another post:
http://www.urbanmamas.com/urbanmamas/2007/08/summer-sun-seek.html
The Cove is really about the lake. The swimming is protected and nice, fishing is good, boating is great because you can find hidden coves and areas that are inaccessible otherwise (they even have floating restrooms on the lake).
On the negative side, I have to admit that there isn't much hiking considering the size of the park but there are plenty of boulders to climb. It does get very busy on the weekends, so be mentally prepared for a non-solitary adventure.
It will be definitely be dry and hot, so pack plenty of sunscreen and bottles for water.
Have fun!
Posted by: Milagros | May 17, 2008 at 05:14 PM
We love the Cove and can't wait to take our boys there. We don't camp at the lake- we stay up by the dog run in the green green grass and moor the boat down at the lake. Its hot, but the lake is AWESOME.
Posted by: joy Gates | May 19, 2008 at 12:04 PM
We're going there this weekend too! We went there this last year this time too. We had a fabulous time with our kids (they were 1 and 3 at the time). There was a good playground, places to ride bikes, the lake is nearby, some little stores to buy snacks/ice cream, etc. There is a really cool trail that takes you up on top of the cliffs. We had my MIL there, so we were able to take advtg of it sans kids. Older kids would probably handle it really well, but the trail is narrow and steep, so I'd be scared to take toddlers up it.
We're considering taking a side trip to Smith Rock to do some hiking - so there's a thought on an extra activity to do there.
We camp in a trailer, so no suggestions on tent camping.
Have fun!
Posted by: PDX Mama | May 20, 2008 at 08:09 PM