SPORTS PULLOUT & CLASSIFIEDS INSIDE
• B SECTION • FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2021
THE REGION’S HUB FOR
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
Each week in this section, you will find the area’s
most complete guide of what’s open and closed;
outdoor activities and events; top picks of places to
explore; conditions of hiking and biking trails,
fishing holes, water flows, camping spots, parks
and more — as well as features from outdoor
writers and field experts.
“
If you’re
looking for
a variety of
adventure
in Central
Oregon,
East
Lake and
the sur-
rounding
Newberry
Rim offer
plenty.
”
LEFT: Hikers enjoy the
view from atop Paulina
Peak on Sunday.
CAMPING
East Lake
is a one-stop shop for
adventures
BY MARK MORICAL • The Bulletin
I
t was not the best timing.
I secured a campsite reservation at
even in the middle of summer. But I checked
the forecast, and the low temperatures
East Lake’s Cinder Hill Campground
would remain in the 50s this past weekend
last week, and then two days later the
at East Lake, so we would be just fine for tent
campfire ban in Oregon east of Interstate 5
went into effect.
ABOVE: Bend’s Mason Morical, 13, hikes along the summit
of Paulina Peak on Sunday. BELOW: A campsite at Cinder Hill
Campground at East Lake. The small red flag in the fire ring
reads “No fires!” Mark Morical/Bulletin photos
camping as long we brought warm clothes.
My 13-year-old son Mason and I arrived at
Located at 6,400 feet in the Newberry
our campsite on the lake and noted the small
National Volcanic Monument southeast of
red flag in the fire ring that read “No fires!”
Bend, East Lake can get bitterly cold at night,
See East Lake / B9
A hike up Overturf Butte affords a view of Bend life
BY DAVID JASPER
The Bulletin
Earlier this month, on a hot
July Saturday morning, my
daughter, Lilly, and I parked
at Overturf Park, located off
17th Street just south of Gal-
veston Avenue, walked pur-
posefully past a toddler enjoy-
ing the playground, the child’s
presumed parents enjoying a
spot of shade, mom plucking
a soothing tune on acoustic
guitar.
Lilly and I were on our way
to the Cascade Highlands Trail,
which starts at the back of the
park.
It leads to Overturf Butte
Trail and the top of Overturf
Butte, where we got a glimpse
of our old life in this west-
side neighborhood, which we
moved from when we bought a
home on the east side 16 years
ago.
OUTDOOR PICK OF THE WEEK
Pre-development views
Back when we lived here,
the houses that cover the west
face of the butte — the ones
seen above when driving on
Mt. Washington Drive be-
tween Simpson Avenue and
Skyliners Road — were mostly
a gleam in developers’ eyes.
A longtime local once told
me how, before the building
started, he used to hear the
nighttime yipping of coyotes
from the butte.
Fortunately, the city of Bend’s
Overturf Butte Reservoir is lo-
cated up top, and only so much
development has occurred
here.
When we reached the paved
service road, we hung a left and
continued up until we reached
the Overturf Butte Trail, which
has sections on either side of
the water towers. Lilly stopped
to use a DIY swing dangling
from a juniper branch. Other
signs of use include a wooden
bench, a little box for sharing
wishes and tchotchke affixed to
another tree and a smattering
of graffiti here and there.
Once we reached the rocky
peak (elev ation: 3,904 feet),
we stood on the concrete
slabs that once served as the
foundation of a fire lookout
here and gawked at the world
below.
See Overturf / B10