The Cove Palisades State Park

Beautiful area with cool views and interesting topography. Nice campgrounds with nice amenities. Ice and firewood available. Cash or written down card options for late arrivals. Staff were very friendly and went above and beyond.

Absolutely love the Cove Palisades! Great park with facilities for use. Great swimming area, awesome for boating and water sports. Lots of parking, and trailer parking. The water in the summer is often warm. The down side it the amount of algae that is in the lake. Another negative is the amount of goose poop along the shore and in the picnic area. The water is often cloudy green. Huge lake with plenty of space to recreate on the water. From end to end it can take about an hour by boat.

1. Incredibly scenic 2. No dogs allowed in swimming area 3. Ample parking for truck and trailer 4. Quiet during the week days 5. Ample beach area/space/picnic tables 6. Restrooms

This place was awesome to stay with my family! We got the upper camp ground on top of the canyon, so there's weren't as many trees as there were the lower camp grounds in the canyon, but it was still a super nice place! The showers and bathrooms were pretty clean for a public campground, with plenty of hot water, and everyone's got a little space around their spot, so there was no cramping. The camper and RV hookups were simple and good, and they have sink tank dumping every few camp spots; also, slightly further in are two sewage dumps, which were clean and convenient. All around, it was a great stay! Just with my younger brothers (who aren't so young; all three between the ags of 13 - 17, and also my 11 y/o sister) knew how to cover their mouths when they're sick. Pretty disappointing to come home from a nice getaway with a cold 😭

Great in May before everything dries out. Arrow-leaf balsams in full bloom along with the scant rest of the variety of wildflowers blooming. Gorgeous gorge if you pardon the pun. Just be careful come June when the green-horses start pooping in the lake (locals know what I mean), it doesn’t really bother anything, it’s just kinda funny to think you’re jumping into ‘THAT!’ Have fun and stay safe, the bottom is 400’ below, so don’t sink.

We stopped there for a night to have a look. Nice campground, quite a journey to get there (Loop C) and it is a bit scary but worth it. There was a sign about a mountain lion that had been seen a few days ago but did not see it :-( It is a good stop!

Love it, we come every year. It was real smokey the first few days but thankfully cleared up 💦💨💦💨💦💨 Swimming, boating and enjoying the sun.

We drove south on the Oregon Scenic ByWay Hwy 97 through Central Oregon to The Cove Palisades State Park. The small towns, farmers fields and mountain peaks make this a truly scenic drive. The Cove Palisades State Park is a short drive off the hwy 97 with goods signs at every turn. The signs provide a better route then Google maps. The state park is magnificent, but the campground is rather disappointing. It is not located on the water or within easy walking distance. Some beaches are only accessible via steep trails from the parking lots. Too steep for us. It is a 5-mile drive from the campground back to the picnic area with parking level to the beach. There is a resort in the park that is on the water which we wish we had booked instead of the state park campground. There are hiking trails with great views that we enjoyed and one playground at the far end of the campground. Free showers, lots of camp hosts on duty, ice for sale, clean, well managed campground. Lots of sites with power and water plus a dump station nearby. Campsites are narrow with lots of large rocks. Paved pads are pretty level. Road above the canyon has lookouts that are worth a small side trip. Town nearby for supplies.