Sunset Cove - Odell Lake
JULY 17, 2023
To start with here is a little history of this beautiful lake that sits in the Cascade Mountains. The lake was named way back in 1865 by Byron J. Pengra and was named after Oregon surveyor General William Holman Odell. It resides in the Deschutes National Forest and is in the far northwest corner of Klamath County. Highway 58, which runs next to the lake, is what was being surveyed at this time but it was a military road back then.
This lake has an average depth of 132 feet with the max depth of 282 feet.
Odell Lake
I ventured along the shore as far as I could go in one direction. I was looking for interesting points for photos of the area. Photos below were taken over several days in different locations.
Lake Walkway
At the Sunset Cove Campground there is this walkway that stretches out into the water near the boat dock location. At the end of the walkway is a bench that you could sit there and enjoy the beauty or even fish for a bit.
Sunset Cove Campground
I also want to mention the campground that we visited on this trip. Being a US National Forest campground it is a primitive campground with no hookups. They do have some water taps in various areas around the campground. It's a very clean and organized campground and we absolutely loved our spot we had reserved. We will be back again for sure to visit this campground.
Trails Peak
The Odell Lake trail goes between the East Odell Lodge and Sunset Cove Campground. We didn't do the entire trail but what part we did do was absolutely beautiful. This shot here is of a hiker and his friend. He gave me permission to photograph them standing here but I wanted to make sure of privacy so I made this into a silhouette shot which I feel put a nice mood into it. Below are a few other shots of the trail.
Lake Activity
There is a lot of lake activity that goes on each day. Here there was a wind surfer having some fun with the strong afternoon winds that come up each and everyday. I saw people in all types of boats doing fishing, kayaking and even a catamaran sail boat. The lake becomes rather windy each afternoon and most activity is stopped by 2-3 pm due to the winds.
After Sundown
To end this blog here are some photos of the sunsets that I got each night of the trip. The name of this campground is fitting for its location. You can't get a good sunrise shot but everyday that the sun is visible you will get a beautiful sunset. This shot here is after the sun has gone down and it is done with a much longer exposure to capture more color but the smooth effect of the water.
