Kayak & Fly Fishing Adventures at Cultus Lake

Nothing beats a lazy drive up the Cascade Scenic Highway in Central Oregon on a sunny Summer day on Labor Day weekend.  Bend Oregon is well known for many outdoor adventures, and the water sport haven Bend has is no secret!  On any given day during the Summer or early Fall while driving the Cascade Scenic Highway you will see eager families and friends driving up the hill to find the lake du jour with their variety of kayaks and/or mountain bikes strapped to the top of their vehicles in one form or another.

While approaching the drive up the Cascade Scenic Highway in Central Oregon, the famous drive that leads to all of the Cascade Lakes, prepare yourself for the eye candy of tall Ponderosa Pines that reach tall into the clear, blue sky and line the highway like long vast corridors.  The Cascade Scenic Highway is the home to 40+ lakes of varying degree of natural landscape diversity and wildlife.  At the beginning of the Cascade Scenic Highway , selecting the lake du jour from the large sign which boasts just a handful of the more known, popular lakes may cause a heated discussion before arriving to your destination of the day of kayaking and hiking outdoor adventure. Each lake has its own spectacular features as unique as the lake the preceeds it along this beautiful highway.

This Labor Day weekend, Alpenglow Vacation Rentals of Bend Oregon went to visit Cultus Lake, which is a well known lake for its crisp cool water for fly fishing and its easy approach for your kayak,motor boat and/or mountain biking and hiking trails.  A mini resort of sorts it has a small restaurant with patio seating and a small store in which to pick up that item you forgot to pack.  A small selection of water toys are available for rent at reasonable prices such as a kayak or a skidoo. 

History of Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake was formed by a glacier, and the name is from the Chinook tribe, and means variously bad or worthless, or simply "in vain". In the early 1800s, the lakes in this area abounded with beavers. The earliest explorers to this area were primarily on a quest for furs.

Cultus Lake lies at the base of the Cultus Mountain. The lake itself is natural and is 211 feet (64 m) at its deepest point and about two miles long. Cultus Lake is a popular lake in a beautiful setting and is well known for producing trophy size lake trout (mackinaw). Many lake trout in the 10 lb. range are taken each season. A 17.5 lb. lake trout was weighed in at this beautiful lake in 1996. In addition stocked rainbow including larger holdovers and an occasional brook trout are caught near the mouth of Winopee Creek.

The lake also has a creek running into it inhabited by young fish and minnows, a popular fly fishing spot. The lake has a twin lake called Little Cultus Lake and the lakes are divided by Cultus Mountain. The area around Cultus Lake is known for its old growth large Ponderosa Pine, Douglas-fir and western White Pine, sometimes rising to 120 feet (37 m) tall.

All of the vacation rentals or properties listed with Alpenglow Vacation Rentals of Bend Oregon are located on the West side of Bend  and are easily accessible to the Cascade Scenic Highway and are situated off of the scenic highway either in River Wild of Mt. Bachelor Village Resort or Widgi Creek Resort.  All of the homes are supplied with the COTA trail maps and mountain biking and hiking trail books to ensure your experience in Central Oregon is filled with local knowledge to navigate your way around what Bend Oregon has to offer!

Victoria J. Smith

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals

Bend Oregon

http://www.AlpenglowVacationRentals.com

(541) 385-7100