July 23, 2016

We went into our favorite coffee shop in town, Looney Bean, and started talking to the barista. She said that we had to drive Cascade Highway for the beautiful drive and the multiple lakes and hikes that you can choose from.  So we packed everyone in and started the drive. We had no plan and didn’t know where to stop, but when we saw a ton of cars parked in an area we knew that that must be the hike and it was dog friendly.

At the start of the trail you have to register and carry half of the receipt with you.  We ran into a ranger who asked for it.  It seemed odd to us, but this is a trail head for back country camping as well, which was a surprise since it was such a short drive from town.

The lake was beautiful and had trails going all the way around. It was perfect for the dogs to jump in the crystal clear waters. There were camping spots close by with shade and water access. In socal to get back country camping with a lake we had at least a 5 hour drive.  This would have been amazing then.

High up there was still snow and waterfalls, it was a mesmerizing site!

There was a river that the path stayed close to pretty much the entire way. Perfect for the dogs and humans on a hot day.

The hike was 10 miles round trip, but the great thing about it is it didn’t seem that long. It was pretty flat the entire time and not technical so you didn’t have to look at the ground to make sure you didn’t trip which we have to do on some of our more crazy hikes. Being able to look at the views and the scenery the entire time made it go by very fast.

I highly suggest this hike and lake if you are in Bend. I wish we would have been able to check out a couple more.