Cove Palisades State Park (Part One)

Central Oregon Road Trip

Friday, May 20-25, 2022 

La Pine to Culver, Oregon

The Cove Palisades State Park (Crooked River Campground)

Site #: E49

Elevation: 2,018'

Distance: 66 miles

Duration: 4 nights

Cost: $30 per night + $8 reservation fee

Weather: Sunshine

Cell Signal: 1 bar of LTE (T-Mobile and Verizon)

Knowing we had a short drive to our next destination, we decided to stop in Sunriver to fill our  propane tank and get lunch. Sunriver is a resort community with residential homes and a commercial area known as The Village at Sunriver. From Wikipedia:

Sunriver is located on the grounds of the former Camp Abbot, a World War II training facility designed to train combat engineers in a simulated combat environment. The U.S. Army camp opened in 1942, but by June 1944 the camp was abandoned and most of the settlement was razed.

The Officers' Club was spared; it has been preserved and renovated and is now known as the "Great Hall," under management of Sunriver Resort. The name "Sunriver" was selected by developers John Gray and Donald V. McCallum. The initial condominiums were built in 1968 in conjunction with the completion of Sunriver Lodge, and in 1969 the master plan was completed and developers began selling lots. 

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Sunriver Brewing Co and a delicious post-lunch coffee at Brewed Awakenings.

Cocoa Cow - Chocolate Milk Stout.

I love porters and stouts. This didn't disappoint!

Wagyu Sliders!

Quiet and comfy atmosphere. I could spend hours here.

I had my first Mexican Mocha, which was so good!

The Cove Palisades State Park is located in Culver, which is north of Bend and Redmond, and south of Madras. There are two seasonal campgrounds. Deschutes River Campground can be found in the canyon along the Lower Deschutes River arm of Lake Billy Chinook. Our campsite was in the Crooked River Campground, which is up above the canyon on the east side of both the Deschutes and Crooked River, near the park entrance. 

 

Crooked River (looking south)

Crooked River (looking north) 

The road leading to Deschutes River campground

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

Spacious sites

Gorgeous sunset over Mt. Jefferson

We had full hook-ups with a dump station (one of the nicest we've ever seen!) located near the entrance of the park. There are three restroom/shower houses, which were very clean and had more than enough hot water for our morning showers. 

We didn't take advantage of the lake amenities, but there are three day-use areas with boat launches and swim beaches. It might be fun to rent a boat or kayak next time we visit. There are also houseboat rentals, a cafe and marina store that sells fuel and ice.

LaPine State Park, Oregon

Central Oregon Road Trip

Monday, May 16-20, 2022 

Cheshire to La Pine, Oregon

LaPine State Park

Site #: N114

Elevation: 4,236'

Distance: 156 miles

Duration: 4 nights

Cost: $26 per night + $8 reservation fee

Weather: A mix of sunshine and snow

LaPine (yes, it's one word, unlike the town, which is La Pine) State Park is near Bend, Oregon along the Upper Deschutes River. The park is nestled in a large forest of lodge pole and ponderosa pines, providing plenty of shade, which I'm sure is welcome during the hot summer months. There are plenty of trails (14 miles in all) within the park and along the river making it very easy to achieve my walking goals. I was surprised we didn't see very many squirrels or birds, but I did spot a couple of beautiful warblers near the river. It was still early in the season, so the park was very peaceful with several vacant sites. We were in the north loop, which seems to be a little more spacious than the middle or south loops, but overall, the entire campground is wonderful. I have a feeling it's very popular in the summer, full and bustling with families looking to get away.

Huge site!

We enjoyed relaxing in the warmth of the sun (mid-60s) on the first two days of our visit. We met up with another couple whom we met while on another road trip and enjoyed spending two afternoons catching up on each other's news. 

Dave, Ann, and Sierra

The weather was quite nice, although the nighttime temps dropped down to near freezing and our water hose froze on the first night. It didn't cause any problems and we simply unhooked it each night before going to bed. On our final day, shortly after my long walk along the bluff overlooking the river, we had a snow squall blow through just as Rod was getting ready to grill burgers for lunch. It was very pretty and didn't stick, but it was definitely cold! That night, the temps dropped down to 19 degrees. We knew it was going to be cold, so we opened cupboard doors and drawers, in addition to running the furnace all night. Again, no problems and no frozen pipes. Phew!

There is no WiFi in the park, but we were able to get a decent cell signal with both Verizon and T-Mobile. The shower facilities were clean and private (individual rooms) with plenty of hot water (and no annoying push button to keep the water flowing). We had full hook-ups and the dump station is located at the entrance of the park. 

We both fell in love with this state park and are eager to return. It's a 4 hour drive (225 miles), so I imagine we'll head back soon.