Ross Lake - Some Info

To me this is a great place for family.  It's a good mix between being "out there and away" and being "at home".  Most people I met along the way who live in Washington didn't know about this place.  It's in the Cascade Mountains.  The lake actually goes into Canada. It's far enough away that there is no cell phone coverage.  That said, I know Ross Lake gets internet, but they don't Wifi it.

The place is run by a laid-back good-natured hippie-ish crew.  They have a lot of rentals: kayaks, canoes and boats.  The cabins are well maintained.  They sit on the water.  Most, I believe, have wooden stoves.  They have cabins which are designed for bigger groups and others for more family types.  I would recommend going the family route for quiet.  I think most of their business is from repeat customers.  There are older people who have come for the last 50 years, every year.  They stay in the smaller cabins.  Big burly men that play poker, drink whiskey, catch fish with their bare hands and talk loud tend to the big cabins.  However, the last week I was there a group of women came.  They kept me fed.  The rates are very reasonable even for the nicest.  I stayed in 4 cabins in my two week stay there.  That was a mix of me working with them and them working with me.

Ross Lake does not supply food or drinks.  You have to ferry that in.  Literally, you take a ferry to get there.  You don't want to miss the ferry.  It only goes two times a day.    They aren't going to wait on you.  Each cabin comes with a gas pit/grill.  I would recommend buying some corn on the cob at Sagitte (sp?) Valley Farms.

I would bite the bullet and spring for the boat rental for every day.  You want to be on the water.  The lake is 21 miles long.  You don't want to canoe it.  You can fish all day, but the best fishing is early morning and late evening.  If you fish, bring your own gear - you don't want to pay the rental fee.

There is also plenty of hiking.  If you bring camping gear, there are camping sites out in the woods.  You can also boat to docks that have camp sites.  The docks are tucked away in little coves.  They are brand new and are aluminum.  Really nice.

I am not sure how nice the weather is during the summer.  I assume it is nice.  They told me that they have mosquitoes.  I did not see one mosquito the whole time I was there.

Hope that helps some.