Lake Size: 216 acres (87 ha)
Deepest Depth: 200 feet
Latitude: 43.585117
Longitude: -123.838989
Lake Level Above Sea Level: 121 m (400 ft)
Counties: Douglas County

Information: About 1,400 years ago a major landslide in the Oregon Coast Range sent a mountainside of debris and house size boulders across a deep and narrow river canyon now called Ash Valley. The resulting dam combined with the annual rainfall formed Loon Lake. At its outlet, Mill Creek drops over 120 feet (37 m) in less than a quarter mile of waterfalls and pools. The first inhabitants were Indians who traveled between the coast and inland valleys. They came mostly to camp, gather huckleberries and hunt elk. In 1850, when Scottsburg was becoming an important commercial trade center, two men were following Indian trails when they discovered the lake and named it after the common loon, which they had seen nesting. Early settlers in Ash Valley farmed, trapped, hunted and traded for a living. Not until the 1930s did Loon Lake receive significant attention when it was used to store logs for trucking to the mill in Gardiner on the coast. The logging road into the north end of the lake provided the first access by automobile. By the early 1960s the site where logs had been loaded onto trucks became a popular recreation area.