The Rainbow Chasers: More Pics - Cove Palisades, OR

The Cove Palisades State Park sprawls alongside Lake Billy Chinook. There are two developed campsites that are about 5 miles apart from each other and numerous day use areas and boat ramps. One must drive across the river on a narrow bridge to get from the Crooked River campground to the Deschutes River campground.

We took several drives while here to explore the area and found some great little spots. This picnic area had a lush, grassy lawn and a swim beach tucked away into a picturesque cove.

It was a hot day and despite the chilly water, a couple of families had kids swimming near this pretty cove.

Here's one family out swimming.

A very popular lake with boaters, we saw several houseboats, fishing boats and even a few water skiers -- brrr.

A vista point shows the lake, the marina and Mt Hood in the background.

Another picture taken from the tall cliffs. There are lots of yellow flowers beginning to bloom.

From our campsite, we have an outstanding view of Mt Jefferson to the west. It has been a pretty focal point for an assortment of photos.

The ringed clouds looked interesting in this one.

An afternoon thunderstorm bathed this sunset in shades of gold.

I liked the interesting shape of these clouds next to the inky blue sky.

Right behind our campsite is an open field of tall grass and then the canyon drops off to the lake just beyond the tallest juniper. Here, the grass tops were softly glowing in the light of the afternoon's sunset.

There is a small herd of deer that roam through the park. The camp host said that he has seen around 20 of them. There is a small stream at the edge of the campground and they wander past our site at dusk to get to the stream.