Lake Billy Chinook

Lake Billy Chinook is in Central Oregon, near Warm Springs and Madras.

Understand

Lake Billy Chinook contains 72 mi (116 km) of shoreline, and has a surface area of 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares). The reservoir is surrounded by public land. While staying at the lake people can fish, camp and participate in water activities of all sorts.

History

Lake Billy Chinook was created in 1964 at the same time the Round Butte Dam was created by Portland General Electric. The lake was named after Billy Chinook, a member of the Wasco tribe who acted as a guide for John C. Frémont in the region of the lake.

Landscape

Near the area is the Cove Palisades National Park. The park is surrounded by cliff lines. The area offers excellent hiking trails, and beautiful landscape.

Climate

The temperature around the area is hot in the summer, and fairly cold in the winter.

Fees and permits

Day-use permits are required year round. Annual or two-year passes can be purchased at the Cove Palisades State Park in the summer time.

Do

Fishing is a popular activity at Lake Billy Chinook. The lake is filled with Kokanee and Large Mouth Bass. Water sports are also a major attraction. This makes boating of all kinds, water-skiing, and swimming very attractive to people who visit.

Buy

There is a local convenience store, and sporting good store near the park where people can shop for general goods. The small town of Culver, Oregon, also has a small country store and is located only about ten minutes away.

Eat

At Lake Billy Chinook there is a restaurant, where people can purchases a wide variety of entrees.

Lodging

The park has log cabins for overnight stays.

Camping

The park has 272 campsites, of which 87 are full-hookup, and 94 are tent sites. Many of these sites also have electric and water hookups. If you are planning on camping with a group, there are multi-tent group sites available as well.