Oregon hiking/camping ideas in Cascades
 

We're planning a two week trip to Oregon in the beginning of August. We have 4 days after we've spent time on the coast in Manzanita and before we get to Eugene that we are trying to figure out. I'd like to be in the mountains, love to hike. We're considering the area around Sisters, Three Creek Lake was suggested but we're worried about mosquitos. We've also considered the gorge and Mt. Hood but there I'm worried about crowds. Any ideas? Favorite campgrounds? Thanks!

http://www.cascade-canyoning.com/

I've been with the above link twice. Best thing ever.

Click on their one day adventures. Scroll through the Cascade Canyon photos. About half of the photos are of my daugher and me.

We did hike Eagle Creek on our on in Columbia River Gorger. It wasn't to crowded.

Mt. St. Helens might be a consideration too.

So many choices. Suggest you google away some more and find an area you might like -and then further check there.

I think near/around Bend there are many options, including Crescent and Odell lakes - and we used to have our Klamamth Falls Boy Scout camp at Crescent Lake. http://tinyurl.com/7dyhwrw

And 4 Mile Lake and Lake of the Woods by Klamath are also nice - and if you are feeling ambituious - you could do a day hike up to the top of 10,000 foot cinder cone - Mt. McGloughlin. http://tinyurl.com/7ud7awu

My niece did it with the girl scouts when she was 14 - and half of the 8 girls summited. :)

There is reason to be concerned about the mosquitoes - just back from that area today and in some areas they were out full force. We were kayaking though and did not seem to bother us on the water.

Lots of nice hikes in that area- Tam McArther Ridge is supposed to be a good one- have never done it though.

See if you can find a book "Hiking in the Cascades" by Bill Sullivan. He is the local guru on hiking in Oregon.
in the Bend area you could hike the Deschutes River Trail-

We were kayaking at Sparks Lake- absolutely gorgeous with the South Sister, Broken Top and Mt Bachelor in the background - there appeared to be some nice campsites there and there is a hiking trail- its pretty easy- some nice views of the lake and the mountains- but I would not call it a spectacular hike.

Closer to Eugene you could hike around Clear Lake- very pretty, the McKenzie River starts there.
You can also stop at Sahalie Falls and do a loop that includes Koosah Falls.

My favorite campground would be along the Metolius River - close to Sisters and Camp
Sherman.

So there are a few suggestions.

It is unfortunate that anyplace near water even flowing water the mosquitoes are now out in full force.
I got a bit chewed up today myself.
Two other places that have not been mentioned are Cultus Lake Resort along the Cascade Lakes Highway and North and South Twin Lakes just south of Century Drive (FS 42) which is between CCLH and LaPine or Sunriver.
There are some campsites near Waldo Lake which is north of Highway 58.
The note on Rt. 58 is that it is closed from 8PM to 6AM Monday through Thursday while ODoT is rebuilding the Salt Creek tunnel at MP 56.

I'd take a mosquito bite or two. It's so dry here in Oklahoma, that we've even noticed that this is the least mosquitoes we've ever had.

What's the big deal with squitos? Hey - in Babe Ruth league through high school - behind Klamath Gem stadium (now called Keiger Field) we had an irrigation canal with green water from algae laden Klamath Lake and with the bright lights at night games - those blood suckers were thick as can be in the outfield.

We just sprayed with Off between innings and no problemo.

Nowadays - just find something with DEET. Used it in Central America with great results. :)

Sunbum gave excellent suggestions. Bill Sullivan is the goto guy for hiking. My fav book of his for Oregon is "Trips n Trails".

The Bend/Sisters area is great for hiking as there are numerous places to camp and hike. The South Sister is my favorite hike, but it is a full day trip. Black Butte hike is easy and has great views. Jeff Park is a great hike, and the wildflowers are beautiful. The Metolious River has a nice trail along it and Wizard Falls are stunning, but since it is along a river it is really easy and so draws more people. Clear Lake and Sahalie Falls are both great, as sunbum suggested. There are hundreds more, so the hard part is to narrow it down.

As for crowds, yes, Mt Hood and the gorge trails can get crowded. Weekends are the worst of course. In the gorge you need to be careful of vehicle breakins. Just a week ago the police dealt with 5 breakins in one day at the trailheads.

And the area around Mt. Hood does draw a lot of visitors - but from our favorite place - Timberline Lodge - if you put on a small backpack and took along some extra water - in half an hour or so (going either way on the trail that goes around Mt. Hood - a 3 day hike/camp if you are serious) - you would pretty much only be greeting the occasional hiker. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

Thanks for all the good ideas. I'll have to spend some time with a map. Also, thank you for the warning about the car break-ins at the gorge. I can deal with mosquitos but my husband hates them. Do you think the mosquitos would be bad camping along the Metolius River? I was considering that area.

Don't know about mosquitos along the Metolius River - but would sure "brave" them to fly fish in that great area. :)

That reminds me. Open in the summer months - after the snow is cleared out/melted - there is a beautiful drive - hiway 242 - from Eugene to Bend over the mountains/McKenzie Pass - and you go by lava flows that were used to train the Astronauts before the first moon trip. http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregond...7626922795758/

While I was going to Grad School at U of O - waaaay back in the summer of 1969 - a lady friend and I drove over for one of my Air Force Academy Classmates wedding in Bend - and I put the top down on the convertible on the way over - and on the way back - wuz howling at the full moon while we returned. :)

Plenty of places to take a hike in the Mckenzie and Santiam Pass areas. http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/SBmckenzie.asp
There is a hot spring resort at Belknap.
The Cascade Lakes Highway SW out of Bend goes through many areas that were filmed in John Wayne movies.

tsmith--The mosquitos might be bad, but the Metolious is worth it! It is a beautiful river and that entire area is stunning. There is a little store at Camp Sherman, so if you need big dope, you can get it there.

The campgrounds I was at last week did have mosquitos but it was not in swarms as I have seen at times- however I was at higher elevations so don't know if that will make a difference. I used my spray and they left me alone.

It is a beautiful area to camp- and I like riding my bike around too. There is a nice restaurant at Camp Sherman - the Kokanee- you would need reservations. If you decide to stay there, maybe go across the road to Black Butte resort- there are some great bike trails there with great views of the Sisters- or just have lunch.

tomf: Love driving the lake loop southwest of Bend. Just some incredibly beautiful places. And at the south end - you can also see Crescent and Odell Lakes. :)

Recommend the Metolius River area near Camp Sherman and also trails along the Mckenzie near Sahalie and Koosah Falls, perhaps Clear Lake. We have been here for a few days now and no Mosquitos. We've been hiking until at least 7 PM each day and if there is any mosquito around, it would be sure to find me. Liked the hike along Eagle Creek in the Gorge but there seemed to be more people there, and, yes, Mosquitos. This is our first time in the area.

einap29- glad to hear mosquitos are under control there. Have you tried hiking Iron Mountain or Canyon Creek Meadows?- Iron Mountain/Cone Peak has over 300 varieties of wild flowers- should be in bloom still -

Just back and will get to a report eventually. The worst mosquitos were at Crater Lake. Huge and Hungry!

It was a perfect day out at Elk and Hosmer lakes today.
No bites today and the weather was perfect. I even saw a sailboat out on Elk lake.
I Stopped in the see the PIT volunteer at the Elk Lake Guard Station.