Battle Ground Lake State Park

In January, I had made reservations for last weekend at Battle Ground Lake State Park. Terry and I wanted to check it out last summer, but since the campground consists of only 35 sites, it was booked up every weekend. We were excited to hit the road on Friday afternoon and check out this campground for the first time. We left our house a little before 3:00 and headed south. We didn’t hit any traffic and made it there in about 3 ½ hours. It was a nice drive even though most of it was on the highway and I even drove for a little while.

Once we made it to camp, we got registered and headed to our campsite, site #14. It was a partial hook-up site, so as we unloaded, Terry also hooked up the water and electric. We decided on just having fried chicken from QFC for dinner since we knew we would arrive late. After getting the campsite ready, we decided to take a quick walk around the campground and go down to see the lake. It was a small lake with a lot of trails going around it. When we got back to camp, Terry made a nice fire and we both enjoyed some s’mores before heading to bed.

On Saturday, we woke up early and decided to go fishing. We found a nice spot on the lake near a picnic table and cast out our lines. Terry caught a small trout that we opted to give away and after about 3 hours of fishing, I didn’t catch anything. However, I did get some reading done. After a few hours of fishing, we walked back up to our site for breakfast. I made sausage and pancakes for breakfast. It was nice having the hook-ups as I was able to bring my electric griddle for the pancakes. They turned out really good. I also got dinner started. I had brought meat for chili verde, so put it in my crock pot on low for the day in hopes of tender meat.

After breakfast, we decided to go on a hike. We started on the upper lake trail and then did a loop on the lower lake trail. It was a pretty walk and since the lake was small, it didn’t take too long. Along the lower loop, we came across and eagle perched on a piece of wood in the lake. It seemed so close that it was unreal. There were also lots of momma ducks swimming around the lake with their babies following. When we got back to camp, I took a quick shower and then spent some time relaxing with Terry. We also took another walk around lake in the afternoon before dinner.

Dinner turned out great. The chili verde was very tender. I also made rice, beans and Terry helped make a salad. After dinner, we decided to head back to the lake. There was a little shop we stopped at along the way and got an ice cream to share. It was fun sitting by the lake, watching people and eating ice cream. There was also an eagle circling around the lake which was neat to watch.

When we got back to our site, I decided to make a fire. Terry really wanted to give me advice and I told him to give me a chance. Amazingly, I did end up with a nice fire. We roasted some marshmallows and had s’mores before heading to bed.

On Sunday, we woke up and decided to try fishing again. We got off to a later start, so the place we were the previous day was taken. Luckily, we found a nice spot along the lower lake trail. There were some rocks we were able to sit on while we fished. We didn’t catch anything on Sunday; however, the eagle had better luck. As we were fishing, we could watch an eagle circle the lake. It dove down a few times and finally came up with a fish in its talons. I had never seen an eagle catch anything before, so it was quite exciting.

When we were done fishing, we headed back to our site where I made veggie scramble for breakfast. After eating, we slowly started to pack up our gear to head home. We stopped quickly on the way out of the park and dumped the tanks before hitting the road. We made it home without incident. It was a nice, relaxing weekend away; however, I don’t know if we will plan another trip to Battle Ground Lake since it was over 3 hours away and not as special as we were hoping.

Lake Sylvia State Park

We made last minute camping reservations at Lake Sylvia State Park on Thursday night. The description of the campsite said “fish from the site” so had Terry sold on that spot as soon as he read that description. On Friday, we left our house at 3:30 and stopped by Wal-Mart on the way so I could get my fishing license. My license was $24 for just fresh water, where Terry was able to get his freshwater and saltwater license for $8 total. Another benefit of being a disabled veteran in Washington. We ended up leaving the Wal-Mart in Spanaway at 4:00 and started our drive west.

We hit minor traffic on I-5 and made it to Lake Sylvia State Park around 5:30. The park was only 2 miles from the highway and the town of Montesano where it was located was very cute. We reserved site 24 for the weekend and as soon as we pulled into our site, we started to set-up camp. We were surprised at how close the lake was to the site and loved the view.

For dinner, I made tacos and salad. After we ate, we walked thru the camp loop to check out the other sites. It was a small campground with only 35 sites. Beside the site we were in, we also really liked sites 5 and 21, however, any of the sites on the outside of the loop on the water would have been nice. We tried to walk to the ranger office to get a map, but it was closed. When we got back to camp, Terry made a fire and we enjoyed the evening before heading to bed.

On Saturday, we woke up around 7:30 and started the day. While we warmed up water for coffee and hot chocolate, we decided to do some fishing. Terry and I both caught fish, but released them. The fish we were catching were all small trout. We enjoyed bringing them in, but due to the size, didn’t want to keep any. I think by breakfast, I had caught 6 trout and Terry had caught 2.

For breakfast, I made a sausage, potato, spinach and egg scramble. After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around the lake. We had looked at a map of the park when we made the reservation and noticed there was a trail that went around the lake to the north. We tried the ranger office again on our way out, but it was still closed. So, we walked across the main bridge to the day use area and then headed north on a path along the lake. It wound north until the lake wasn’t much more than a swamp and then a creek. There, it crossed over and we walked along the east side of the lake heading south until we arrived back at the campground. The second half of the walk was more trail-like than the beginning.

Once we made it back to camp, we decided to relax by the lake, enjoy the nice sunny weather and do a little fishing. The fish weren’t biting as much as they were in the morning, but we both caught a couple. Terry and Zeus took small naps while I read and enjoyed some sun. We definitely liked the lake and know when we come back, we will bring a small boat and spend some time on the water.

As evening came, we steamed some artichokes and barbequed buffalo burgers for dinner. After dinner, we walked around the campground and were finally able to get a map of the park. Terry also got a map of a hiking trail on the south side of the lake, south of the dam. When we got back from our walk, Terry made a campfire while I took a quick shower. It sure is nice to be able to clean-up after a day of camping. When I was finished with my shower, Terry showered while I enjoyed the fire. When he was done, we roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores before heading to bed.

We got up fairly early again on Sunday. We tried fishing while I was making breakfast, but we didn’t have as good of luck as we did on Saturday. I think I only caught one trout and Terry two. For breakfast we had sausage, eggs and English muffins. After breakfast, we decided to try the hike south of the dam. It was very pretty. It was only two miles long and took us just over an hour, however, we did take our time stopping for pictures and reading the highlights listed on the map. The trail was where an old lumber mill used to be so there was evidence of the lumber mill along the trail which was pretty neat.

When we got back to our site, we slowly started to pack up. We did relax for a while and did some last minute fishing and enjoyed the view of the lake before we packed up the last of our gear and headed out. We took one last walk through the loop before we left which was nice because we were able to get a better look at the empty sites for future trips. We definitely plan on coming back. We finally left a little before 3:00 and started the trip home. Luckily, the park was close enough, that we made it home and were even able to do some chores before heading to bed.