Snug and friendly

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Walton Lake in the summertime is intimate and inviting.

You know how big lakes impress with their depth, their breadth and their sheer magnitude? Often, those factors that make them awesome also make them chilly and a little impersonal. Think Crater Lake. You can’t have it both ways.

Walton Lake is a popular warm-weather destination in the Ochoco National Forest because of its diminutive size and setting. At just 18 acres, it’s surrounded by old-growth ponderosa pines and emerald meadows that beckon on a sunny day. It’s snug and friendly, and so are the people.

While at 27 miles northeast of Prineville, it’s not exactly on the beaten path, Walton Lake has definitely been discovered. Although the scenery is top-notch, it doesn’t offer an untrammeled wilderness experience. But you know that going in.

Besides, there’s something buoyant about young anglers’ voices, their high hopes and audible excitement resonating from shore to shore.

”I got one.” ”What are you using?” ”Powerbait.” ”Got another one.”

The giddy sounds of summer.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks Walton Lake with pan-size rainbow trout on a regular basis, and the fishing can be productive.

Bait, spinners and flies all yield fish. The lake, at 5,156 feet above sea level, is no more than 20 feet at its deepest.

I got out in my pontoon boat, joining several other inflatables and even a drift boat on the water. Gas motors are not allowed on Walton Lake.

It’s also a good spot to spy wildlife. Woodpeckers, belted kingfishers, osprey, Steller’s jays, frogs and Belding’s ground squirrels are among the cast of characters.

The lake is formed by a small dam near the head of Cady Creek. Spring water also seeps into the lake from surrounding meadows, according to the Forest Service.

A mile-long trail circles the lake and there’s a 31-site campground that swings around three sides of the lake. The Round Mountain Trail, which begins on the southeastern side of the lake, is an option for those looking for a more strenuous jaunt. It’s 16 miles up Round Mountain and back down again.

A boat ramp at the lake makes it easy to launch your canoe, raft or other craft.

The place was once a diversionary dam used to supply water to mines of Scissorsville downstream, writes noted local historian Steve Lent in his ”Central Oregon Place Names: Crook County.” The lake was then known as King’s Reservoir. But that changed in 1960 when the Izaak Walton League improved the facilities at the lake and filed water rights there. The lake was renamed after pioneer angler Izaak Walton.

We paddled around the lake, caught a few fish, and a couple of people in my party opted to swim (the water’s colder closer to the bottom). I ate a sandwich on the beach and watched the swimmers and the anglers on the dock and a couple of people driving their radio-controlled boats from the shore nearby. The evocative scents of suntan lotion (SPF 30) and fresh-caught fish swirled, rounding out the day.

Inspiring. In a casual, Ochocos kind of way.

If You Go

Getting there: From Prineville, drive east on U.S. Highway 26 for 16 miles then jog right on to Forest Road 22. Keep left on Forest Road 22 near the ranger station and drive about six miles. Turn left on Forest Road 2220 to Walton Lake.

Cost: Day-use fee is $5.

Contact: 416-6500.