Solo Trip With The Kids

Last month C was traveling for work. Which meant I had the kids solo for three days. I decided last minute that I was going to take them out to Trillium Lake for the day. I had been several times so I knew what to expect for parking, lunchtime, and what the hiking trail was like.

It was going to be beautiful blue sky day which meant Mount Hood would be on display in all of her mountainous glory. I packed everything up the night before and after the kids were in bed. I decided to bring the Osprey carrier and the jogging stroller. This way G would have somewhere to sit during lunch and I wouldn’t be chasing her around while also trying to serve lunch to A. I’m so glad I did this because that is exactly how it all went down.

Planning The Trip

Trillium Lake is about an hour and 20 minutes outside of Portland. I threw our Thule topper on top of our car so that I could put the cooler, Osprey carrier, and anything that got dirty and dusty up in that topper instead of inside our car. This also freed up the trunk so I could change diapers or just have a free area to get things ready and sorted.

We arrived around 10am with plenty of parking. If you go, you’ll need to pay $10 for parking via cash or check. There was a helpful employee who works for the parks walking around collecting money and giving us parking permits. By 11am the parking lot was nearly full – and we went on a Thursday. This place fills up quickly even on weekdays.

The trail around the lake is completely flat and wide enough to use a quality jogging stroller (we have the Thule). An area on the lake is temporarily closed, so technically you can’t walk around the entire lake. But that was fine for us since A was getting tired and hungry and we were ready to turn around.

Things To Know

There are plenty of picnic tables in the shaded area, but I like to each lunch on the little beach. It’s more of a dusty/dirty area by the water. Not exactly sand, but the kids loved it and A wore his water shoes into the lake. Bring beach toys because they’ll definitely get some use!

Down by the lake there is a little hut that offers kayaks and SUP rentals. I haven’t done this yet, but it looks very fun! In the middle of August the water didn’t feel too cold and the sun was very hot. If I wasn’t with kids I’d definitely rent either option. There is a bathroom at the parking lot as well as a large dumpster for any garbage.

This is such a great option during the week to visit with small kids. It can get pretty crowded on weekends, but a weekday trip was so fun! I can definitely see us doing this again.