Willamette National Forest Middle Fork District
Waldo Lake Area
THE WALDO LAKE AREA is located about mid way between Bend and Eugene a little over an hour from each city, but it is well worth the extra travel. In fact it is worth the trip from anywhere. There are three large campgrounds on Waldo and another smaller campground on nearby Gold Lake. This area lies within two geologic provinces. It is in the Western Cascades made up of mountains, deep canyons and cascading streams that have been forming for the last 25 million years. The other area, the High Cascades is made from much younger volcanoes, only ten thousand to a million years old. Much of this lava has yet to be broken down. Glaciers as much as 15,000 feet thick scraped and gauged out more than 800 lakes and potholes. The largest of these is Waldo Lake. The lake’s beautiful black sand beaches are thanks to a recent eruption (6,600 years ago) from Crater Lakes Mt. Mazama.
The area has a rich history of visits by Native Americans,
pioneers, Presidents, and local heroes. The original campgrounds were
built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939. The crystal clear
waters cover more than 10 square miles and reach a maximum depth of
420 feet. At an elevation of 5,414 feet it is the largest lake in Lane
County. It is reputed to be, along with Crater Lake and Lake Baikal in
Siberia, one of the purest lakes in the world. When the water is calm
you can see at least 125 feet down into the depths.
The lake is ideal for sailboating, canoeing and kayaking.
Please, however, be thoughtful of the pureness of the lake in your
habits on and near the lake. Although you have to be a good fisherman
to catch them, Waldo does support Rainbow and Brook Trout and Kokanee
Salmon. Fishing is best near the shore in the early mornings and late
evening hours. Most fish are caught in the early season in June and
late season in October. There are plenty of nearby trails for the
adventurer too.
Amphitheatre
Talks at Waldo Lake
Carol Winkler, Middle
Fork Ranger District Archeologist, will talk about Native American use
of the area and the effects of early European settlement of the
Willamette Valley, particularly the failed attempt of Simon Klovdahl
to build a tunnel to use Waldo Lake water for irrigation in the Eugene
area in the early 1900s. Meet
at the North Waldo Amphitheatre.
Saturday, August 14th
Seeing the forest through the trees: fire and disease patterns
Alan
Dickman, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Oregon,
will lead a walk in the forest around
Laura Johnson, a
graduate student from Portland State University, will be giving a talk
about the research they are doing on the water characteristics of
Saturday, August 28th
Meet Mike Gebben,
District Wildlife Biologist, as he talks about the historic wildlife
species (focusing on mammals) in the area.
He will compare this information with currently known or
potential species and discuss the sampling methods used to determine
presence. Meet
at the North Waldo Amphitheatre.
Living History: C.B.
McFarland
Steve Coady, Middle Fork
Ranger District Historian/Interpreter, will be discussing the history
of C.B. McFarland, a ranger stationed on the south end of the
Phone:
(541) 782-5222 E-mail: brittanyscott@fs.fed.us
*All
talks will be held at the amphitheatre located at the North Waldo
boat ramp. All
presentations will start at 7:00pm.