This Picture was taken from our boat at Lake Billy Chinook. Lake Billy Chinook is a reservoir in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created by the Round Butte Dam in 1964, Lake Billy Chinook lies in a canyon at the confluence of the Crooked, Deschutes, and Metolius rivers near Culver and Madras. It was named for Billy Chinook, a Native American of the Wasco tribe who traveled alongside American explorers John C. Frémont and Kit Carson in their expeditions of 1843 and 1844.
Lake Billy Chinook is a very popular recreational lake in Central Oregon for water skiing, sailing, jet skiing and boating. There are four boat launches around the lake, as well a marina and café on the east shore named the Cove Palisades Resort, which also offers rentals of houseboats and various other watercraft.
The majority of Lake Billy Chinook is surrounded by The Cove Palisades State Park. The state park offers both camping and lodging and is open all year for day use. The Cove Palisades consists of two campgrounds: Crooked River Campground (open all year) and the Deschutes Campground which is open from mid-May to mid-September. The Crooked River Campground is located higher up in the canyon whereas the Deschutes Campground is walking distance from the water.
The reservoir is only a 30-minute drive north of Redmond and about an hour drive form bend. We love to go out on hot summer nights to cruise the lake, jet ski, or just hang out.
