Ask any Lapinite what he thinks about Oregon’s newest city and you will most probably hear that he likes it here.
Located 30 miles south of Bend on Hwy. 97, La Pine is the home base to the Newberry Country Trail (NTC). The NCT is a ten-step car tour that goes from High Lakes to High Desert and it involves the Newberry National Monument and the surrounding towns and villages. Even more important, La Pine is the traditional home to family friendly and affordable fun for people of all ages — and it holds this title for a century plus.
Most of the residents were originally tourists to the area. They came to play (fish, camp, hunt, recreate on ATVs, snowmobiles, skis or horses) and then they moved here to stay. The mantra of ‘come to play and move to stay’ stands alongside the town motto of ‘small town strong’.
In 1900, the little town of La Pine, known for its timber products and cattle, was one of the first destinations for “Valley” folks as the 20th century turned. Promotions launched to entice and interest rain-soaked residents in Portland, Eugene and Salem encouraged them to spend time on the sunny side of the Cascades.
Developers offered large tracts of land divided into two and five acre sites. They were offered specifically to the people from the Willamette Valley so they could put up their vacation/fishing cabins. The lots were quickly scooped up and families began their annual treks to get over the mountain passes so they could enjoy the cool summer nights of the high desert, while they basked in the sunshine during the day. As hot as 100 degrees on a summer day, the temperature would drop to a comfortable level as soon as the sun went down each evening. It was not long before the Newberry Caldera had established special resorts at East Lake and Paulina Lake for the very wealthy. A road was built to bring horseless carriages into the crater and visiting the La Pine area became the rage across the Valley.
In 1991, after several generations of loyal visitors, La Pine’s favorite caldera became one of Oregon’s three national monuments. The site was recognized by the federal government as The Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
Why was La Pine so important to the trail? The little town of La Pine is only four miles south of the turn-off into the crater! It is at the edge of the city limits. We live here and know about all of the natural attractions for the area. When it came time to develop a destination that would be fun for visitors, we were right there with the NCT concept. From there, Sunriver, then the Crescent Junction, Gilchrist/Crescent, Fort Rock, Christmas Valley, Silver Lake and finally, Summer Lake joined together to celebrate our National Monument as a Rural Tourism Studio. It is part of the Travel Oregon system.
If you were to put a circular wheel where the hub is the town of La Pine, the spokes would form all points of the compass: north, south, east and west. It reaches into the points of the NCT destinations within 30-45 minutes as the crow flies. It is the first stop on the NCT and the town boasts an up and coming, friendly, community poised and open for business as the NCT develops! La Pine has lodging, gas, grocery stores, medical services, fire services, sporting goods, hardware, great schools and activities open to the residents and visitors 12 months a year. Come play in La Pine. Thanks for coming, you are welcome.
