Deschutes National Forest
Posted inScout

Getting Out and About?

Here’s what you need to get before you hit our trails and sno-parks
Chris Miller

Sno-park Info: Shoes, water, snacks, itinerary left with a friend—check, check, check, check. Now don’t forget your parking permit. They’re required in the Deschutes National Forest parking areas including Tumalo Falls, Dillon Falls picnic site and Benham West Trailhead. They’re $5 per day or $30 for the season. Buy them online and print at home, […]

Posted inNews

Fire Updates: Milli Fire Gets Bigger; Nena Fire prompts evacuations

Fires near Warm Springs and Sisters are keeping firefighters hopping—and keeping the region full of smoke.
Avatar photo Nicole Vulcan

Noticing all that smoke in Central Oregon right now? That could be a good sign or a bad one, depending on how you look at it. In some cases, it’s an indication that firefighters are putting those fires out—but it also means that homes and wildlife are still in danger. Update: Milli Fire near Sisters […]

Posted inNews

A Ski Village at Mt. Bachelor

What Are the Chances?
Christian Trejbal

Anyone who skis or snowboards at Mt. Bachelor Resort sooner or later asks an existential question: Why isn’t there a lodge or village at the mountain? Other big ski resorts around the continent offer such amenities and convenience. From the big ones like Whistler in British Columbia to smaller ones like Snowshoe in West Virginia, […]

Posted inNews

Precautions Urged to Help Save Bats

Deschutes National Forest Highlights Precautions at Lava River Cave
Hayley Jo Murphy

Portland, Ore. – Visitors using public lands are encouraged to help fight the spread of white-nose syndrome and save bats in the Pacific Northwest. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease that has devastated bat populations in eastern North America, killing an estimated six million bats since 2006. In March 2016, Washington’s first case of […]

Posted inNews

Firefighters to Use New Recruits on Prescribed Burn Outside of Sisters

Students Will Work Beside Qualified Firefighters in Live Fire Exercise
Hayley Jo Murphy

SISTERS – Taking advantage of cooler weather and localized precipitation, the Deschutes National Forest fuel specialists and firefighters will conduct a prescribed burn on Thursday, June 16, as a live fire training exercise for new firefighters. This week the Central Oregon Fire Management Service, a service-first organization made up of Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests […]

Posted inOutside

Fishing Backcountry Lakes

Enjoying the solitude and beauty of Central Oregon
Brian Jennings

Though the general trout fishing season is well underway in Oregon, many of the High Cascade Lakes that sustain planted fish remain inaccessible due to snow and ice. It can be as late as mid-June or even early July before some of these lakes can be reached on foot or by horseback, but when the […]

Posted inNews

Volunteer Rangers Sought – Recruitment Event April 7

Sherron Lumley

Submitted by USFS, Pacific Northwest Region, Deschutes National Forest VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT EVENT TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK BEND –The Deschutes National Forest in partnership with the non-profit stewardship organization, Discover Your Forest, is hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Event next week. Volunteers are needed to support educational and interpretive programs at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Mt […]

Posted inNews

Central Oregon Fire Science Symposium Held This Week

Jean Nelson-Dean

Central Oregon Fire Science Symposium Held This Week Researchers and Resource Managers come together to talk Fire Management   BEND– Beginning Thursday, the Fourth Central Oregon Fire Science Symposium will kick-off in Bend, Ore.  The three-day Symposium brings resource managers and fire management specialists together with researchers and students from across the western United States […]

Posted inOutside

Don’t Mind the Gaps

Deschutes River Trail connectivity chugs along
Kevin Sperl

Humans have been drawn to water since time immemorial, and Central Oregonians are no exception. That’s why locals and tourists alike are eager to see the completion of the Deschutes River Trail, which currently spans more than 30, somewhat disjointed, miles from Sunriver to Tumalo. Steve Jorgensen is the man with the plan. His days […]

Posted inOutside

Quit Killing Badgers!

Jim Anderson

If there’s one member of Oregon’s wildlife community that has the digging ability to sink out of site on bare ground, it’s the badger, or to be respectful of His Honor: The American Badger, (Taxidea taxis). I call him, His Honor, because I watched a badger pass judgment on an annoying guy, and chase him […]

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article