This weekend we were invited to join friends of ours at Harrison Lake. It has been years since I went out to Harrison when I was a kid, my husband and our daughter have never been. We decided it was a great opportunity to pack up the car, with everything we need, and hit the road for a drive. We brought all our swim gear, water floaties, buckets and shovels, sun shade tent, and of course food.
From where we live it was about an hour long drive out to Harrison Lake, you take the highway for a good chunk and then follow the signs leading you towards Harrison. I really appreciated that there were lots of clearly marked road signs saying which way to go, as sometimes driving to a new place can make me a big anxious. Even with it being the weekend, and summer vacation there was not a lot of traffic on the road. We found parked on the road in the first spot we could find, this is the one tricky thing is you may find yourself doing laps to find a parking spot. We have learned that next time we are going to hopefully find a spot closer to the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa because this is where we ended up claiming our spot by the beach.
I would call Harrison Lake the best beach I have been to in some time. It is a great place for families to go with their kids. We have been to other local beaches and always find them to be so incredibly busy, with no space to enjoy the beach or the water. This was not the case here. There was plenty of room on the sandy beach to find the perfect spot to set up camp. Yes I said sandy beach, this is not a rock covered beach so you do not have to worry about littles ones feet getting hurt. Now the lake is glacier feed, so the water can be very cold. It was very refreshing on the hot summer day we went. Just make sure you do not get too cold, warm up on the beach every now and then. My husband liked the fact that he was able to walk a ways out in the water while towing our daughter in a floaty, the depth of the water from shore does vary.
If you have older kids, or you’re a big kid at heart there is even a floating waterpark nearby. It costs about $30 for a day pass to go into it. There are also boat rentals and so much more to do in the area. Next time we are hoping to make it a full day trip out, and stop in at Bridal Falls Waterpark for the first part of the day, and then head to the beach beside Harrison Lake after. We will definitely be back out that way before summer wraps up. This was the most relaxed we have ever been after a trip out to a beach. Harrison Lake definitely caught our attention, and is on our list of favourite beaches. Before packing up the car again to leave, we popped into Chantilly to get some gelato. Our top picks were the chocolate and peanut butter, and the tiramisu. Definitely a great treat to wrap up our time in the sun.
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Looks like a beautiful place. The floating waterpark sounds fun too. I’m with you on the busy beaches. The lake near us is usually really crowded but if we drive about an hour north, there are a few lesser known beaches in Ventura that are very nice!
Looks beautiful. Love that it’s not so crowded and that there’s lots of sand instead of rocks. Sounds perfect for kids. Wish we were closer!
Such a nice beach for a lake! Looks like a great day.
I’m not sure what state this is in but it looks s bit like Lake Tahoe in CA. I love mountainside lakes, they’re so beautiful!
So fun and so beautiful!
I live 10 minutes from Harrison Lake! There are definitely days/times when parking is insane there! I love the playground right on the beach and how cool the water is!
I’ve only been to Harrison Lake once, when I was a kid. I do remember loving it there!