Summer 2024 Oregon Adventure, 7.22.24 - 8.01.24, Part 1 of 2, Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Over the past year or so since we met, Doc and Shirley have become good friends. Shirley owns a cabin in southern Oregon and has been wanting us to come down for a visit. Along with our other good friends Deano and Karen, we finally managed to find some dates we all had free (no small feat!). As long as we were going to drive that far, Bridgit and I decided to add on a few stops and make a short trip out of it. A plan was hatched to do a loop trip through the great state of Oregon to explore some areas we had never been.
We knew in advance that this was not the best time to head to Oregon. At the time we started our trip there were thirty-seven wildfires burning in Oregon. I’d been tracking all these fires and the associated smoke each day leading up to and during the trip. It didn’t look like we would be in any imminent danger along our route, but with that many fires all around us the likelihood of running into some smoke haze was pretty inevitable.
We set out on Monday, July 22. When we head anywhere southeast we normally drive I-90 to I-82 and then south through Yakima. However, just to the west of I-82 is the Yakima River Canyon. I had been wanting to drive through there for several years and so we left I-90 one exit before I-82 and drove down Canyon Road. The road mainly hugged the river as it twisted down through Yakima Canyon. Roughly halfway down we stopped at Big Pines Recreation Area where we had reserved a spot for the night. It was ninety degrees but as the name implies, we had the shade of some big pines to keep from overheating. We wanted to take a swim but the current looked a bit strong for swimming. There were lots of people tubing and rafting down the river from various points upstream. We really liked Big Pines. At about three hours from Lake Stevens, it would make a great place to stop for a last night of a long trip before heading home.
The Yakima River flowing past Big Pines Recreation Area
In the morning we drove 97 down through Bend, Oregon to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. This was another place we’d never been and were eager to explore. Oregon is chock full of volcanic geology. Newberry is the largest volcano in the Cascade range, although since its last eruption it is really a giant caldera filled with lava flows, cinder cones, lava tubes and volcanic vents. Driving up into the caldera, we came upon two quite large lakes. At the end of the second lake we camped at East Lake RV Resort. The sites are on a forested hill across from East Lake so no waterfront sites or views but very convenient to the lakes if you opt for hookups. Other campgrounds within the park are right on the water but it’s dry camping. We would have chosen one of those sites but they were already booked when we planned our trip.
Map of Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Once we were situated we drove the Jeep back to the first lake called Paulina Lake and parked at the Little Crater Trailhead. Starting up the two mile loop we climbed several hundred feet of elevation gain before coming to a junction. Going counter-clockwise, the trail dropped a little ways before gaining a ridge that we followed up to the high point of the loop. Along the way we had a tremendous view of the Big Obsidian Flow, a square mile of volcanic glass created by an eruption just thirteen hundred years ago.
Ready to hit the trail
Big Obsidian Flow from the Little Crater Trail
Big Obsidian Flow from the Little Crater Trail
Once we got to the high point of the loop we were basically on the rim of a forested cinder cone between Paulina Lake and East Lake. From this point we could see both lakes before dropping down the lower side of the loop back to the Jeep.
Paulina Lake from the Little Crater Loop
After hiking the Little Crater Loop we drove a bit further back down the road to check out the Paulina Lake Lodge. Not much to see there so we continued on a dirt road that climbed up to the summit of the tallest point in the Monument, 7,984’ Paulina Peak. We had hoped to hang out until sunset at the top. The overlook gives you a commanding view of the entire caldera with both lakes but from this high point the smoke haze from the Oregon fires reared its ugly head. I was really hoping this would be a stellar spot for photos at sunrise and sunset and it is but on this day it was just way too smoky for any good photography.
Paulina Peak from Paulina Lake Lodge
The two lakes from the summit of Paulina Peak. The Little Crater Trail is just to the right of Paulina Lake and the Big Obsidian Flow to the right.
Gnarled pine on Paulina Peak summit
The next morning I got up at 5:45AM and drove back up Paulina Peak in the hope that the smoke had cleared overnight. It hadn’t. Apparently you can see all the volcanoes stretching from Rainier all the way through Oregon and down to Mount Shasta in northern California on a clear day.
Sunrise on a smoky Paulina Lake.
Newberry National Volcanic Monument is quite large with a northern and southern area. It’s about an hour drive from our camp on East Lake to the Lava Lands Visitor Center at the northern part of the Monument. We arrived there right at nine when they opened.
Right behind the visitor center lies the Trail of the Molten Land. This turned out to be a really cool trail. A paved one mile loop winds through a gigantic basalt lava flow that poured down from Lava Butte which rises above the flow. Once we had hiked the loop trail we took a shuttle to the top of Lava Butte and hiked around the rim of this big cinder cone.
Lava Butte above the Trail of the Molten Land
Twisted basalt along the Trail of the Molten Land
Many small lava tubes run through the piles of basalt on the Trail of the Molten Land
The cinder cone on Lava Butte
Active fire lookout on top of Lava Butte
The Trail of the Molten Land from Lava Butte
Fairly near the Lava Lands Visitor Center is the parking area for the Lava River Cave. The Lava River Cave is a gigantic lava tube, the longest lava tube in Oregon at one mile in length. It even runs underneath Highway 97 at one point, although there is fifty feet of lava between the tube and the surface at that spot. Lava tubes are formed as molten lava pours down a mountain. The outer surface exposed to the air cools more quickly and forms a crust or tube which the molten lava still flows through. When the molten lava source dries up what is left is a hardened hollow tube of cooled lava. The Lava River Cave is mostly undeveloped. Other than a bunch of stairs to get down into the tube, there are no railings, paved pathways or even lighting. Being pitch black, you must wear a headlamp, or use a flashlight to navigate through the tube.
I can’t say it was crowded but there were plenty of people going through the tube while we were there. Inside the tube the temperature stays a constant forty-two degrees so we brought jackets along. Once you enter the tube a long flight of metal stairs leads to the floor of the lava tube which is fairly flat. We followed it all the way to the end where a sign tells you not to go any further. I was really impressed with just how large this tube is. In places it is a whopping fifty-eight feet high and fifty feet wide. In another section the ceiling drops down to only about four feet high. This was a fascinating hike and I was very glad it has remained less developed. The need for using headlamps just to go in made it more of an adventure than if artificial light was mounted all along its length.
The entrance to Lava River Cave
Lava River Cave
Lava River Cave
Messing with our light painting flashlight
Lava River Cave
The lowest ceiling section of Lava River Cave
Entry staircase heading out of the tube
Back to the light
Stay tuned for the second half of our Oregon Adventure!