Are you ready for another great weekend trip? Our central Oregon itinerary presents our top picks and offers a great variety of sites to visit.
Best time to visit: a visit scheduled Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend will allow you to visit all the sites on the itinerary. Plan to arrive at Erickson Aircraft Museum at the 10 a.m. opening to allow time to visit all sites planned for the first day.
Erickson Aircraft Collection
The museum houses a wonderful collection of aircraft, most of them World War II combat aircraft—and most of them in flying condition. So many of these aircraft are one of only a few surviving and still flying of its type, including an SBD Dauntless, FM-2 Wildcat, a Vought F4U-7 Corsair with a fascinating history, and a Nakajima KI-43 Oscar. The collection includes the only Bellanca Air Cruiser still flying today, this one built in 1938.
Here are details you will need, including the address to enter into your navigation app:
Erickson Aircraft Collection, 2408 NW Berg Drive, Madras, OR, 97741, 541-460-5065. Open: Tue-Sun 10-5; closed July 4 (3rd and 4th in 2023), Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Admission: Adults $9, Seniors $8, Veterans $7, Youth 6-17 $5, 5 and under Free. Plan one to 1.5 hours for your visit.
Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint
About 16 miles south of Madras, cross the bridge over the Crooked River and immediately exit Hwy 97 at the parking lot for the viewpoint offering great views of the river gorge and the Rex T. Barber Veteran Memorial Bridge—you might even get to see bungee jumpers jumping from the bridge! Restrooms on site.
High Desert Museum
The museum offers a unique perspective on the high desert environment of the region, both flora and fauna. You’ll learn a lot about regional history, of both Euro-American settlers and indigenous peoples.
The museum is about five miles south of Bend. Between the museum and the outdoor exhibits, there’s a lot to do here—you will easily be here two to three hours.
Here are details you will need, including the address to enter into your navigation app:
High Desert Museum, 59800 US-97, Bend, OR 97702, 541-382-4754. Open: Apr-Oct 9-5 daily; Nov-Mar 10-4 daily; closed 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission: Apr-Oct: Adult $20, 65+ $17, College Students with I.D. $17, Children 3-12 $12, 2 and younger Free; Nov-Mar: Adult $17, 65+ and College Students with ID $15, Children 3-12 $11, 2 and younger free. Lunch café and extensive gift shop on site.
Advance tickets are available but not required and can be purchased here: highdesertmuseum.org/tickets/
Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Day Two takes you to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument: the visitor center, Newberry Caldera, Lava Butte, and Lava River Cave present the primary sites to visit. Note that a $5 day pass (or a Recreation Pass) is required to park at any site within the monument other than the visitor centers, which can be purchased at two visitor centers and at the cave. Plan four to six hours for your visit.
We recommend starting with the Paulina Visitor Center, roughly 20 miles south of Bend via SR-97.
Paulina Visitor Center: from SR-97, turn left onto Paulina Lake Rd/Rd 21, which becomes Newberry Crater Rd. At about 11 miles from Hwy 97, you will arrive at the visitor center. Stop here to pick up a map of the monument (and purchase your parking pass).
Paulina Peak Observation Point: 800 feet up the road from the visitor center, turn right onto NF 500; the roughly six mile road leads to the observation point. The road is steep, has some rough spots and hairpin turns, but the views of the lakes are worth the drive! The two lakes are actually formed in the collapsed caldera of the volcano. Remember to use a lower gear when descending the peak in order to avoid overheating the brakes.
Paulina Falls Day Use Area: backtrack 2000 feet along the road to the falls. A short trail leads to Paulina Falls; take the hiking path down to view the falls from below.
Returning to Newberry Crater Rd (near visitor center), turn right, go roughly 1.5 miles, turn right into the parking lot for Big Obsidian Flow Trailhead and Interpretive Site. The one mile loop hiking trail is absolutely cool!
Lava Lands Visitor Center: 58201 US-97, Bend, OR 97702, 541-383-5300. Return to Hwy 97 and travel north about 28 miles; Exit Hwy 97 at Exit 151 and turn left onto Cottonwood Rd. Dependent upon what time you are able to arrange for your timed entry tickets at the cave, you can visit the Visitor Center before or after your cave visit. After your visit at the center, take a stroll along the Trail of the Molten Land (easy difficulty).
Lava Butte: during peak season from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, a shuttle runs approximately every 20 minutes that departs from Lava Lands Visitor Center to access the summit of Lava Butte. The cost is $2 per person for the round trip and exact change is required. Motorized access by personal vehicles to Lava Butte is not available on days when the shuttle is in service. Access by personal vehicles is possible outside of peak season with free first-come, first-served time permits available at the Lava Lands Welcome Station and only when the Lava Lands Visitor Center is open. Visitors may access Lava Butte by non-motorized access at any time, generally from dawn to dusk (it’s about one mile).
Shuttle schedule: the first shuttle departs from Lava Lands Visitor Center to Lava Butte at 10 a.m. and the last shuttle at 4:00 p.m.
The parking area for the visitor’s center is open year-round, though access is dependent upon snow accumulations during winter months.
Lava River Cave: The cave gives visitors the opportunity to explore a mile-long lava tube. Descend 55 stairs and then you are off on a self-guided tour of the tube, which takes around 90 minutes and is 2.2 miles roundtrip. Lava River Cave was one of the first lava tubes to be discovered in Oregon and is the longest one in the state. The cave is not necessarily difficult, but stairs and uneven surfaces require careful footing. In the interest of preventing the spread of White-Nose Syndrome to bats that reside in the cave, you are asked not to wear or bring into the cave any clothing or gear you have used in any other cave or mine. The average temperature in the cave is 42 degrees, so warm clothing is recommended, as are sturdy, closed-toe shoes. You can bring flashlights, but renting a lantern is much recommended.
Open: May 5-May 29 (2023), Fri-Mon 10-4, last entry 2:00; Jun-Sep 15 (2023) Thu-Mon 9-5, last entry 3:00. Light Rental $5.
Recreation Fee Site: If you didn’t go to Paulina Peak first, you can purchase your $5 parking pass here.
Timed Reservation Tickets are required early May to closing on September 15 and are available at Recreation.gov. A timeslot allows access to Lava River Cave for two hours. Beginning April 5, 2023, approximately 50% of the tickets will be available on a rolling 30-day booking window. The remaining 50% will be available on a 24-hour book. Entry blocks will be available every thirty minutes starting at 9 a.m. with the last block at 3 p.m. (10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in May).
Image by Dave Bunnell / Under Earth Images Source: Wikipedia.org
And with that, our Central Oregon weekend trip itinerary is complete. We hope you will check out other itineraries and, even better, go and experience them!
Hit the Road in the Pacific Northwest 