We finally made our way out to Paulina Lake in the Deschutes National Forest. It has been on the list of to do’s for a while now. We just went for a couple of hours, but there seems to be endless camping, so hopefully the next trip will involve a bit more adventure.
There are two lakes, hot springs, camping, fishing, a crater hike, a drive to a mountain peak, obsidian lava fields, and more. The area requires a national forest parking pass or $5 to enter.
First we visited Paulina Creek Falls. It was a short and easy hike to the upper falls and a short trail down to the bottom.
After hiking to the falls we went to the big obsidian flow. Astronauts trained here to prepare for the moon walk.
Obsidian is very rare and this large expanse of lava rock seemed particularly unique to me. There were many different types of rock all piled together in one place. Besides the obsidian, my favorite was pumice. Both of these types of rock were fun to see in nature rather than in a store.
I know this area will be visited by us many times this summer. The next trip will definitely include kayaks.