Central Oregon & the Oregon Cascades - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 566

this piney campground has sites near the Deschutes River, along with hot showers and
flush toilets.
Paulina Lake Lodge CABIN$$$
( 541-536-2240; www.paulinalakelodge.com ; cabins $100-265; ) Thirteen miles east of
Hwy 97 is this rustically pleasant resort with a handful of log cabins (sleeping up to 10).
Each has its own kitchen and bath; some are more 'upscale' than others. There's also a
restaurant, bar, small store and tackle shop; you can rent kayaks, canoes, paddle boats
and stand-up paddleboards.
Information
Start your visit at the Lava Lands Visitor Center ( 541-593-2421; 58201 S Hwy 97;
9am-5pm mid-Jun-Labor Day weekend, limited hours low season) , about 13 miles south of
Bend. The center is closed some days outside the peak season; check the website before
you visit to make sure it will be open.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Cascade Lakes
Long ago, lava from the nearby volcanoes choked this broad basin beneath the rim of the
Cascade Range. Lava flows dammed streams, forming lakes. In other areas, streams
flowed underground through the porous lava fields to well up as lake-sized springs. Still
other lakes formed in the mouths of small, extinct craters.
Hwy 46, also called the Cascade Lakes Hwy, loops roughly 100 miles between high
mountain peaks, linking together this series of lovely alpine lakes (though many of them
aren't visible from the road). Cyclists pedal the road in summer, while skiers and snow-
mobilers take over during winter. There are several trailheads in the area. Beyond Mt
Bachelor, the road is closed from November to May.
Tiny Todd Lake offers views of Broken Top and relative seclusion, as getting here re-
quires a quarter-mile hike. Sparks Lake , in a grassy meadow popular with birds, is in the
process of transforming itself into a reedy marsh. Hosmer Lake is stocked with catch-
and-release Atlantic salmon, making it popular with anglers (and osprey and beavers).
Little Lava Lake is the source of the mighty Deschutes River. The Deschutes is dammed
at Crane Prairie Reservoir , where ospreys fish in the shallow lake water and use dead
trees for nesting.