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Palmer Lake

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Loomis/Tonasket Washington

Fun Things to do around Palmer Lake

August 2019

Activity: Canoeing, horseback riding, swimming, boating, wake-boarding, water skiing, biking, fishing, exploring and hiking

Palmer Lake in Okanogan County, near the towns of Loomis and Tonasket Washington, is a beautiful little lake surrounded by grassy hillsides, and rocky mountains. Palmer Lake sports 10 miles of shoreline. One side has houses dotted along it’s beach the other rugged mountain side.

  • Palmer Lake

There are plenty of activities to keep outdoor lovers enthusiastically entertained. I have enjoyed the hospitality of my sister Peggy and her husband Dale Crandall at their beautiful home over looking this postcard setting on multiple occasions and I can hardly wait to return.

We hiked up above Palmer Lake for marvelous views and enjoyed the serenity of this place. The day hike was a great way to stretch the legs and prepare for our upcoming backpacking adventure.

I love canoeing on Palmer Lake and I went out quite often during my visit. It is usually pretty still in the morning, but the breeze that comes up sometimes in the afternoon and can give you quite a workout getting back. The lily pads are a great place to catch yellow perch. Other fish in this lake are black crappie, burbot, large and small mouth bass, and sockeye salmon. Along the cliff pictured in the background of the picture above left is a great place to find some shade in the afternoon and chill. For those more adventurous there is a great place for jumping off a perch on the cliff side into the cool water.

  • Similkameen River flows into Palmer Lake
  • Lots of wildlife in the area
One day I did some exploring by bike, checking out the natural beauty as well as some weathered and rustic old buildings.
  • Marina models ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ Cap. Get yours at Pursuing Balance Through Adventure Shop Apparel
  • Good times on the lake wake-boarding.
  • Peggy having a delightful day on the lake slalom waterskiing.
  • Silhouette of Rattle Snake Wrangler Dale


  • 2 Rattlers found at garage door
I knew that there were animals and reptiles to be wary of in the area such as black bear, cougar, coyote, and rattle snakes, but I did not think that Dale would wrangle a couple for me to checkout close up and personal like this. These two were right out the garage door. He released them up the hill a ways.
Listen to that rattling those snakes are angry.
If you are lucky enough to live at the lake, your are lucky enough.

Thanks for joining sister Peggy, brother-in-law Dale, daughter Marina and I ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure Washington State Hiking’. I invite you to checkout some of my other websites for adventures in other areas of the West. If you enjoyed this post then please LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, and SHARE.

-Roger Jenkins, Pursuing Balance Through Adventure

7 thoughts on “Palmer Lake”

  1. That location is simply idyllic. Just gorgeous.
    And those rattlesnakes were a little too close for me. But it’s good to know what they sound like… I’ve never heard one before. Beautifully done Roger

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    1. I have a rattlesnake story from about a year ago in Nevada. I knew where the snake’s general location was from a few people it scared half to death. So when I got close I started throwing rocks in the bushes so that it would rattle. It never did rattle and by the time I spotted it, perfectly camouflaged and under a bush, basically on the trail, I was in striking distance. Ugh that is not fair. I recently took a seminar on rattlesnakes and I have discovered that it is not unusual for them not to rattle. It is basically breeding, the rattlesnakes that sound off get their heads cut off by man, and the one’s that stay silent live to see another day, and breed others with that same characteristic. Luckily we are not prey, so they have no interest in us and we should be fine unless we are unlucky enough to step on one by accident. About 90% of bites are from those going after the snakes either wranglers or idiots.

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  2. Your pics of our lovely Palmer Lake and surrounds were crazy good. I especially loved the one of our horses (Toby and Fiesta). Camille Moreau

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