Privately run resorts still open in C.O.; Forest Service closely monitoring

Required to submit compliance plan for social distancing

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ ) -- Summer is right around the corner, and as we welcome warmer temperatures in Central Oregon, many people are concerned about whether or not they'll be able to enjoy their favorite campgrounds.

Seven resorts on the Deschutes National Forest are privately owned and operated on U.S. Forest Service land under special-use permits that are reviewed annually by the agency.

The resorts at Odell Lake, Shelter Cove, Twin Lakes, and Suttle Lake are open, while Lava Lake Resort plans on opening this Friday. Crane Prairie will open on May 15., and Cultus Lake Resort will open closer to mid-May.

Deschutes National Forest spokeswoman Jean Nelson-Dean said some of the resorts are closed simply because the roads to access them are not open. While other recreation sites on the forest remain closed, the privately operated sites were required to submit a compliance plan to the Forest Service.

"In the end, we made the decision to allow those resorts to operate, but they have to operate by showing us how they operate with the governor's orders for social distancing and all of those things," Nelson-Dean said.

Nelson-Dean said the privately run resorts will be monitored and regulated, and social distancing violators may have their permits removed as a consequence. Other Forest Service public sites will remain closed until the executive order is lifted.