Trip Report: Paulina Lakeshore Loop Trail Run, Newberry National Volcanic Monument
When: 09/29/2017
Location: Paulina Lakeshore Loop, Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Conditions:
Day 1: Cool with scattered clouds.
Day 2: Chilly with a high of 42 F, breezy at times with only small windows of sunlight.
Perfect trail running weather! Paulina Lakeshore Trail is well marked, easily traversed, and minimal mud conditions even with the recent melt of the season's first snow.
Duration: 2 day, overnight excursion to run the Paulina Lakeshore Loop Trail in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. 8 hours round-trip drive time.
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yes
Pet Friendly: Yes
Useful links:
www.fs.usda.gov
www.campgroundsoregon.com
www.outdoorproject.com
www.alltrails.com
www.theoutbound.com
The Full Report:
If you're looking for a trail run away from Portland that boasts beauty and simplicity, Paulina Lake Shore Loop is a great pick. Though doable in a single day (if you don’t mind 8 hours of driving) we chose to split the trip up into a two-day affair which made it possible to head out after work on Friday, arrive at the lake, run, and return home Saturday night. This gave us all day Sunday to relax before getting back to work Monday morning. The *perfect* weekend adventure.
This is how we did it: Leaving Portland at 4:30pm on a Friday, we definitely had a bit of a time getting through the afternoon rush hour. But, once we got close to Boring, OR, the roads cleared up and it was easy-going all the way to our campsite. We chose the Mecca Flat Recreation Site for our overnight spot as we were not looking to be anywhere for long (literally pull up, sleep, wake up, leave). This site has great proximity to the highway. It’s just 1 mile on NW Mecca Flat Rd (a well-maintained gravel-road) right off HWY 26 past Warm Springs and is located right on the Deschutes River in a flattened-out portion of the Deschutes Canyon.
We were not disappointed. It’s got that high-desert beauty of red earth, sage scrub, and sweetgrass tucked away where any road noise from the HWY isn’t an issue. Crowding also wasn’t a problem as ours was one of only three sites in use. Getting our campsite squared away was easy too. Just pulled up to the information board, filled out the supplied form, sealed our $8 cash into the tear-away envelope, and slipped it into the provided dropbox. Took less than 5 min.
This site is open year-round, has a *very* clean vault toilet, but no potable water. So, either remember to pack it in or bring what you need to filter water from the Deschutes River that’s mere meters from most of the campsites.
TIP: If you like fly fishing, the Mecca Flats Fly Fishing Club is connected with this site and has a lot of options for fishing the river.
Overnight saw temps dip just below freezing. And, if you’re one for looking up, the stargazing was incredible once it’s fully dark and you’re lucky enough to have clear skies. With little light pollution the stars are quite bright with the arm of the Milky Way being very distinguishable.
We woke, took care of our morning ablutions, made coffee (jetboil+aeropress= amazing) and headed out by 7am. From here, getting to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a piece of cake. Once you’re off NW Mecca Flat Rd headed south on HWY 26, merge onto HWY 97 towards Bend, OR. Takes about an hour to reach the city. From there, keep on HWY 97 south and in about 28 miles look to make a left-hand turn onto National Forest road 21 towards the monument area. After 10 miles on this well-paved road, you’ll reach the Visitor Welcome Station. It's $5 for a day pass (unless you have one of the several annual passes that gets you access to national monuments).
TIP: Before you buy a day pass, know whether or not you want to stay for the day or if you will be camping overnight. The Day Pass is non-refundable and non- exchangeable for an overnight pass. So, save yourselves the hassle and extra costs by deciding on things before you pay.
Once past the visitor center, you'll begin to see signs for trails, sites, and parking. Unless you just have to check out the visitor center — a warming hut with small knickknacks and only big enough to fit about 5 people — skip parking there or at the actual Paulina Lake Trailhead. Once it starts freezing, this area has no restrooms accessible. We highly recommend just parking at Paulina Falls, the first point right after the welcome station. The vault toilets here are open year-round, there's a gorgeous moss-packed trail that takes you to the lakeshore loop trailhead and visitor center area, picnic tables, and - of course - a great view of the twin waterfalls.
We parked and sorted into our running kits (layers, remember to layer!) then headed out along the Paulina Falls Trail east towards the Lakeshore Loop trail and hit it going in a clockwise direction.
TIP: Head counter-clockwise for the best on-trail views of Paulina Peak.
Slightly rolling with only 200 ft of gain, the 7.5mile loop trail is varied: packed earth, shoreline gravel, slopes of pitted volcanic rock, slabs of slippery obsidian, loamy fir tree-covered sections, and swampy, sulfur-tainted areas along the north and southern shores. Mildly used, we only came across a few people as we started out near Paulina Lodge and once we were on the far side of the lake where the trail runs through several sections of the area's campgrounds.
