Well I haven't posted in a while...I'll fully admit being a fair weather hiker. So when rain went away for a week or so in February I was ready to get my stir-crazy kids out of the house to get a little excersize.
Lacamas Lake is not too far from our place in Vancouver. The Lacamas Heritage Trail is a trail that runs the whole south side of the lake. No doubt it's a family-friendly trail, and you're bound to see more bikes and joggers than daypacks and trekking poles. It's an area where urban sprawl is rapidly encroaching.
Maybe not worth the drive from someone from Beaverton, but certainly if you're in Vancouver or the East side of Portland, it's a worthwhile day trip if you've got kids. Throw the bikes in the car!
Lacamas Creek near where it empties into the lake:
They have these nice interpretive signs and there are mile-markers the whole way down.
No time for signs Mom!!
This was the first time we'd been here in wintertime and were surprised to see all the little creeks on the way
A quaint little gazebo:
Looking northwest from the gazebo
Mount Hood poking it's head over the southeast end of the lake. You can see the new tract of homes that just sprouted up at the end of the lake.
There are some multi-million dollar homes and a golf-course that border the trail for a ways. Certainly this is not a remote location. I had as much fun goggling the houses as the kids had laying at the end of the dock playing in the water
We stayed here throwing stones until dusk was upon us
There are more trails on at the end of the lake around the smaller lake called Round Lake | 
