Prineville an Oregon Destination for Boating Enthusiasts

Prineville is a small town in central Oregon, located 36 miles northeast of Bend and 149 miles southeast of downtown Portland.

The town's high-desert climate means hot, dry summers and cold, windy winters. Aside from a golf course and a smattering of shops and restaurants, there's not much to downtown Prineville, an area that's surrounded by pastures and farmland. But drive through town to the southeast edge of Prineville, and you'll find the area's biggest attraction - Prineville Reservoir.

Prineville Reservoir

Prineville Reservoir stretches for 18 miles, with 40 miles of shoreline surrounded by juniper trees and sagebrush. This reservoir of the Crooked River is stocked annually with a wide range of fish - rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and bass among them - and is a popular camping area, with Prineville State Park, Jasper Point and Prineville Reservoir Resort all offering tent camping and RV camping sites.

But Prineville Reservoir's biggest draw is for boaters, who flock to the lake during the spring and summer months to take advantage of its smooth surface and wide-open spaces. Both parks have boat ramps, and Prineville Reservoir Resort has a ramp and a marina with available boat slips and rentals for motor boats and paddle boats.

Camping at Prineville Reservoir

Prineville Reservoir Resort features camp sites for tents and RVs, as well as a handful of motel rooms and a primitive cabin. The campground has lakefront sites, so you can tie out your boat right in front of your campsite. RV campers will find full hookups, with available 15- or 30-amp electrical and an onsite dump station.

Jasper Point and Prineville State Park have sites for tents and RVs, but only the state park has water and electrical hookups and docks for boat moorage.

When to Go

July and August are the hottest months of the year, with daytime averages of 86 degrees, but even during the summer, nighttime temperatures can dip down into the low-40s. The area sees very little rain, with less than an inch of precipitation seven months of the year and November the wettest month at 1.3 inches. While July and August are the warmest months, they're also the busiest at the reservoir; if you go during the summer, you'll face smaller crowds out on the water if you can travel mid-week. Otherwise, consider June or September, when daytime averages sit in the upper-70s and the vacation crowd is a little smaller.

Sources:

City of Prineville
Prineville Reservoir Resort
Prineville Reservoir State Park, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Jasper Point, Oregon Parks and Recreation Deparment
Monthly Averages for Prineville, OR, The Weather Channel