Battle Ground Lake State Park — Attraction in Battle Ground

The drive in camp sites and the lake are infested with wasps/hornets. I don't know if our site was particularly bad, but every time we tried to eat/cook we would be swarmed with around 40-50 of them within 5 minutes of taking the food out. Even when we weren't eating, they were all around constantly. It was ridiculous. We heard other campers complaining about them too, so I doubt our site was the only one. There was at least 20-30 wasps at the water spigots every time we tried to get water. The lake had an area taped off that said "aggressive hornet nest in area" and there were a ton of them down there too. If you want to get in the lake, you have to tread carefully because the shore is littered with hornets/wasps all over the shoreline. Put water shoes on your littles, and don't expect them to be able to play in the sand.

All the campsites we saw had huge bug net tents over their picnic area, we did not. I know that insects are a part of camping, but this was insanely excessive. I've never seen this many wasps when camping before, ever. We hid in our tent for most of the day. The only time we weren't swarmed was after the sun went down.

The walk in "primitive" campsites didn't look to have had the same problem. We walked up there and didn't see any swarming the water spigots like the drive in sites.

The trails were nice. Would come back to camp in the off season again just because it is a cute little campground, but I won't ever summer camp here again. Perhaps if the burn ban wasn't in effect, the smoke would have deterred some of the wasps but as it was, we had no protection against them. It's a real shame this campground is so infested by them, because it would otherwise be a real nice place to camp. My husband used to camp here often growing up and said it was never like this before.

Would not recommend this place unless you enjoy being swarmed by wasps. Also would not recommend this place if anyone in your family...

"Lake" is a generous word. This is a large pond. It is lovely, but small. I don't believe gas motors are allowed, and there was a burning ban in effect. Probably smart because in just our short visit, we saw 2 spots where idiots had dumped used charcoal. The picnic area is first, with a small jungle gym, large grassy areas, picnic tables delightfully tucked among the trees, and several shelters. We saw wheelchair accessible tables and toilets, but not much pavement other than the very steep hill to the beach and the campground loop. The campground is gorgeous and offers very nice cabins as well. Lots of foliage separates sites. But this is a BUSY place. Most sites had at least 3 cars in them! That's a lot of folks. There are camp hosts. The beach is small, roped off, and fairly shallow. Not much "sand", but grassy area, picnic tables, and native plants line the shore area. There's a boat launch, and plenty of space to fish. We saw translucent green fingerlings eagerly approaching every rock thrown in, but no one had large fish today. There is a lovely trail around the lake. It was a cool day, so no swimmers, but I had just read online that the water quality was suspect. Check before you go. We had the state park pass, so no fee, but there's a charge to use it. The air smelled fresh and lively, but at least one of us reacted to either the cedar and/or the moulds in the air.

Recommendation: go early, make reservations if you want to camp, avoid weekends, and take ready to eat food or...

Great space just outside of Vancouver/Portland Metropolitan area. They have a number of camp grounds for tents campers as well as spots for those with trailers (I'd check into what size will fit). They have trails suited for all skill levels of hiking, biking (not sure of level of skill needed), and even some for those riding horses. There is 2 hiking trails that wrap around the lake which take about 30-45 minutesat most. There is a convenient kayak/paddle board launch. Both of which can be rented by the hour from the concession stand which serves food and beverages. They have the common concession stand items like hotdogs, hamburgers, chili, nachos, soda, candy, and other similar items. Although I did not eat from there I will admit it did smell good. This is a great location for families with children. Not only was there a number of other families for the kids to play with there was a number of amenities to utilize within your perspective group including playgrounds, baseball diamond- which was actively being used during my visit, restrooms, and im sure there is other things I didn't see or am aware of. I came across a good number of young families fishing as well. Most seemed to be out of day trips but I'm not sure. Although I will admit I only heard of one person getting bites of smallish Bass. There is a good number of fishing spots along the banks. All in all cool little spot that's not far from Walmart and other stores if...