For as long as Mia and I have been in Oregon we’ve seldom traveled much beyond the first 10-15 miles of the Cascade Lakes Highway out of Bend. I have been to Wanoga Sno Park for 24 hour racing, fat biking, XC skiing, etc. Last fall I finally made it out to Devils Lake for a hike up South Sister. I had raced the High Cascades 100 mile mountain bike race out that way in 2019, but besides being familiar with trailhead names and certain location names, I had no clue where I was most of the time.

The South Sister trip out to Devils Lake area piqued my interest in more exploration of that area. I’d read/heard that Cultus Lake was a good place to check out, so back in January I reserved a lakeside site for the long weekend including Juneteenth.

Our site was a “pull through” site, meaning that in theory you could have a larger vehicle or 5th wheeler style camper for this one. I would caution future users to be wary though. The pull through is sloped for the majority of its length and you will need some sort of leveling device to make due. There were two large, flat areas for tent campers if that is your thing.

We arrived late afternoon on Thursday after being delayed due to an accident on Santiam Highway. Throw in a mandatory stop at Sisters Coffee in Sisters and Trader Joes in Bend for groceries and it was close to 5pm by the time we pulled up to our site.

The sunset was absolutely beautiful tonight.

FRIDAY

When we awoke on Friday the weather was chilly but no winds to speak of at all. I messed around on the lake for a bit on our paddleboard before we headed out for a hike on the Winopee Lake Trail and up to Teddy Lakes.

The hike out-n-back was just over eight and half miles. The weather was pretty ideal with temps in the high 70s and blue sky all around.

We didn’t see a single other person until our hike back to the campground. Then we ran in a couple people here and there. We’re almost certain we startled a small bear too. It was too small to be an elk and too big to be something else. I just saw a brownish blur jumping over logs in the woods off to my left.

Mia and I had picked up turkey dogs the other week. Not sure why, but I was having a slight craving for a hot dog and wanted to scratch that itch. It’s probably been 7-10 years since I last had one. Probably be a similar length of time before that craving hits again.

Saturday

I did the super simple, but actually quite nice, mountain bike loop around the lake late morning on this day. No pictures, just a nice 11ish mile loop that was done in about an hour. Futzed around on the SUP again when I got back, but the water was pretty choppy because of the wind. We read our books, soaked up some sun and then Mia and I had an almost two-hour long game of War. She finally won.

Sunday

We got an early start for the long(ish) ride home on Sunday. It was chilly enough this morning that when I went down to the beach to get the SUP there was frost on both the life vest and the board iteself.

We then headed back to civilization for breakfast at the always superb Jackson’s Corner in Bend. I’ll say it for the millionth time, their breakfast is in the top three of best I have ever had.

We had an additional stop in Sisters for Coffee (again) and then an old-fashioned donut from Sisters Bakery in memory of Codi.

There are many more campgrounds and lakes out there to check out. We saw Elk Lake and Lava Lakes as interesting options. Some brief conversation about getting on a backpacking trip out that way took place too. I think I need to work on Mia some more for that one. I’m trying to also work out a bikepacking route that connects Oakridge to Bend for something down the road (trail).

We will definitely be back to Cultus Lake. While Suttle Lake is one of our favorite places to visit, Cultus Lake is right up there. Suttle doesn’t allow motorized boats so it is quieter, but Cultus has a certain charm to it that is hard to deny.

Until next time……….

-Pete