“As you drive toward the flats of Central Oregon toward this symmetrical volcano, you might well wonder why it erupted here. The more famous High Cascades peaks formed along a fault that has been leaking lava for millions of years. But Black Butte grew along a different, parallel crack to the east. This fault also uplifted Green Ridge’s scarp to the north, leaving the Metolius Valley as a long trough. Black Butte began to erupt quite recently, perhaps only 20,000 years ago. It quickly built up a 3,000-foot pile of cinders, one of the tallest such cones in the state. The eruption also buried the Metolius River, creating Black Butte Ranch’s swampy meadows on one side of the mountain and Metolius Springs on the other, where the river now emerges.” [Oregon.com]

You’ll cross the spectacular and unique Metolius river at around mile 19.3. “Nationally renowned for its amazingly clear and cold water and fabulous fly fishing, the river basin also provides outstandingly remarkable geology, scenery, botanical, cultural and historic values. As it flows through memorable stands of old growth ponderosa pine it is as cherished by the thousands who visit it annually from across the nation as it is by the Native Americans who share in the traditions and administration of this rare resource.” [National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]

When was the last time you shopped in a general store that’s been operating for over 100 years? Now’s your chance! Camp Sherman “came about in the early 1900’s, when wheat farmers from Sherman County sought out the land as a refuge from the intense summers. They found the river refreshing and relaxing. They nailed up a sign – made from a shoe box top – designating the area as Camp Sherman.” [AllBendOregon.com]

Lake Creek currently provides spawning habitat for native redband trout and nesting habitat for a wide range of neotropical songbirds. Lake Creek is also an important part of current efforts to reintroduce spring chinook and sockeye salmon to the upper Deschutes Basin. Historically, a significant proportion of Metolius River spring chinook spawned in Lake Creek, and one of Oregon’s two native sockeye salmon runs migrated through Lake Creek to Suttle Lake. Give a listen to our podcast on the preservation of Lake Creek.

“Bound on all sides by mixed conifer forest, the lake is deep and clear. The west end is best for seeing waterfowl because it’s sheltered from the prevailing wind. Link Creek, which empties into Suttle Lake, is shallow and clear enough to view spawning fish. Yellow, orange, or red hues from vine maple proclaim the arrival of autumn in September or October. The lake was formed from a terminal moraine, which was deposited by glacial ice about 25,000 years ago … The lake covers an area of 253 acres. The average depth of the lake is 44 feet with a maximum depth of 75 feet. The lake has an excellent population of naturally reproducing kokanee, plus brown trout, whitefish, and crayfish.” [Deschutes National Forest]

The land now occupied by the Black Butte Ranch resort was an operating horse and cattle ranch as early as the 1880s. Once a thriving lumber town, Sisters fell into decline with the closure of the lumber mills in the 1960s. Brooks Resources, having purchased the ranch land in 1969, saw an opportunity to create a resort that would spur Sisters’ local economy through tourism. When they “began developing the Ranch, they offered merchants in Sisters $5,000 and free architectural help to create a ‘theme’ look to the town. The Sisters planning commission adopted an 1880s theme, which improved the town’s attractiveness and returned it to its original roots.” The homeowner’s association now owns and manages the property which includes golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, restaurants, and a general store. [Black Butte Ranch]

Over Labor Day weekend of 2007, 1,000 residents of Black Butte Ranch were evacuated and their homes threatened by a wildfire that ultimately was extinguished safely. “The GW Fire was stopped only a 1/2 mile west of Black Butte Ranch, thanks, in part, to a fuels treatment designed to restore a ponderosa pine stand and reduce the threat of wildfire in the wildland urban interface. Over the course of several years, fuels specialists from the Deschutes National Forest thinned and burned the area just west of Black Butte Ranch, creating a healthier stand of trees and a more open site that was less capable of supporting a crown fire.” [US Forest Service]

The McKenzie Highway was originally built with private funds in the 1870s as a wagon toll road. The section between the towns of Blue River in Lane County and Sisters in Deschutes County (which includes the project area) became a Forest Road in 1919. The road was relocated and widened in 1920, graded and surfaced between 1920 and 1924, and became an Oregon State Highway in 1925.

The McKenzie Pass Highway became a seasonal scenic highway in 1962 with the building of the new Highway 126 cresting Santian Pass. Even during its tenure as the main route between the southern Willamette Valley and Central Oregon, the narrow, twisting roadway and high elevation (5,325 feet) made the highway too difficult to maintain and keep clear during the winter months.