We stopped for a picnic near Little Crater Campground, about halfway around the trail from our starting point. The Forest Service camp offers water, pit toilets and roomy campsites with views like this. The jagged rock is Paulina Peak.
Paulina Lake's elevation is 6,340 feet.
Oh, what a difference a day makes!
We packed our hiking shoes and a picnic and headed for a second day in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
After a 34-mile drive south and then east from Bend, we were greeted by brilliant sunshine and twin lakes that filled an area bigger than Crater Lake.
The lakes are in two calderas left after hundreds of thousands of years of volcanic eruptions.
Our main event was a 7.5-mile trek around Paulina Lake, passing warm springs, a massive obsidian glass lava flow and a beautiful, rustic campground. The trail was fairly flat, with a couple of relatively brief inclines and declines.
Then we drove a few miles to East Lake, where we found what we were hoping for: a tasty dessert.
The national monument is huge and offers many days of activities and sites.
We will be back!
Four cabins built along Paulina Lake in the 1930s are in dire need of repairs. The Forest Service and Deschutes Historical Society are leading an effort to save them.
The East Lake Resort offers boat rentals.
With just a week left in the summer season, the East Lake Resort had two berry cobblers to sweeten our lakeside view.
Tumalo State Park near Bend is a great location for exploring a wealth of outdoor attractions in the area.
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