A Lake In A Volcanic Landscape: Hiking at Sparks Lake Recreation Area

South Sister Volcano viewed from Sparks Lake

 

 

Date: July 2, 2020

Place: Three Sisters Wilderness, Bend, Oregon

Coordinates: 44.013223, -121.737217

Length: 2.5 miles

Level: easy 

Sparks Lake is at the Three Sisters area east of Bend, Oregon, just south of Mount Bachelor. On our 2020 summer family trip we stayed four days in Bend, hiking and bird watching. Our third day there we dedicated to the Three Sisters Wilderness in the Cascade Range east of Bend. We arrived at Sparks Lake after hiking a 5 miles in and out trail to Doris Lake, hike that was nice but not very special, and left us all wanting more. 

Near Sparks Lake there's a developed recreation area with a partially paved interpretive trail- the Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail, honoring Oregon's laureate nature photographer. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

The first part of the trail was paved and easy. there were also numerous people walking there, making it difficult to take a human free photo of the trailhead area. It was a bit further down the trail. Our hike begun on a paved path through a thin conifer forest, and was very exposed and hot.

After a short distance the pavement ended and we were walking on a dusty dirt path made of volcanic sand. The volcanic features were one of the highlights of this trail, though many of them were simply too large to be captured on camera. 

There wasn't any major bloom along this trail but there were some pretty wildflowers, most of them blooming in small cracks and crevices in the basalt rock piles. There were some birds there too, and Pappa Quail and the elder chika would occasionally stop and gaze up at the tree canopies. Sometimes even I could see what they were looking at. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Much of the time however, I was more focused on the fascinating volcanic features around us, like this collapsed lava tube. 

A Collapsed Lava Tube

Of the wildflowers I saw growing on the basalt, I only identified a few. All of them were nice to look at and appreciated the hot and dry conditions in which the grew and flowered. 

The forest became thicker but even so the trail remained exposed and sunny. It was mid day and the sun was glaring right overhead and through the parted canopies. The elder chika complained about the head and because there was no creek crossing our path, she spilled some of her drinking water on her hat. I got upset that she spilled drinking water and she got offended and moved forward quickly, leaving me to runt to myself in the back. 

The heat affected all of us and Pappa Quail who was ahead also, started looking for a suitable place in the shade to have a break. I kept my mind on the interesting sights around and so keep it off the heat and the complaints of the chikas. 

A Fissure

We did find a nice shady nook and sat down for a while to rest and hydrate. The basalt that was exposed to the sun was too hot to touch but under the trees it the black volcanic rocks were nice and cool. 

We were close to the mid point of our hike when I admitted that we took the longer loop trail, evoking groans from the chikas. The elder chika exclaimed that she wouldn't believe me ever again when I'd say 'a short hike', not agreeing with me that the longer loop was in fact, a short hike. 

When we turned the south curve of the loop Mount Bachelor came into view. It is one of the prominent Cascade volcanoes of Central Oregon. There's a ski resort on its slopes although I very much doubt the resort was open at the time we were there. 

Mount Bachelor

We continued north in the growing day's heat. The elder chika and Pappa Quail were at the lead, searching the trees for compliant birds. The young chika stayed with me and kept ranting about how this entire rpad trip is all about nature and all the activities are hiking and birding. I reminded her that all indoor activities, even the local lava cave were closed because of the pandemic and that she normally likes hiking. 

She then continued ranting about not being useful on the hike, whatever that meant. So I offered her my camera. To my surprise, she took it and started taking photos 'for me'. Except for the bird photos taken by Pappa Quail, all the photos from now to the end of the hike and this post were taken by the young chika, with only a little direction from by when I didn't want to miss something, like this Penstemon on the rock. 

For some time we kept on walking between piles of broken basalt. According to my navigator we were getting close to the lake, so I started searching for it through the trees. 

When we finally arrived at the lake shore and had a nice view of the water, but something else stole the attention from the lake itself. The South Sister Volcano towered on the orizon, pulling pour gaze towards it. Below here is the mountain's close-up. The broad view of the scenery heads this blog post. 

South Sister

From there on the trail followed the contours of the lakeshore. The lake was pretty, with many little islets and coves. There were also more people on this part of the trail. 

Sparks Lake

There were more wildflowers blooming near the lake. The soil wasn't any damper, but it might have held winter moisture for a longer time. 

Bleeding Hearts

Even the birds seemed more numerous near the lake. This one landed on the log after Pappa Quail and the elder chika had moved ahead but the young chika captured it successfully. 

Chipping Sparrow

We were getting near the end but we ended up stopping for a good break on a cliff over the lake. The reason was a very unlikely one: Pappa Quail and the elder chika had spotted sandhill cranes in the little meadow by the lakeshore. There were two of them, not close to one another though, and they were walking slowly in the grass. I didn't think sandhill cranes visited the mountains but I guess the valley was simply too dry. Either way that was a very pleasant surprise seeing them there, and one that added to this hike many more points in the eyes of my family birders. 

Sandhill Crane

It was also the first place that day where we saw waterfowl, a few ducks floating in the water near the edge of the lake. 

Ring-necked Duck, juvenile

I was satisfied to simply sit there and enjoy the view. The sun however, was baking us, so eventually we said godbye to the cranes and continued the hike. 

South Sister over Sparks Lake

My family birders were happy now, but having seen and photographed cranes didn't stop them from admiring even smaller, and much more common birds as well. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The trail bacem pavement once more as we approached the end of the loop. Once againb it was harder to find a minute without people on the trail. The South Sister moved to the side of our view and niw we could see Borken Top Volcano off to the side. 

We had a very lively hike despite the heat. Pappa Quail and the elder chika were satisfied with the birds they saw on this trail, and the young chika was content with being the photographer for everything else. taking advantage of this feeling of contentment, I convinced my family to go on just one more hike, a shorter one, on a mostly shaded trail. S after leaving the Sparks Lake Recreation Area we went to the nearby Todd Lake to squeeze that one extra hike before calling it a day.