Lava Lands Letterbox, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Bend, Oregon, Deschutes County.

Placed 10/21/02 by the Nail Family.

Level of Difficulty:
Clues- easy
Trail- easy paved trail with many benches and interpretive signs along the way. Some inclines but easy to navigate for all ages.
Length- 1/2 mile

Directions: From Bend, head South on Hwy 95 for appx 5 miles

Turn right at the Lava Lands Visitor Center at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The visitor center is open from mid April thru mid October.

Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a series of parks preserving one of the most recent volcanos in the area. The Newberry Volcano was formed appx 6,000 years ago along with many other smaller volcanos in the area. The Lava Lands Visitors Center is at the beginning of an extensive lava field. Lava Butte, the volcano that formed the lava field is very prominent at the center and can be easily seen when driving along Hwy 95.

Clues: There are several trails around the Lava Lands center. The letterbox is on the lava field trail. There are many signs along the way explaining how the lava field was formed. About 2/3 of the way along the trail, there is a path leading to a viewpoint.

Go the the top of the trail at the viewpoint. Take some time to look at the volcano and the extensive lava field. Envision what the area was like as the river of hot molten lava flowed out of the side of the volcano completely covering the ancient forest. Also from this viewpoint there is a great view of the peaks of Mt Bachelor, the Three Sisters, and several other volcanos that make up the East Cascade Range.