When It Comes to Lava Land, Just Go with the Flow

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Go anywhere in Central Oregon, and you will learn that every natural attraction is the result of volcanic action. The snowy peaks that populate an otherwise flat landscape? Volcanoes. The mountain people love to ski and snowboard? Volcano. The birthplace of American rock climbing? Created from volcanic activity. Every nearby butte is a cinder cone created from magma bubbling to the surface. Even the waterfalls in my previous post originate in ancient eruptions.

 

One of the best ways to take it all in also happens to be one of my all-time favorite places to visit when we're in Oregon: Newberry Volcanic National Monument outside Bend. The national park itself is huge and located within the Deschutes National Forest. When I say huge, consider it encompasses more than 54,000 acres of water features, lava and obsidian flows, hot springs, and unparalleled views. Even more amazing: the 1,200-mile volcanic area is still active from a seismic and geothermal standpoint. 

 

We’ve yet to explore the southern end that is home to Paulina (pronounced Pole-EYE-nuh after a Northern Paiute Chief) Peak/Lake/Falls and the Newberry Caldera, but a must-see on every trip we take is Lava Lands, mainly because it’s much closer and because it’s really, really cool.

 

Heading south on Highway 97 past Bend, you’ll see a sign where to turn for the Lava Lands Visitors Center. It’s $5 to enter and park. Well worth it! Park under one of the Ponderosa pines and meander along the Trail of Whispering Pines to the Visitor’s Center that has a museum and restrooms and a great gift shop (small, but full of quality souvenirs). You’ll immediately see the lava flows and will want to take the Trail of the Molten Land that meanders through lava fields (see photo above). 

 

There is no shade, so if it’s sunny and hot, prepare. We’ve had both heat and cold, full sun and stormy skies. No matter the weather, the visit and hike have never disappointed. There are interpretive signs to provide a deeper appreciation for what you are experiencing. For instance, you notice several trees, small and scraggly. They actually are older than the towering pines you initially pass through but struggle to thrive in such harsh conditions. Despite that, seeing those trees pop out of seemingly barren landscape remind us of the power of resilience.


 

The trail is entirely paved and the first quarter to third is wheelchair accessible. Then the trail starts to narrow and climb, at first gradually and then rather steeply. We were fine going to the top, with sweeping views of the flows and forests. We saw some people struggle, others effortlessly moved with children on their backs. Just take your time … and stay on the path. A pair of elderly women narrowly escaped injury, maybe death, when they veered off for a photo and one lost her balance on the lava rocks.

 

It's a loop course and upon your return, head to the left of the Visitor’s Center and take the East Cascades Shuttle ($3 per person) up Lava Butte to the Lava Butte Trail. The air-conditioned/heated shuttle leaves every 20 minutes. You can walk or ride a bike up the corkscrew road but save your energy for walking up to the fire tower and then ambling along the rim of a dormant, waterless caldera. You’ll have an amazing view of the Three Sisters (stratovolcanoes named Faith, Hope and Charity), Three-Finger Jack and Broken Top. All total, expect to take a couple of hours at Lava Lands, maybe more if you aren’t with whiny people. 

 


The other nearby attraction is Lava Cave, a huge undergrown tube that we didn’t realize required advanced registration to park and enter. There’s a mile-long trail I intended to take while the others used their headlamps and rented flashlights (way more powerful than your typical ones) to descend into a very cool (40s) and very, very dark cave. I am easily claustrophobic, so no thank you. But given it was in the 100s that day, the cave was quite popular. The reservations were to manage crowds while the place is understaffed. Otherwise, you typically can just park and be given a time to enter for crowd control.

 

I will be back to explore more trails, including the Big Obsidian Flow Trail and Paulina Lake and hot springs. Until then, I have years of wonderful memories to hold me over. And a year for my sisters to get in shape!

 


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