Eastern Oregon

The area is divided into three parts:

Northeast click here
Boardman, Pendleton, Hell’s Canyon & Wallowa Lake, .

Central click here
Sisters, Metolius River, Camp Sherman, Bend, Summer Lake.

Southeast
Crater Lake, Klamath Falls, Steens Mountains

Southeast

www.eova.com/southeast

Crater Lake & Union Creek
Crater Lake never fails to take my breath away. The dramatic caldera, the cobalt blue and jewel blue greens of the deepest lake in the U.S. is unique in the world. Fair Warning: Take water when hiking: the steep canyon sides of the caldera can get baking hot. Going down to the lake’s edge seems simple, but the climb back up is strenuous with sometimes unsettled gravelly footing. Crater Lake National Park only encompasses part of the geologic wonders in the area. At Union Creek, woodsy trails lead along the Upper Rogue River. Watch astonished as the river cascades out of lava tubes and gushes through basalt troughs you could leap over. Don’t. Near Prospect you can discover hidden lakes, waterfalls, and the fantastic Avenue of Boulders. [ARCHIVES: It’s, Um, Big]

Steens Mountains/Malheur Wildlife Refuge/Alvord Desert
Stark, dramatic, teeming with wildlife — a wondrous place indeed.

[ARCHIVES: An Old Trough in Heaven, It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane — No It is a Bird and Introducing a Ruddy Duck]

EAT

Burns
Meat Hook Steakhouse 673 W Monroe St. steaks & such.

Steens Mountains/Malheur National Wildlife Reserve
French Glen Hotel www.oregonstateparks.org good home cookin’ Fair Warning: Family style meals need dinner reservations. 541.493.2825. Open mid-March – November. Fields Station Café http://fieldsoregon.com good old-fashioned café, great milkshakes!

Crater Lake Vicinity
Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room www.craterlakelodges.com fine dining with views; The Rim Village Café fast food; Annie Creek Restaurant in Mazama Village, standard family fare seven miles from the rim.

Union Creek/Prospect
Beckie’s Café & The Ice Cream Shop www.unioncreekoregon.com Good home cookin’ across the highway from Union Creek Resort. Shakes!

Klamath Falls
The Wetlands Lounge, microbrews, drinks (margaritas!) & light fare at Running Y Ranch www.runningy.com inside the lodge Fair Warning: limited hours 4-9 p.m. Ranch House Restaurant down the hill from the lodge. Gallagher's Café and Sports Bar in The Village at the Ranch.

STAY

Crater Lake /Union Creek
Crater Lake Lodge www.craterlakelodges.com on the rim of the caldera is the place to stay. Historic, renovated, small, comfortable rooms, some with fantastic views. Dining Room on site. Fair Warning: Central air and heat can be noisy in rooms, truly disappointing in this pristine location. And Mazama Village, although in the National Park, is motel-like lodging miles away from the rim tucked in piney woods.

Union Creek Resort www.unioncreekoregon.com Zane Grey and Jack London stayed here, and the basic low-key rustic atmosphere remains in rooms above the store & cozy cabins tucked beneath towering pine. You can cook in your cabin or hop across the street to Beckie’s Café where after gorging on home cookin’ you can take a hike. Or, heck, stick around and write a novel.

[ARCHIVES: It’s, Um, Big]

Diamond Lake Resort www.diamondlake.net A year-round skiing, snowmobiling destination, fishing, boating family resort on a sparkling lake near Crater Lake. Motel-like units, cabins. Fair Warning: Needs lots of updating TLC, but family friendly.

[ARCHIVES: Dancing in the Dark]

Steens Mountain/Malheur Wildlife Refuge
French Glen Hotel www.oregonstateparks.org sweet eight-room rustic historic hotel Fair Warning: tiny rooms; shared bathrooms. Drover’s Inn next to the hotel 541.493.2825. Four newer air-conditioned units w/ private baths. Two remote accommodations adjacent to Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Diamond: Hotel Diamond www.central-oregon.com/hoteldiamond & McCoy Creek Inn 541.493.2131. Three-bedroom home with shared bath. Fair Warning: Untested

Fields Station http://fieldsoregon.com small vintage motel units in the great beyond.

[ARCHIVES: An Old Trough in Heaven, Introducing a Ruddy Duck and It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane — No, It is a Bird]

Klamath Falls
Running Y Ranch Resort www.runningy.com Year-round resort community with lodge rooms, townhouses and vacation rentals near Klamath Lake. Birding, golf, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, pool, ice arena. Handsome lodge and lobby; big verandah with Adirondack chairs and (limited hours) bar nearby w/snacks. Fair Warning: Stunning structure, but lodge mainly overlooks the golf course and hillside houses visible in the sparse woods. Rooms are merely motel-like and even though owned by Jen-Weld, premium wood door & window manufacturer, windows are tacky aluminum and vinyl. AND photos of canoeing & fly-fishing on the website are misleading — the lodge is not close to lake access.

Yep, Let’s Drive! The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway All American Road www.volcaniclegacybyway.org stretches from Crater Lake to Mount Lassen in Northern California. Mt. Mazama blew its top leaving a huge caldera crater to fill with rain and snowmelt over the centuries. Do not miss Crater Lake National Park one of the most exquisite lakes you will ever see — breathtaking cobalt blue edged in turquoise. See the Rogue River careen out of lava at Union Creek and explore the Avenue of the Boulders. [ARCHIVES: It’s, Um, Big] then drive on through big ranch country with views of those volcanic snow-capped peaks and maybe a stop at Lava Beds National Monument where you can get lanterns and hard hats to explore the lava tubes. Last stop for thousands of birds along the Pacific Flyway is Klamath Falls where you, just like those birds will travel along Klamath Lake into the Klamath Basin, home to more than 350 species. In fall and winter the largest concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 arrive here.

Find more on snowmobiling (Diamond Lake has over 300 groomed trails & moonlit rides to Crater Lake), fishing, hiking, skiing, biking and all that recreation fun including Mt. Ashland and Ashland’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival overlaps with Southern Oregon www.southernoregon.org.