Come for a paddle on North Pine Dam (Lake Samsonvale). Opened for electric boating, sailing and kayaking on the 21st of November 2018, public paddle craft are permitted on Lake Samsonvale in designated zones. This cache is placed in the designated zone. There is an interesting feature on this island which is no longer in use, and is worth a look at when you are there.
Paddle craft are able to launch from Forgan Road, Samsonvale - refer to the parking co-ordinates.
An interesting tidbit is that the North Pine Dam was designed with little flood mitigation capacity in mind, being intended only for water storage. As such, during flood seasons the location of the dam spillway causes the flooding and closure of Youngs Crossing Road. As at 2018, flood conditions last affected the dam catchment in October 2010, and prior to that 1991, 1989, 2000 & 2009. The dam wall is also one of the few in Queensland to be located upstream of a large urban area, and in the event of overtopping or dam failure, Geoscience Australia suggests that the downstream urban population would be flooded within three hours.
The cost of the dam was $20 million, and the dam was opened on 12 August 1976 by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane City Council, Alderman Frank Sleeman.
The concrete dam structure is 45 metres high and 1375 metres long. The 450-thousand-cubic-metre dam wall holds back the 215000-megalitre reservoir when at full capacity. The catchment area of 347 square kilometres includes much of the south–eastern slopes of the D'Aguilar National Park. The dam creates Lake Samsonvale at an elevation of 39.63 m above sea level, with a surface area of 2180 hectares (5400 acres).
Prior to the initial flooding of the valley, many of the surrounding grazing and dairy farms were compulsorily acquired, and the only evidence of these farms is now the names of roads leading to the lake's shoreline, such as Winn Road and Golds Scrub Lane. Golds Scrub Lane now leads only to the Samsonvale Cemetery; prior to the flooding of the dam, the site was also home to a church and a post office. To allow for the dam's flooding, 27 kilometres of road had to be relocated and rebuilt.