Lava Lake, Little Lava Lake and Tumalo State Campground

Lava Lake--July 2013

This week we did some camping and kayaking in the Bend, Oregon area. We had a great time camping at Tumalo State Park, then kayaking at Lava Lake--(See Cascade Lakes Highway Map). Beautiful scenery and beautiful weather in one of our favorite places to play! If you take a look at this map you can see there are lots of lakes to visit. In the past we have kayaked at Sparks Lake and Hossmer Lake, this trip we decided to try something new and floated Lava Lake which is about an hour drive time from Tumalo. 

Lava Lake has a lodge with private boat dock, Forest Service Campground with a boat launch area. Most folks there were fishing and using small motor boats but there were a few of us paddlers on the lake. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the weather, when we started out there was no wind, but by noon the breeze kicked up and the lake got really choppy very fast.

We saw some cool wildlife while we were out on the lake...mama deer and 2 fawns, cormorants (big black duck-like birds), herons, and a pair of bald eagles. Funny story about the heron...Rich was paddling up along the reeds trying to be quiet so he could take pictures of the eagles and out flew this giant heron squawking and croaking their weird noise. Scared the be-jebers out of us! Have you ever heard a heron? 

Little Lava Lake -- We didn't kayak there this trip, but it looks really nice. It is much smaller than the other lake but it has the advantage of having beautiful beaches. It was would a really nice place to just go hang out for the day. Take a picnic lunch, some folding chairs and a beach towel and make it a party! There is a small Forest Service Campground there if you want to camp.

Something else I should mention is that these high lake areas all require a Day Use Permit...you can pay $5 a visit or if you are a frequent visitor you can buy a year long permit at a Forest Service office. I think it's $30 for the year. 

Tumalo State Park -- I always call camping at Tumalo "urban camping". It's very close to Bend, and there's lots to do and see in Bend. Usually we bring our own camp food for morning breakfast then have a big lunch/dinner in town. This week when we went we hit the outlet mall, wandered the downtown area shops, walked the Mill District (which is an upscale shopping area), ate a meal at the Deshutes Brew Pub downtown, and the next day we went to a movie at McMenamin's Brew Pub and celebrated with a Happy Hour Burger. It was great fun and a bargain...movie (Ironman 3) was $3 a head, cheeseburgers were $6 and Rich's beer was $2.50. What a deal!

The campground itself is much like all the Oregon State Campgrounds, sites are close together, but restrooms are nice and the showers here are solar heated and the water is nice and hot! The Deshutes River is right across the road and the park area there has a swimming hole. There are a few yurts (reserve early!), trailer and tent sites. Do not count on just driving in and finding an open site! During the summer this place is maxed out every day...make reservations online ahead of time. This time I made reservations a week in advance and was able to get in, but sooner is better.

Lava Lake--View of South Sister

Fish Lake

Fish Lake 6/4/2013 

Last summer Rich and I discovered a really nice float called Fish Lake, located on Highway 126 near where it connects to Highway 20. There are some old buildings back in there that look interesting, here's a link with some historical information on the area. One of the interesting things about this lake is that it totally drys up during the summer, so if you want to see it check it out in late spring or early June. This year we went in mid-June and it was starting to disappear...some areas you could not reach because the water was too low.

There is a nice parking area, some trails to wander, a few picnic tables and a view! There is no boat ramp, you have to haul your boat down a little hill by the viewing area to launch. Rich went in early June without me (I had to work) and the water was right up by the edge of the viewing area so it was an easy launch. In mid-June when we went together we had to scramble down the gravel hill and walk 30 feet or so to the lake. Not a  big problem. The lake goes back in about a mile. There's lots of interesting plants and critters to see. This trip the wild rhodies were in bloom and the baby geese were mostly grown up. We saw lots of geese, a couple different varieties of ducks and a momma deer with 2 fawns.

Fish Lake 6/4/2013

Fish Lake--no water!

6/21/2013