I decided to try kayaking East Lake, at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, on a spring day a couple of years ago.

“It’s spring,” I thought to myself. “The weather will be fine.” See how beautiful it looks in the photo below near the East Lake Campground?

However, the shoreline is at 6,400 feet in elevation and the weather can change fast. Be prepared!

I was captivated by the cliff-lined north shore and set my sights on reaching it. “It’s not that far away,” I thought. Later, I determined it was a 1.25 mile trip across the lake.

The map below, from a Newberry National Volcanic Monument flyer, shows Paulina Lake and East Lake. You can see the dashed outline of the Newberry Caldera.

When a volcano erupts, the top sometimes collapses after the magma chamber beneath it empties. This forms a bowl-shaped caldera.

Kayaking East Lake, from south to north

I set off from the East Lake Campground towards the north shore in my ten-foot kayak. The winds picked up significantly, but I’d made up my mind to reach the cliffs in the distance. Since I limit my kayaking to flat, calm waters, I didn’t have a spray skirt to keep me dry. Water splashed over the gunnels, leaving me a bit wet by the time I reached the far shore.

But look at these cliffs! You can see how the lava within this caldera cooled in layers.

The orange and yellow lichens set off the dramatic curving shapes. The rock formations I had seen from afar were even more captivating up close.

I looked towards the east and noticed the patches of snow still on the hills.

Pine trees blanketed the steep shorelines.

To the west, I noticed a patch of red volcanic soil.

I paddled towards it and it looked like giants had carved a slalom course into the hillside.

I continued to the south, towards this white landslide.

When I got closer, I noticed trees pulled from their roots near the top. This slide must have happened fairly recently.

Before you go…

Kayaking at East Lake or Paulina Lake will offer you great opportunities to see volcanic forces up close.

If you plan on visiting these lakes, a National Forest Day Pass or Annual Pass can be purchased in advance here. Due to high snowfall in winter months, the road to these lakes is closed seasonally, from mid-November to Memorial Day weekend. Opening and closing dates vary so check in advance.

If you’re into fishing, this lake contains kokanee, rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, chub, and brown trout.

Camping is available at East Lake Campground or Cinder Hill Campground from the Recreation.gov website.

To learn more about sights to see at Newberry, see several posts I’ve written under the Newberry National Volcanic Monument tag.

Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) – Captivated