I’ve still only barely adjusted to the timezone change since arriving in Bend but that has some advantages. I’m waking up pretty early. So on a recent morning I took a drive down south of Bend to Paulina Lake.

There are actually two crater lakes in this spot that caught my attention on a trail map I was perusing for interesting hikes. But Paulina Lake – the western one of the two – has a trail that goes all the way around the lake. I figured the views must be great – and I think they were.

The morning I arrived – a weekday – I easily found a place to park and then headed off on the nearby trail. Around the lake is a little over 7 miles. Most of the trail is right along the lake and pretty flat. There is one section that requires a climb up and then back down again but it’s not a particularly long section.

The trail can be pretty rocky in various places. You can see some of that in the photo here but some places were much rockier. And at least in one section you encounter quite of bit of Obsidian. Essentially a kind of black volcanic glass. Pretty cool to see.

A one point along the trail you encounter a campground. A modern campground. Plenty of parked RVs, some of which were running generators. Ultimately not too much of a distraction along the way.

Lots of anglers out in boats on the lake. I even saw one guy in hip waders fishing from maybe 5 yards off the shoreline.

Great views all along the hike though and I enjoyed this morning outing a lot!