Central Oregon is a place of beguiling beauty, with the High Desert being an immensely fascinating place with historic significance and great geographical variety. This is epitomized in the Lava Cast Forest, an expanse near Bend and Sunriver, Oregon, that's home to 7,000-year-old lava tree cast formations. It's a wondrous wasteland that's hauntingly and sublimely beautiful. See it along the Lava Cast Forest Trail, a paved, mile-long loop that intrepid explorers can traverse straight through.
Would you believe that this otherworldly hike in Oregon is located right in Bend? Okay -- the sepia photo definitely helps the mood, but this hauntingly beautiful forest stands on its own!
What is this alien landscape? And, more to the point, where is this alien landscape?
This expanse is known as the Lava Cast Forest, part of Newberry National Monument.
This is a barren landscape built on top of dark volcanic rock, making for one of the most unique topographical regions in Oregon. The Newberry National Volcanic Monument, part of Deschutes National Forest, offers a fascinating glimpse into the past and a great way to see a lava forest in Oregon.
Happily, the trail through this lava forest is smooth pavement (not melting hot lava!), and the eponymous Lava Cast Forest Trail is a short and sweet, mile-long loop that's accessible for all skill levels.
Panels along the trail provide information about how it all began at Lava Butte. An overlook at the trail’s end offers excellent westward views of the Cascade Mountains from this otherwordly hike in Oregon.
This is a world where lava dominates the landscape and living things have adapted, over the centuries, to a harsh desert environment. This trek provides insights into the formation of Lava Butte (the 500-foot cinder cone protruding out in the horizon), as well as close-up views of many unique features of the Lava Cast Forest.
You'll learn all about the volcano, the story of its eruption, and the lands you are standing on.
This one about the creation of the balls of fire tumbling down was by far one of my favorites.
Aside from the interesting facts and unique rock formations, you'll also get some outstanding views.
And I really appreciated all the signage telling me what I was actually looking at in the distance.
I visited the area in early April and thought that the leftover snow cover on the rocks was a really interesting contrast.
The Lava Lands are one of those places in Oregon for which pictures do not do justice; it's a world you must experience. And this accessible Lava Cast Forest trail invites all to do just that.
Visit the Lava Lands Visitor Center website to learn more and plan your trip to this captivating place.
Make sure you have all the hiking gear you'll need for the Lava Cast Forest. If you are missing anything, REI is sure to have it.
Have you been to this lava forest in Oregon before? Do you have any favorite otherworldly hikes in Oregon?
Want to learn more about this area? Consider taking a trip to the High Desert Museum.
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