La Pine State Park

Thursday | 10 May 2007 | La Pine, Oregon:  The drive north from Klamath Falls to Bend on 97 is very pretty. We enjoyed great weather and saw a bald eagle above the shores of the Klamath Lake! Traffic is always pretty heavy on this route - very popular with truckers - and road crews were repaving, so we had several delays. After a few hours, we found ourselves at La Pine State Park, near La Pine, Oregon (just south of Sunriver Resort. After finding a campsite we felt would be long enough for our motorhome, yet have a small opening in the southwest sky to accommodate our satellite link-up - we settled in for a very relaxing afternoon in the sun.

Three days of driving is enough - we needed to move! There are miles of trails surrounding the campground, many along the banks of the Deschutes River. The weather was perfect for a hike too. Armed with only our cameras, we headed out into the wilderness. Across the Deschutes River from our campsite, we watched otters, found an osprey nest and even found industrious ants making sawdust out of a fallen tree. Many trees have fallen into the river, making perfect hide-away spots for fish, otter and critters of all sort. The Deschutes (pronounced dah-SHOOTS) is quite high and is running fast. The air is so clear here and the river smells so good!
Look close and you can see an otter >
Photo by DT 

 
And that's not the only wild thing he found along the trail

The Deschutes River at La Pine State Park


Mossy tree (photo by DT)


Relaxing after our hike


Typical campsite at La Pine State Park:
20 amp, water, sewer, picnic table and fire pit - $17 per night (2007)


In season, La Pine State Park hosts a Ranger program at the amphitheater

For car-campers, the park also rents cabins with cots, bathrooms, microwave,
fridge, sofa, dining table and BBQ grill with two burners


Little cabins for rent - some with handicapped access

No casinos, no restaurants, no shopping here. Just quiet. Very relaxing. I was too tired to cook and it was very warm, so we enjoyed a great salad and watched a terrible movie (the new Casino Royal James Bond murder-fest) and called it a night.

RV Park: La Pine State Park (full hook-up; with 20amp service)