Newberry National Volcanic Monument

We drove up to this US Forest Service National Monument. At the visitor center we sat in on a very good interprestive talk about the volcanic region and life in the rocks. The interpretive displays in the visitor center were top notch and staff were friendly and helpful. Next we went to the top of Lava Butte by vehicle. Only 11 vehicles per half hour are allowed to drive up, as the parking lot at the top only has that much room. The road is very narrow and is an 8% grade. The view from the fire tower is 360 degrees of the area. Our time slot was noon to 12:30pm, so after that we drove north to Bend, OR. We had lunch out, bought dog food and poop bags, and gased up at Costco. Heading south again, we visited the Benham Falls on the Deschutes River. We drove to the trailhead for the overlook and hiked to the view point just over a half mile on a very wide trail mostly. There is a vehicle road to the overlook and in hindsight, we should have taken it. The lack of signage and detailed maps was disappointing, but the falls were impressive. The overall hike was closer to 2 miles and we were very tired by the time we drove back to camp. Dinner was store bougnt pizza and left over french fries.Read more