Outdoor Project

Located right next to Elk Lake Resort, this 22-site campground is sandwiched between the western shore of Elk Lake and the Cascades Lakes Scenic Byway.  Most of the campsites are perched above the lake in a loose forest of lodgepole pine and provide intermittent views of the lake. What makes Elk Lake Campground special is its shoreline day-use area that rests below the campsites.  From the campground's beach, panoramic vistas of South Sister, Broken Top and Mount Bachelor open up under the reliably blue skies of Central Oregon.

Located in what seems to be the "middle of nowhere," sandwiched roughly halfway in between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, Goat Rocks Wilderness is quickly becoming a favorite backpacking and hiking destination, and the nearly 14-mile loop trail up to Goat Lake is certainly its most popular adventure.

Sprouting out of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the snowcapped peak of Mount Adams dominates the horizon along with neighboring Mount Rainier. The summit towers over 6,000 feet above the trailhead.  In the early season climbers will see a snow covered mountaineer's route leading straight out of the parking lot; in summer months the trail is a beaten path flanked by wildflowers.

If you were just looking at the water in Paulina Lake, you might think you were somewhere closer to the equator.  The good news for hikers is that there is a 7.8-mile loop that will take you around the entire lake.  And tucked away just on the edge of a beach lined with grasses and reeds is one of the most tranquil and relaxing hot springs in the entire northwest.

Few short hikes offer such expansive and panoramic views.  Starting through a forest of mountain hemlock, white fir, and lodgpole pine, this hike quickly climbs above tree line and follows an escarpment to the top of the largest volcano in Oregon. At 7,989 feet, Paulina Peak may be Newberry Volcano's highest point, but it remains significantly shorter than the nearby peaks of the Cascade's main range.  At 80 cubic miles in volume and 20 miles in diameter, however, the mountain is the fifth* largest in the entire Cascade Volcanic Arc.

At 5,466 feet in length (just over a mile), Lava River Cave is Oregon's longest intact lava tube and an absolutely unique adventure for anyone visiting central Oregon.  In contrast to Lava Butte, which was formed roughly 7,000 years ago, Lava River Cave is estimated to have been formed around 80,000 years ago from an eruption that flowed as far north as Redmond, Oregon.

If you don't have the time to hike or run the entire length of the Upper Reach of the Deschutes River Trail (roughly 14 miles there-and-back), there are numerous points off of Conklin Road that provide shorter access the river.  If your time is limited, the walk to Dillon Falls should be on the top of your list.

If the view of Mount Hood from Trillium Lake is the postcard perfect spot for Oregon's tallest peak, then the corresponding view of South Sister from Sparks Lake is the postcard perfect spot for the state's third tallest peak.  Tucked away on the sporadic lava flow of Sparks Lake's eastern shore is a short double-loop hiking trail appropriately named after the late photographer laureate* who not only brought central Oregon's majestic Cascades to the public eye, but really most of the Pacific Northwest as well.

Tucked away on the east slope of 9,175-foot Broken Top is one of the most well protected lakes in the Central Oregon Cascades, not to mention the Three Sisters Wilderness. Make the hike to the 8,150-foot Broken Top Crater to view a gem replete with a deep, turquoise pool and a sweeping view of the Three Sisters and much of Eastern Oregon. Unless you choose to trek over fields of continuous snow, the hiking trail is only clear for a few months a year, and getting to the trailhead requires a high-clearance four-wheel drive capable of slogging through some deep ruts and steep pitches.