Cascade Lakes Welcome Station expands hours
The Deschutes National Forest’s Cascade Lakes Welcome Station is expanding its hours of operations to better serve the increasing demand for recreation passes and forest information, officials said Tuesday.
Beginning next Monday, July 4, the Welcome Station will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Staff intend to maintain expanded hours through Labor Day weekend.
Located just past mile post seven on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, the Welcome Station serves as a gateway to some of the most popular trails and lakes on the Deschutes National Forest. The Welcome Station also offers parking and access to Phil’s and Wanoga mountain biking trails systems.
The Cascade Lakes Welcome Station provides visitors an opportunity to buy recreation passes, local maps, guidebooks and other educational materials.
In addition to offering one-day recreation passes and the annual Northwest Forest Pass (good for all National Forests in Oregon and Washington), the Welcome Station also offers a number of interagency pass options.
Staffed with both Forest Service rangers and employees from Discover Your Forest, the Deschutes National Forest’s non-profit partner, the Welcome Station gives visitors the opportunity to ask questions, while learning about trail conditions and closures.
Visitors can plan their trips using a new, interactive touch screen map. They can learn more about our local wilderness areas and what they can do to help protect them while exploring the region on a giant floor map. Additional interpretive exhibits are planned and will be implemented in the coming months.
For questions regarding the Cascade Lakes Welcome Station, please contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District office at (541) 383-4000; 63095 Deschutes Market Road, Bend, Oregon.
