Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  Moonshine Park Starting Location:  Our Campsite B6 Point of Interest  :   views, waterfall Length of hike:  .2 mile loop Level :  Easy - paved trail until going down to the river Bathrooms :  yes, flush, clean, with showers (free) Parking :  Day Use or at campsite EV Chargers:   No Firewood : yes $7 a bundle We returned to Moonshine Park right after the 4th of July weekend. We were lucky to get a campsite for 2 days, Saturday and Sunday. Last time we were here, we did not take time to try out the 2 swimming holes. That was our goal this time, and it was so worth it.  The water was cool, but we got used to it pretty quickly. It's an easy swim over to the waterfall, where you can get behind it a bit. There wasn't a lot of water coming down, but it was much colder than the river. There's another swimming hole upriver a short walk. Quite a few people were coming down river in tubes and floaties. I'm not sure where they were putting in...

Moonshine Park Starting Location:  Our Campsite B4 Point of Interest  :   views, waterfall Length of hike:  .2 mile loop Level :  Easy - paved trail until going down to the river Bathrooms :  yes, flush, clean, with showers (pay) Parking :  Day Use or at campsite EV Chargers:   No Firewood : yes $7 a bundle We are heading to Yosemite next month, and are taking our little EV, instead of the truck, so this was a test of our new camping setup, including charging along the way. We didn't want to go too far, so we decided to try this park we were told about last year. But first, we went to Road's End in Lincoln City. We could have gone down Kings Valley Hwy instead, but we had not been to the coast in a while, so we decided to have lunch at McMenamin's, and go for a walk. The weather was great. No wind, comfortable in short sleeves, and the tide was going out, so we checked out the small tidepools and enjoyed ourselves. To get to Moonshine Park, w...

Scott Lake  Campground Starting Location:   Makeshift boat ramp about 1/4 mile from entrance to campground. Point of Interest :  Scott Lake, 3 Sisters Mountains Bathrooms:  Yes, several throughout campground Parking : Some along road, gravel parking lot at end of road. EV Chargers : No Scott Lake is just off the Old McKenzie Hwy 242. There is a restriction on vehicles and trailers over 35 feet about 10 miles from where it starts on Hwy 126, right where Camp White Branch is. We were in our truck, pulling our small Malone kayak trailer, which is (I measured after we got home) just about 35 feet long. Our trailer is very narrow, so we went anyway. We did okay, but that road is so narrow and winding, that bigger trailers or vehicles would not do well. The boat ramp starts out gravel, then grass, then mud. There was a small drop to the water, about a foot. Not difficult, but squishy. That said, the thing about Scott Lake is the view. The water is very shallow, or was whe...

  Waldo Lake is infamous for a few things. Beauty. Clarity. Mosquitoes. All are justified. The boat ramp at North Waldo is large and well maintained. There is plenty of parking, and there are relatively new composting toilets all through the campground, including the boat ramp. We ended up kayaking 2 days here, so this post includes both days. We stayed at the North Waldo Campground. The sites are large, well spaced, and come complete with friendly chipmunks and birds. Especially when you have food out. The mosquitoes were very annoying. We used a lot of mosquito repellent, and had 2 citronella candles burning most of the time. The campfire also helped. Between all 3 of those precautions, and the long sleeves and pants, the mosquitoes were manageable. There are quite a few first come, first serve campsites, which is what we got.  The boat ramp is in a small bay, with an island in the middle, so it is well protected from the wind. Once you pass the island, you are subject to wa...