Lake of the Woods in Klamath County, Ore., has been a popular vacation spot since the U.S. Forest Service opened a campground there in 1920.
Pioneer Oliver Applegate discovered and named the lake in 1870 and built its first residential cabin. Now more than 120 line its shores.
The 1,145-acre lake has become very popular over the years. By the 1950’s, as many as 5,000 people visited on weekends, camping or staying at the lodge or in cabins tucked in the woods. Their boats had names like Pumpkin Seed, Black Widow, and Big Pink.
Holly Drew remembered taking Big Pink to the lodge and accidentally bumping into the parked boat of the ex-governor. She fled in a panic, but all turned out well in the end. Dr. Robert Mueller treated injuries suffered by daredevil teens who tried crazy tricks, like water skiing behind a seaplane. Shirley Stearns said her dad had proposed to her mom one moonlit night on a boat in the lake.
Lake of the Woods, one of the clearest natural lakes in Southern Oregon with a laid-back, rustic resort and cabins, remains a place where people relax, fish, or propose to their sweethearts just about anywhere.
Sources: Watson, Mark, and Bill Dodge. "A Boat is a Hole in the Water You Fill with $$$." Lake of the Woods Historical Society Newsletter, edited by Bill Dodge, Lake of the Woods Recreation Association, Dec. 2015, lakeofthewoodsresort.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-December-Newsletter.pdf. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017; Fattig, Paul. "Group Wades into Lake of the Woods Past." Mail Tribune, 15 Sept. 2013 [Medford, Ore.] , www.mailtribune.com/article/20130915/News/309150334. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017; “Get away from it all – to leave automobiles, trains and other symbols of our restless civilization far behind in favor of the quiet restful beauty of unspoiled natures." History, Lake of the Woods Resort, 2014, lakeofthewoodsresort.com/history/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2017.