September, 2025
One of my reasons for heading back to Lake Wynoochee (and staying in the Coho Campground, a National Forest Service campground) was to go kayaking in my Stearns inflatable kayak on this beautiful lake. There’s a very nice boat launch ramp that gently heads down into the lake water, and it’s never very busy. I can drive there with my big white truck, park in the parking lot, and then just walk down the ramp to the water, carrying the kayak, no problem. So today I figured that I’d better go check out the boat ramp area before I take the time and effort to inflate the kayak and get all the gear ready (life jacket, paddle, camera, waterproof shoes, etc.). I knew that the water level in the lake here in September would be lower than during the rest of the year, this late in the summer, but that wouldn’t bother me.
So rather than drive to the boat ramp just to check it out, I actually very easily walked to the boat ramp, about a 15 minute walk since it was just on the other side of the campground from my campsite. It was SUCH a gorgeous day! The photo below was taken as I stood at the top of the boat ramp. It’s the view towards the north, into the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. How pretty is that? [left click to enlarge photos]
But then … why is there so often a “but” … but then, I turned to the right and saw the sign below. “Caution, low water, ramp closed to trailers”. Well, I wouldn’t be launching a boat with a trailer, I would simply walk down the ramp with kayak in hand. BUT, the sign did say “caution, low water”. Hmm.
So, I walked down the ramp to check it out. No problem. I see water down there.
But the closer I got to the bottom of the paved ramp, the more I saw how low the water was.
The lake water was lower than the end of the ramp, so no wonder they had banned anyone backing a boat trailer down there. You’d have been stuck in the mud for sure. But I still had hope since I would be launching by hand, not by trailer.
I looked to my right (below), and finally began to realize how truly low the water was. That green grass up there on the right was probably about 30 feet above me.
I looked up the statistics for the lake level online after I got home. High water is about 788 feet. When I was standing there taking that photo above, on September 2, 2025, the water height was 751 … 37 feet! below that green stuff above on the right. Later in 2025 (Oct-Nov) the water level would drop to about 740 feet, another 19 feet LOWER than when I was there in September. I chatted with a federal employee when I was there this trip (this is a federal park and dam facility), who told me this year had the lowest water levels of any year since that dam was built. Less rain, less run-off from spring snow melt since there was less snow/ice up above, and warmer weather than ever so the little water that was there had been evaporating.
But, thinking about kayaking, you can see around the edge of the water in the photos above that the shore line doesn’t look very attractive. Take a look at the photo below.
Rocks and mud and sticks sticking up. Not my idea of a good time, and not what I’d like to have coating the outside of the kayak, or having the rocks or sticks tear apart the inflatable kayak.
I looked across the lake (photo above), and then, again, realized how low the water was. Whole trees had fallen, and even THEY didn’t reach all the way down to the water.
But I turned to look back towards my original direction of view from the bottom of the ramp, and then realized I could see a bit of the dam! That was interesting. But, yes, I could see even more stumps and logs in the water. So I resigned myself to canceling my kayaking for this trip until a future trip here when the water would be higher.
But I then got curious about the dam. Hey, there’s always something to like, yes? 🙂
So I clambered up that 37-foot bank to my right and then walked over to a spot where I could see the entire dam. This side of the dam would usually be almost covered by water, by Lake Wynoochee. Ordinarily, water from the lake is allowed to flow through the dam, down conduits to a power house below and then produce electricity for local communities. Not today! The water was too low.
In fact, I was told that the local communities had to purchase electricity from other suppliers at a much higher cost simply because there wasn’t enough water behind this dam. And, sadly, there was much concern for fish in the lake because of the low water level, the increased presence of mud and debris, the reduced movement of the water to provide oxygen in the water, and the increased temperature of the water because of a hot summer, and less depth of water to keep the fish cool.
Ordinarily, the water level is up near the white line that runs across those two drum doors in the photo below (and many months it’s even higher than that). That’s where they like to keep it, no lower than that. Well, you can see where the water level was on the day I was here … and as mentioned, it would get about 19 feet lower yet before the level started to rise again from rain and snow. There’s a sign right above those drum doors … it says “KEEP OUT, dangerous undercurrents”. Ha, no undercurrents today because there is no water flowing. Also, in the structure up on top of the dam, you can see three small brown rectangles with a tiny white square in each one of them … those are doors, for full-sized human beings. Gives you some perspective. Low water!
As troubling as all of that was for me, and I hope for you too (please let’s help stop climate change), it still was a lovely day. I walked slowly back down that hillside, back down to the bottom of the boat ramp, and then I walked up the boat ramp itself to the top of it to find the view below. I stood there a long time, just loving that view of the lake and the trees and the mountains.
As much as I was concerned about the low water level in Lake Wynoochee, I did have to stop and think again and then I realized that this lake wouldn’t even exist but for the human-made dam, and it was the dam that was interfering with the natural progression of life in this river. So maybe we reduce our need for electricity (solar panels work great!) and we remove the dams and let the rivers return to their normal levels, so they can provide normal habitat for fish and birds and other creatures. And … I will find naturally nature-made lakes to go kayaking on, or find some sheltered bays and coves in the saltwater of Puget Sound to go kayaking on. Oh, that sounds delightful! 🙂