The BulleTin • Friday, april 16, 2021 B9
Camping to open at Detroit be able to reserve sites up to six
Lake State Recreation Area months in advance starting at
After being closed since
September due to damage
from the Santiam Canyon
wildfires, Detroit Lake State
Recreation Area will allow lim-
ited camping beginning Tues-
day, according to the Oregon
Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment (OPRD). Campers will
6 a.m. Monday for visits April
20 and beyond.
Some sites are still closed to
public use, and loops will open
on a rolling basis through June.
Reservations can be made
through oregonstateparks.re-
serveamerica.com, or by call-
ing 800-452-5687.
While Detroit Lake State
Recreation Area was in the
path of the Santiam Canyon
wildfires, it suffered much less
damage compared to the adja-
cent resort town of Detroit.
“For the most part, visitors
won’t notice anything differ-
ent from previous years,” Park
Manager Bob Rea said in the
announcement.
While the park was closed,
staff removed burned vegetation
and made repairs to a damaged
water tank, which Rea plans to
replace come autumn.
“Restoring drinking water
soon as possible was our top
priority,” he said. “I’m confi-
dent our water tank will carry
us through the busy summer
season.”
Contact: stateparks.oregon.
gov.
— Bulletin staff report
TOP PICK OF THE WEEK
Camp Polk
Meadow Preserve
Makenzie Whittle/The Bulletin
A red-winged blackbird sings atop a cattail at the Camp Polk
Meadow Preserve near Sisters.
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE
The Bulletin
Makenzie Whittle/Bulletin photos
Ponderosa pine tower over neighboring lodgepole pine trees along a connecting trail between North and South Twin Lakes.
Twin Lakes
Continued from B1
The twins
The lakes are popular sum-
mer destinations for fami-
lies looking for a day out on
the lake. Their small sizes of
112 and 99 acres (North and
South respectively) and tree-
lined shores make them less
windy compared to other lakes
in the area when the after-
noon comes, and because of
their restriction on motorized
boats, they make safe places for
swimming.
If swimming isn’t your thing,
South Twin has a trail skirting
the circumference of the lake
clocking in at about 1.5 miles.
The trail also connects through
an unmarked spur trail to the
North Twin Lake Trail, which
is a little less than 2 miles
around. The connecting trail
is about a half-mile clockwise
from the day-use area and
leads uphill before descending
into a lodgepole and ponder-
osa pine stand and clearing on
the way to the northern neigh-
bor.
South Twin is also one of
the few lakes in the Deschutes
National Forest that does not
allow dogs in the day-use area,
and those found bringing their
pooches can face a $100 fine.
The reason, according to the
U.S. Forest Service’s website, is
for safety due to the number of
kids and families who frequent
the long shoreline and for san-
itation reasons, as there is no
natural outlet for the lake and
clarity becomes an issue later
in the season.
At the time of writing, the
day-use area at South Twin
and boating area at North
Twin are closed as the Forest
Service readies the areas for the
summer season and removes
hazardous trees. Currently,
there are a lot of downed logs
and branches from the winter
needing to be cleaned out be-
fore it’s ready for the masses.
The trails, too, have a fair
amount of dead trees over the
path, as well as small sections
of snow, but most can be ma-
neuvered around or over fairly
easily.
Manzanita berries begin to grow in along the shores of South Twin Lake.
Getting ready
About 20,000 years ago,
magma met with groundwater
and created a steam eruption
forming a shallow crater that
eventually filled with water —
the two lakes we see today.
North Twin Lake shows off
the crater with the surround-
ing low hillsides cupping the
lakewater.
Both lakes are stocked reg-
ularly with rainbow trout and
are open year-round for fish-
ing, if you can reach them that
is. The road out to the lakes
is not maintained during the
winter season but currently
is mostly clear, with only the
south side of the road still see-
ing some spots of snow.
But with warmer weather
on the way, they shouldn’t last
long.
While neither lake can rank
highly on the breathtaking fac-
tor — after all, Central Oregon
is full of stunning waterways
that make for some stiff com-
petition — they are still stal-
wart locales for families spend-
ing those long summer days
on the water. This means that
both can get quite busy, South
Twin especially, once the sea-
son really swings into gear.
The campgrounds at both
lakes are also looking to be
popular this year. Both require
online reservations through
recreation.gov, as do all camp-
grounds within the Deschutes
National Forest (save for Cin-
der Hill, Paulina Lake and Prai-
rie campgrounds). They will
open for the season on May
28, and sites at South Twin are
already fairly booked on the
weekends through the summer.
With more and more peo-
ple accessing our natural areas
than ever before, it’s important
to either prepare to arrive at a
lake or trail early or to plan an
alternate destination if a loca-
tion is crowded and parking
is full.
And as some areas will be
subject to the Central Cascade
Wilderness Permits starting
Memorial Day weekend, areas
like the Twin Lakes, which do
not require the passes (South
Twin does require a $5 day-use
permit or a Northwest Forest
Pass), may be even more popu-
lar than ever.
e e
Makenzie Whittle is a Bend native. She
and her family have taken day trips
since she was an infant, exploring the
far-reaching corners of Oregon. She
continues the tradition today and
can be reached at 541-383-0304 or
mwhittle@bendbulletin.com
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0304,
mwhittle@bendbulletin.com
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Fire restrictions
Fire danger is currently
listed as Moderate in the De-
schutes National Forest. Fire
danger is listed as Low in the
Ochoco and Willamette Na-
tional Forests.
Industrial Fire Precaution
Level is currently at Level
1 for the Deschutes and
Ochoco national forests and
the Prineville District — Bu-
reau of Land Management.
The Deschutes Land Trust
managed 151-acre Camp
Polk Meadow Preserve near
Sisters is beautiful any time
of year, but as spring contin-
ues to ramp up with plants
and wildlife, it is especially
nice right now.
The majority of the
property is closed to the
public except when on
designated hikes with the
Land Trust, but one short,
gravel walking trail is open
year round, the Hindman
Springs Area.
The interpretive loop trail
is less than a half-mile, but
offers visitors to the preserve
a chance to see some of De-
schutes County’s history as
well as wildlife. It’s here that
the remains of the Hind-
man barn, one of the oldest
structures in the county, still
stand.
Since the trail is within the
nature preserve, dogs are not
allowed.
Getting there: From Bend,
drive north on U.S. High-
way 20 for 16 miles then turn
right on Cloverdale Road.
Continue for 3.5 miles then
turn left on State Highway
126 for about a half mile,
then turn right onto Camp
Polk Road. Follow the road
for 3 miles then turn right
at the sign to the preserve,
Cemetery Road. From Sis-
ters, Drive 3 miles on N. Lo-
cust Road/Camp Polk Road
then turn right to continue
on Camp Polk Road. Con-
tinue for a half mile until the
preserve entrance sign on
Cemetery Road and turn left.
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