This place is straight out of a Nancy Drew novel: wood paneling, great wacky original paintings, old-fashioned snow shoes hanging on the walls. The ’50s American nature retreat, still in existence.
Lake of the Woods is between Klamath Falls and Medford just off Highway 140. The original lodge, built in the 1920s, burned and was rebuilt in the 1950s; the store is from 1924 and still operates. The whole place was taken over by new owners about 10 years ago and has been extensively but quite perfectly remodeled to keep its rustic early 20th century flavor.
You can rent cabins here in the summer; prices range from $139 to $289 a night — not cheap! — but what atmosphere!
The restaurant is a bit overpriced but serves decent food and has a great view.
And we bought the most expensive gasoline of our lives here on Saturday — $5.409 a gallon.
Still, it’s beautiful.
Most people come here to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in spring, summer or fall. They don’t know what they’re missing by skipping the remote vastness of eastern Oregon’s Harney County during the months when the landscape is brilliant with cold and almost completely empty of people.
We’ve been making regular winter trips here for the last few years and love it. There is nothing quite as bracing as a winter dawn at Malheur, whether it’s 3 degrees on a sharp clear morning or 15 degrees and foggy.
And, yes, there are birds, even in the most challenging weather. We found a flock of Bohemian Waxwings next to the Blitzen River at Page Springs Campground — which was, inexplicably, completely empty on a beautiful (OK, chilly) weekend day.
????????Coyotes serenaded us day and night, and we saw half a dozen Great Horned Owls in the willows by the river — all cold enough to sit quietly while we watched and photographed them. We stayed, as usual, at the delightful Malheur Field Station, right inside the refuge itself.
Photos on this page are all courtesy Noah Strycker. mebeli
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