Chief Paulina Horse Camp, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon

Chief Paulina is located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. There are two large lakes (Paulina and East) inside the caldera and there are resorts with restaurants at both lakes.
The Crater Rim trail is 21 miles long and runs around the entire caldera, and can be done as one long ride, or there are ways to make shorter loops.This volcano is active! Something to ponder as you are riding past the evidence of past eruptions.

Looking down on Paulina Lake from the Crater Rim Trail.

To get there: From Bend drive 20 miles south on Hwy 97, take a left on Paulina Lake Rd, there will be a sign for Newberry. Follow this paved road for 14 miles and look for the horse camp sign on the right.

Once you get to the welcome station/ fee booth, you can show them your NW Forest Pass, or pay $5.00 for entry if you are just going for the day. They will also give you a brochure with a map.

Chief Paulina has 14 sites that are reservable with either 2 or 4 horse log corrals that are $14.00 and $18.00 per night respectively. There is a bathroom, a waste water dump, and a garbage bin. There is water for stock only, that comes from a large tank, and a big manure bin, both of which are in the day use area. The spots are all back in and not all of them are large enough for bigger rigs, spot #10 is the most roomy. No dispersed camping is allowed in this area. Mosquito's can be fierce here in the early summer. Update: The camp has had a remodel and has some pull through spots now and effort has been made to enlarge areas to accommodate larger rigs. There is also a second water tank near the end of the loop.

Chief Paulina Horse Camp.

Chief Paulina Horse Camp.

One of the stock water tanks.

The camp is not gated and you can still park and ride there up until they close the whole place down in winter. The bathroom is now locked, but there are two other older bathrooms you can still use, and they are located right before the start of the trailhead.

To do the north side of the rim, leave camp following the trail between sites 8 and 10, and take a right on the Newberry Crater Trail.

The day use area.

Trails are well marked.

On the first part of the ride you will be following the power lines for just over a mile. Once you reach the junction with the Crater Rim Trail you will be right next to the main paved road, cross it, then cross the bridge, and the trailhead for the north side of the rim is behind the green gate.

The trail under the power lines.

Cross the bridge to get to the north side of the rim's TH.

Follow the wide Crater Rim trail up the hill. This is also where the Peter Skene Ogden trail starts. But more about that option later...
You will climb uphill for awhile through the forest and then it opens up and you will get some great views down onto Paulina Lake. Cyclists also use these trails so you may run into them on the rim, but on the Peter Skene Ogden trail they are only allowed to ride it uphill, they have to take an alternate route down.

 Sign by the green gate to get to these TH's.

On the Crater Rim Trail.

Paulina Lake and Paulina Peak from the Crater Rim Trail.

After awhile you will pass the junction to Swamp Wells Horse Camp .You can ride to here from Swamp Wells, which is a 20 mile total out and back trip. At the next junction if you take a right and switchback downhill towards Cinder Hill Campground you can cut the ride short and head back on the Newberry Crater Trail, and it will skirt around East Lake and eventually back to where you started.

On the Crater Rim Trail.

Or if a longer ride is preferable continue on, the next junction is gravel road 21, the Parallel Trail runs downhill beside it....but this is not any shorter than just continuing on until you get to the Lost Lake Trail. Along this next section you can see Fort Rock way off in the distance.


The Lost Lake Trail is a fun way to go back because you will pass by Pumice Flat, which is a large nearly treeless area filled with pumice. Once you reach the end of the flat stay to the right. This winds it's way downhill past the Big Obsidian Flow and more views of Paulina Lake and the Three Sisters. Once you get to the bottom take a left on the well used Newberry Crater Trail once again, and this will take you back to camp.

East Lake from the Crater Rim Trail.

Pumice Flat from the Lost Lake Trail.

Views from the Lost Lake Trail.

Hard to capture the shininess of Obsidian with a camera.

Another fun ride to do is to take the Crater Rim Trail south up to Paulina Peak which looms directly above camp. Tourists that aren't into hiking can just drive up to the peak and look around. There is a spur trail with an area that is cliffy near the top, and in fact you are not supposed to ride horses along that section, but you can bypass it. The trail then crosses over the road and from here you could take a quick detour up to the parking area to see the view. Then go back to the trail and continue, returning along the Lost Lake Trail to make a nice loop.

Paulina Peak.

On the Lost Lake South Trail.

It's bad karma and illegal to take any of the Obsidian.

The Big Obsidian Flow along the Newberry Crater Trail.

The Peter Skene Ogden trail is another ride option leaving from behind the green gate across the bridge as mentioned before. It runs 8.5 miles one way downhill alongside Paulina Creek to the parking area and trailhead by the Ogden Group Camp.

One of the waterfalls on the Peter Skene Ogden Trail.

On the Peter Skene Ogden Trail.

There is also the Paulina Lakeshore Loop Trail which is not a horse trail, but makes for a really nice 8 mile hike. There are several other shorter hikes, the best ones are over to see Paulina Falls or to hike across the Obsidian Flow. There are also some hot springs, and of course water sports and swimming. So there are plenty of other things to do in between rides!

Paulina Lake from the lake shore loop hiking trail.

Happy Trails!


GPS COORDINATES TO CHIEF PAULINA