Road Trip: Madras

When you’re cruising across Central Oregon, the high desert plateau can feel as vast as the ocean, a sea of sagebrush and pine under an endless dome of blue sky. Yet surprises await around Madras (about 45 minutes north of Bend), where the land seems to crack open like an eggshell, revealing deep desert canyons,…

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: Madras

Madras

Located about 45 minutes north of Bend, Madras is home to deep desert canyons, river gorges and other unexpected delights — an indoor aquatic center with a waterslide and a lazy river, a Saturday market in the summer, golf, hiking, and a skate park.

Madras is also a gateway to Culver, the home of the Cove Palisades State Park and Opal Springs. World-class fly-fishing as well as white-water rafting down the Deschutes River are just minutes away.

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Madras

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What’s the best hiking trail near Madras?

I suggest the 7-mile Tam-a-láu Trail loop hike near Lake Billy Chinook. It features a mile-long climb to the top of a lava plateau called the Peninsula, which separates the Deschutes River and Crooked River arms of Lake Billy Chinook. Hikers are treated to bird’s-eye views of the reservoir and the dramatic cliffs and plateaus that line…

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