VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Arrragh! Plan was to go to Nitnat for twelve days starting this Monday. Long term forecast was looking good initially but has been getting worse every day. Looking at other options that would offer similar conditions. Anyone have any info on Floras Lake in Oregon? Is it worth the trip? What is the camping like? Which campsite is better? What are conditions like this time of year?

good choice for your family, flat boring and smallish body of water but great for learning, shallow, ocean and bike riding nearby, grassy center in circular campground with washrooms, no wifi. all paved. kids will have a blast, take lawn darts or bocce, great rental center and hanging-out sun deck with beer and sun and wind breaks. coolish wind tho right off the ocean but sailing in shorts. Beautiful areas nearby, several sailing sites that go off occasionally and pistol is 1 1/4hr away. Loooong drive. great forecast

I checked out Floras on my way home from Pistol River this year and...

I was pretty disappointed. It's small, a reach is probably half the distance of Nitinat, the fetch is probably 1/10th, so the chop was just at the annoying level and not even jump-able (20-25 knot day). The shoreline is weedy and not particularly inviting. The campground was almost empty, there was only one family there with windsurfing equipment (mostly older bigger looking stuff).

That said, campground is nice (typical US style, mostly paved), it's fresh water, there are plenty of walking trails around, you can probably hop onto the ocean side for more excitement, rig your stuff at the nice campground and walk to the water. I'm told the water is chest deep all around too and is reasonably warm. (look into the rental center hours, it was midday in good conditions and I only saw one kite on the water, probably less than 6 people in the vicinity.)

Because the lake isn't particularly close to anything, I think if I was you I'd opt for Hood River, there is so much more to do, it's way warmer, and if you get bored of being near the water, take the kidlets up for some short hikes or bike rides at the mountain, or drive further east and check out the worlds largest nuclear waste storage facility. Fun!

I dropped by coming back from Gold Beach again this year, but didn't have enough wind to sail, so just stopped for another look-see. Loads of families with WS and kiting gear the day I was there. It is a bit like Nitinat feel, lots of families go there year after year for holidays. The sailing last year was great for hero-gybing and blasting around corners - the flat water is great for that, but it would get boring fast if you didn't push to learn new stuff - and shallow water is great for that. You can go further downwind for longer reaches and to get away from the crowd (and its deep water). This is in pretty but a little boring country, spectacular parts of coast are N and S not too far away. Great place to put kids in WS lessons, but for overall family holiday potential the Gorge has it beat I think.

more force 4 wrote:for overall family holiday potential the Gorge has it beat I think.

yeah, I think about this a fair bit and my kids are already older so HR is ok but apart from Maryhill with its nice grass and fruit orchards, Doug's with a sorta nice sandy beach to hang, small kids really have few places to play while daddy windsurfs.....Flora's is a puddle but it is a fun looking spot for the smaller kids (like yours as I recall...) and not as hectic (or freakin' hot on some days) as the Gorge. Just fill the cooler and bring the toys, unload and rig all your gear once, and relax w/ the little ones. More points with the wife I would think esp if she's not sailing much or at all....the water levels are apparently dropping so MaryHill with its trains are a second choice IMHO

I've sailed several times out of the new windsurfing park right in HR and I think that would be an excellent place for kids to frolic; nice grassy areas, playground, and that roped off swimming beach in the little bay. Sure it doesn't have the swell of Doug's or the Hatch, but we are comparing to Nitinat here.

The new park in HR, just west of the Event Site by a few hundred yards on the way to the Hook, is a nice place fo family with small kids, bigger kids will benefit from Maryhill (eg being able to ditch their parents and find other teenagers). That said, the playground at the new park is super once you launch a few of the smaller kids off the tilt-go-round at high speed and they seem to enjoy that too! The best hot-mom watching you can imagine (all those young boarders, kayakers, mtn biker moms) and decent sailing with easier access to swells over at the White Salmon Bridge or sailing up to Hatch. Big, big lawn for soccer/frisbee/etc.

I concur with the upgraded HR park being a good place for kids. It's where I end up sailing with family (2yr and 4th old). Wife can sail close to Or side in Nitnat style conditions. I usually stick closer to Wa or sail up to the Hatch. Nice sandy beach and playground and tonnes of other kids for the little ones. Only crappy part is dad ends up ferrying gear, beach toys, cooler etc back and forth all day from car to beach. Can't beat Nitnat for setting up once and not having to pack up every day.

Floras lake is pretty gusty flat water is great! The outside has a huge shore break Campsite is nice get lots if firewood for cheap.but fun place check wiskey run 1hr north of floras epic waves when its on can do huge downwinders if you got a truck or suv .cheers have fun,!

Gdawg wrote:Can't beat Nitnat for setting up once and not having to pack up every day.

Can't argue that!

Hey G-Daddy I'm in the same boat... No go for nitinat. Truck is packed trying to figure out where its going tomorrow morning.
You made a choice yet?
Gorge is close but I was thinking of running down the OR coast till I hit wind. Any one else have some input on where to go?

Pretty bogus all around, Pistol River (Gold Beach) looks like your best bet starting in a couple days, so Floras could well have some wind as well, everywhere else this July - looks like you are rolling the dice.

Actually, after reading Temiera's forecast for the Gorge, it actually doesn't look so bad for the upcoming week, plus you can sail without a wetsuit!

Rollin' the dice on Nat. It's the only place that makes sense for us with two little kids. Too complicated to truck em' all the way to Floras. Maybe in an another year or two. Tomorrow looks like it has potential and Tuesday too... then it's not so good for a few days. Have a huge stack of tarps packed. MTB. Guitar. Books. Probably trip to Carmanah in the cards. Maybe Bamfield for a day. And maybe the rec center in PA if things get really bad.... Wish summer would kick in already.