TIP: Not marked on their park map, there's actually access to water in the Little Crater Campground through a spigot that's fed directly from spring water.
Completing the loop, we took the opportunity and scampered out onto the docks near the Visitor Center and stretched out. With views of the surrounding caldera ridge-line, forest, Paulina Peak, and being surrounded by crystal clear water, it made a perfect ending to this run.
TIP: Headed home? Stop over in Bend for a cup of coffee at Bellatazza Café or a pint at Bend Brewing Company!
Happy trails!
This is how we did it: Leaving Portland at 4:30pm on a Friday, we definitely had a bit of a time getting through the afternoon rush hour. But, once we got close to Boring, OR, the roads cleared up and it was easy-going all the way to our campsite. We chose the Mecca Flat Recreation Site for our overnight spot as we were not looking to be anywhere for long (literally pull up, sleep, wake up, leave). This site has great proximity to the highway. It’s just 1 mile on NW Mecca Flat Rd (a well-maintained gravel-road) right off HWY 26 past Warm Springs and is located right on the Deschutes River in a flattened-out portion of the Deschutes Canyon.
We were not disappointed. It’s got that high-desert beauty of red earth, sage scrub, and sweetgrass tucked away where any road noise from the HWY isn’t an issue. Crowding also wasn’t a problem as ours was one of only three sites in use. Getting our campsite squared away was easy too. Just pulled up to the information board, filled out the supplied form, sealed our $8 cash into the tear-away envelope, and slipped it into the provided dropbox. Took less than 5 min.
This site is open year-round, has a *very* clean vault toilet, but no potable water. So, either remember to pack it in or bring what you need to filter water from the Deschutes River that’s mere meters from most of the campsites.
TIP: If you like fly fishing, the Mecca Flats Fly Fishing Club is connected with this site and has a lot of options for fishing the river.
Overnight saw temps dip just below freezing. And, if you’re one for looking up, the stargazing was incredible once it’s fully dark and you’re lucky enough to have clear skies. With little light pollution the stars are quite bright with the arm of the Milky Way being very distinguishable.
We woke, took care of our morning ablutions, made coffee (jetboil+aeropress= amazing) and headed out by 7am. From here, getting to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a piece of cake. Once you’re off NW Mecca Flat Rd headed south on HWY 26, merge onto HWY 97 towards Bend, OR. Takes about an hour to reach the city. From there, keep on HWY 97 south and in about 28 miles look to make a left-hand turn onto National Forest road 21 towards the monument area. After 10 miles on this well-paved road, you’ll reach the Visitor Welcome Station. It's $5 for a day pass (unless you have one of the several annual passes that gets you access to national monuments).
TIP: Before you buy a day pass, know whether or not you want to stay for the day or if you will be camping overnight. The Day Pass is non-refundable and non- exchangeable for an overnight pass. So, save yourselves the hassle and extra costs by deciding on things before you pay.
Once past the visitor center, you'll begin to see signs for trails, sites, and parking. Unless you just have to check out the visitor center — a warming hut with small knickknacks and only big enough to fit about 5 people — skip parking there or at the actual Paulina Lake Trailhead. Once it starts freezing, this area has no restrooms accessible. We highly recommend just parking at Paulina Falls, the first point right after the welcome station. The vault toilets here are open year-round, there's a gorgeous moss-packed trail that takes you to the lakeshore loop trailhead and visitor center area, picnic tables, and - of course - a great view of the twin waterfalls.
We parked and sorted into our running kits (layers, remember to layer!) then headed out along the Paulina Falls Trail east towards the Lakeshore Loop trail and hit it going in a clockwise direction.
TIP: Head counter-clockwise for the best on-trail views of Paulina Peak.
Slightly rolling with only 200 ft of gain, the 7.5mile loop trail is varied: packed earth, shoreline gravel, slopes of pitted volcanic rock, slabs of slippery obsidian, loamy fir tree-covered sections, and swampy, sulfur-tainted areas along the north and southern shores. Mildly used, we only came across a few people as we started out near Paulina Lodge and once we were on the far side of the lake where the trail runs through several sections of the area's campgrounds.
TIP: Not marked on their park map, there's actually access to water in the Little Crater Campground through a spigot that's fed directly from spring water.
Completing the loop, we took the opportunity and scampered out onto the docks near the Visitor Center and stretched out. With views of the surrounding caldera ridge-line, forest, Paulina Peak, and being surrounded by crystal clear water, it made a perfect ending to this run.
TIP: Headed home? Stop over in Bend for a cup of coffee at Bellatazza Café or a pint at Bend Brewing Company!
Happy trails!