Central Oregon’s Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway is a path once taken, you’ll never want to leave, but —you might try a summer detour! We did just that at Sparks Lake, 25 miles west of Bend and we found adventure on the water with Wanderlust Tours.

We joined an enthusiastic group of folks who were sporting PFD’s and – with paddles in hand – each was eager and ready to go aboard canoes to see the lake from a different point of view.

At 5400 feet in elevation, Sparks Lake is perfectly suited to a canoe adventure with awesome views of South Sister, Broken Top and Mount Bachelor. Sparks Lake was formed more than ten thousand years ago when lava blocked the Deschutes River. In fact, a narrow channel — defined by volcanic rock shorelines — connects two halves of Sparks Lake. The lake covers approximately 400 acres and it is no more than ten feet deep. We paddled, we smiled and we laughed as we toured the lake as a slight breeze eased our down wind paddle. After an hour or two, we arrived at a sprawling sandy beach.

The site offered plenty of elbowroom for a shore side lunch and a cold brew to go with the expansive view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.