Newberry Crater and Cave

Sisters, Oregon
Sister's Creekside Park Campground



It was an hour's drive to our next stop.  We wanted to spend a few days in Sister's and we were lucky to snag a couple of spots at the city campground called Sister's Creekside Park Campground.  The drive is pretty and continues to remind us of parts of Montana and Wyoming.  There are a lot of fancy homes with small ranches and quite a few very large ranches as well.

The two sites we were given were even right next to each other.  Nice.  They do offer water/electric sites but ours were dry camping.  No problem for the little time we'll be here.  There is a dump station.  I think it's expensive for a city park, but sometimes that's how it is. $26 for no hookups, $40 for water/electric, 50amp.

My brother to the left, us to the right.

We're still spending some time in Bend and we wanted to go the Newberry Crater and Lava River Cave.  Not all that far to spend the day.

I forgot how many lava fields there are in Oregon.  This is a really neat area and the Visitor Center has a lot of great information.

There are a couple of short trails that will take you through the lava fields with informational signs along the way.  You can also take a bus to the top for a couple of bucks or drive it yourself.

There are wonderful views of the mountains from here too.  They are too far for me to capture on my i-phone, but just beautiful.

The Lave River Cave was a surprise to us.  We've been in many different types of caves before but this one was pretty cool, simply the size and length was pretty amazing.

We knew it would be cold inside so we had our jackets.  They rent special super strong flashlights so even though we brought our own, we each rented one also for $5.

It's a pretty big opening and once you go down the staircase it flattens out for most of the walk.

There's ice around the bottom towards the beginning of the cave.

You could see your breath in the flashlight beam.

The ground was fairly level for the most part.  The ceiling was usually very high, but there is a spot that you will have to duck for a period of time.

It was strange to see oncoming lights.

It took us about a 1/2 hour to get to the end.  And it pretty much ends dead on.  I guess the cave is pinched off just beyond the sign.

Heading back out, up the stairs.

Sky!  Color!

I found this sign very amusing outside the cave.  So you can't smoke, drink or camp in the cave but leaving body waste behind is ok?  You can discharge a firearm but no chalk allowed?  Funny.