lake billy chinook

The signs are good but restricted as it is not weather proof. It can get cold in the area and my experience was hindered by weather. There is limited water access and not for inexperienced campers.

I live close.... Within a couple of miles and always enjoy being on the water. Great summer place. If you are looking for a beautiful boating place this is it. Also available houseboats, kayaks, and jet boats. Check out the corner store on top for better prices.

Lake Billy Chinook is a wonderful place to spend a hot summer's day. The scenery is breathtaking. While the surrounding landscape is dry and foreboding, the water of the lake is cool and inviting. There is a boat dock where watercraft of various types can be rented. People from all over the state trailer in there own boats and spend the day skiing, rafting, fishing or just lazing the day away gently rocking on the water. If you're traveling through Central Oregon or plan to stay a while, Lake Billy Chinook that is a must see!

This is a beautiful place to go boating for a day. Best to go during the week and even better to go during the week and when school is back in session ... you'll have the place to yourself!Signs to the public boat ramp are not well documented (do not go to the marina!). And, the day-use parking permits are not well identified. I don't know what we did, but when we put our five dollars into the kiosk and got our ticket is came out as a TEST ticket. We got a warning from a deputy with a snide note that said the next time we'd get a ticket that would be several hundred dollars. Not very public friendly as we did everything we were supposed to.But, Lake Billy Chinook is a lovely stretch of water with side-fingers to explore. Fishing is good and you can even put a pot in for crayfish. Just make sure you have the proper license.Very close to Madras and it looked like plenty of camping options.

The only problem I had was there was no water access from any of the campgrounds. You had to travel to day use areas to go to or on the water. Beautiful sights though! Great weather!

It was a hot day and we were unprepared to swim. Otherwise, a beautiful, sprawling lake with many attractions.

Perfect place for a swim and picnic lunch. Spectacular mini canyon setting and thankfully few powered boats. The water was surprisingly warm too.

We are fortunate to live in Central Oregon with its beautiful scenery all around. Lake Billy Chinook is one the places where we have used our kayaks. In fact, on January 1st, 2014 we had our FIRST ANNUAL KAYAKING adventure there! It was so beautiful and peaceful, especially with maybe only seeing 1 or 2 other people on the lake! And, YES, we are surely going to make it an annual event. Come join us!These pics are from that day. If you do bring your speed boats, please remember that we as kayakers and our friends in sailboats (which we are sailors as well) have the right-of-way since we're not under motor.

I have been nearly everywhere in Oregon and Lake Billy Chinook is at the top of the list of must see's! The views from the lake is amazing with the cliffs towering over you. we rented a houseboat from the rentals with a group of friends and had an amazing time. The only downfall i would say is that our houseboat had issues and had to get worked on for nearly a full day (they didnt have a replacement for us so we had to wait) but they did comp all of our gas for the trip and gave us a free jet ski rental for a whole day. will definately be taking more vacations to LBC!

We rented a 12 person houseboat for 3 families from Lake Billy Chinook Houseboats and had a fabulous time! Caught lots of fish and beautiful views of the Metolius, Deschutes and Crooked Rivers. Spectacular rock formations and saw lots of wildlife including 3 bald eagles. We rented a ski boat to pull inner tubes with kids for half day at Cove Palisades Marina which rounded out the week nicely. A great adventure with many memories!

I have been coming here since 2012 and I love the camp grounds. Everything is so peaceful and clean! The campsites are clean and great. It is close enough to town where you can run out and grab anything you ma have forgotten. The lake is just wonderful. Wakeboarding is AWESOME on it! Cannot wait for Aug 2014!!

We camped at Cove Palisades State Park for a biking weekend. Wonderful central location and lots of options for rides, sight seeing, hiking and dining. Large campsites with electricity and water. Hot showers.

We had the best time ever with the team at lake billy houseboats. They were so phenomenal to work with and everyone was right on top of helping us with anything we needed, especially Brian. I work in hotels and know that it's not easy to pull off what they do, but they do an amazing job at it: boats in great condition, knowledgeable and eager associates, organized and fun!

My son and I went for one night of camping. I should have done a little more research on the campsites as they are at least 1/4 mile away from the water. I can see why Billy Chinook is popular with the boating crowd but wouldn't probably go back if I was just to camp.At 7pm or so, the boating groups started to pull into the campsite (Deschuttes) and were pretty noisy.

We spent 2 nights here at the Crooked River Campground. I really liked the campground. It was so well kept and clean. The bathrooms were spotless and the showers were clean and warm. They have firewood for sale on site as well as ice. There is also an area for dogs, a little playground and volleyball net. Just a short drive away is lake access for swimming, picnics etc. We rented a pontoon at the marina and the staff at the boat launch and in the store were all so friendly and helpful. The lake is beautiful. Be sure to make your reservations way ahead of time as they fill up quick.