Lake River is an approximately 10-mile long, typically slow-moving waterway that runs parallel to the Columbia River. From Vancouver Lake (its source and namesake) it flows north to the northern tip of Bachelor Island.
Portions of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge border the length of the river, affording kayakers and other boat traffic excellent views of the Refuge's diverse wildlife populations.
The Wilkes Exedition of 1841 showed it as "Calipaya Inlet".[1]