Lava Lake Resort, Oregon

We had a rough drive from Pringle Falls to Lava Lake - 28 miles! I can get used to that! And, not only do we have phone and Internet access here, we have full bars! (The Cell Phone type........... not drinking establishments)

We haven't stayed here for over 20 years, so there have been changes. The resort is still owned by the same family, and has the same amenities - nice little store with basic groceries and gift items, laundry, boats and fishing tackle for rent, but the trees have grown so much the overall look has changed considerably. When we visited back in the early '90's the spaces were much more open. Now, young pine trees have grown up and it's quite dense and shady. 
 
It's clear the local wildlife feel safe here. The first emissary to greet us at the campsite was a chipmunk, looking at me hopefully as we backed up the rig. Then came the camp robbers (gray jays) darting in and out of the fire ring to see if anything good had been left by the previous residents. We barely had the jacks down when I looked across the campground, two spaces down, to see three deer gazing in a most relaxed way at the campers dogs.
 
The deer later visited us, and then wandered across the street. There, they were given a handout (clearly what they were looking for). The campers were feeding them pretzels - not a good idea. Pretzels are about a nutritionally empty as you can get, and hand feeding deer, while "cute" can be very dangerous if they are spooked. One of the doe in the group limped badly, and a scar on her front shoulder suggested she might have been wounded perhaps by an arrow at some point. This afternoon the Steller jays helped Steve work through a bag of peanuts. They were cautious of Molly at first, but when she didn't chase them they crept in closer. 

Nestled high in the Cascade mountain range, Lava Lake is a relatively small, shallow lake popular with anglers and those who just want to enjoy sensational views of the peaks known as the South Sister,  Broken Top and Mount Bachelor. There are several fishing and canoeing venues within a few minutes drive of Lava Lake too, so it makes a great "home base" for exploring the whole area.

Lava Lake takes its name from the lava flows that created a dam along its eastern shoreline, holding in waters from subsurface springs. One of the closest lakes to Bend and Sunriver, Lava Lake is very popular and camping and RV sites are hard to come by. Reservations are highly recommended for the resort. We called a few days ahead and were lucky to get the only space available - probably a cancellation. Many guests make their reservations for the next year as they leave for home. There is a minimal service campground also, managed by Hoodoo.
 
This area contains 5 large volcanic cones- North Sister, Middle Sister, South Sister, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor. Mount Bachelor, which is between 11,000 and 15,000 years old is the youngest of these volcanoes in the Cascades. All this volcanic activity in such a concentrated area makes for interesting topology. The contrast of thunderheads, volcanic peaks, and reflecting lake water is hard to beat. In a short drive you'll see lava flows, colorful peaks, and dense forests.

This area offers a wealth of lakes to explore. To the southwest and west, the upper Deschutes River valley contains several lakes dammed by lava flows. The four northern ones (Sparks, Elk, Hosmer, and, except for brief periods, Lava) have no surface outlets; water drains out through the permeable post-glacial lava flows and emerges as springs along the down-valley margins of the flows.

 
We took a short drive this afternoon to scope out our next stop. We've wanted to canoe in Sparks Lake for years and hadn't been able to due to late snow, low water (the lake is 8 foot deep at maximum) or closed roads. We won't be staying there this year, or canoeing it, either. They've taken out some of the campsites and increased day-use access and it was packed! Somehow, canoeing shoulder-to-shoulder with so many others lacks some of the charm we're used to.
Hosmer, on the other hand, was not too crowded and looked better taken care of overall. It's another campground with little to no services, but we've topped off the batteries, done up all the laundry and taken care of other housekeeping chores, so we're good to boondock again for a few days. We'll move up to Hosmer tomorrow. Based on what we saw with our cell phone today we may not have service, or Internet connections, while we're there. Which means no bars either!

Follow this link to locate Lava Lake on the map.
More photos of the Lava Lake area.