Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Central Oregon, USA

July 2019

The Newberry National Volcanic Monument was dedicated in 1990 to protect the area around the Newberry Volcano. The Newberry Volcano is an active shield-shaped stratovolcano, which is quite unlike the more familiar cone-shaped Cascade volcanoes. The Newberry Volcano is the largest in the Cascades and covers an area the size of Rhode Island.

This loop explores the highlights of the national monument starting with its highest point, Paulina Peak. The views from the peak are magnificent and extend from the Newberry Caldera, Paulina and East lakes, and to the Central Oregon Cascades; on a clear day, all the way to Mt. Shasta and Mt. Adams. It offers up-close and birds-eye views of obsidian flows and pumice from recent eruptions. It also skirts the sides of Lost Lake, an area of active gas emission from the volcano.

When we arrived for the hike, the gate of the Paulina Peak summit access road was still closed, so we parked at the bottom, just off the main road. The first mile of the hike was very green and filled with the clean, fresh scent of pine trees, and followed the road up to the parking lot at the base of the road that allows cars access to the top of Paulina Peak. A half-mile after the parking lot, looking back you can see the first views of Paulina Lake.

In another half-mile, the trail opens up to an area with high cliffs and sheer drop-offs that allow for great views of Paulina Peak. Paulina Peak from this perspective looks very rugged and embodies its volcanic heritage.

The next mile leading to the peak is forested, though is more open than the lower elevations. There are many educational signs in this area talking about the Whitebark Pine that are only found at the highest mountain peaks in Oregon. In the 1950s this area experienced an outbreak of a fungus called blister rust that killed most of the Whitebark Pines. However, some of the population of Whitebark Pines in the area were resistant to the blister rust outbreak. Today, there is an effort to collect and propagate seeds from the trees that can resist the disease.

The peak provides amazing views of the Newberry Caldera, both Paulina and East Lakes, the obsidian flow, the central Oregon Cascades including the Three Sisters, Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, and on a clear day, the distant volcanic mountains Mount Adams and Mount Shasta. Near the peak is a bathroom, and a small parking area for summit access road. This is a good spot for a snack.

Next, we backtracked a third of a mile to a trail junction with the Crater Rim Trail. The next mile and half past the junction are behind and below Paulina peak and have views south and east of the volcano. The numerous buttes and cones looking southeast were very interesting. In this area and for the rest of the trail, there are large amounts of impossibly light pumice.

For another mile and a half until the junction with the Lost Lake Trail, the trail hugs the edge of the caldera and views of Paulina Lake and East Lake appear. The trail approaches the backside of the obsidian flow, offering a different perspective of this unique volcanic landmark.

At the Lost Lake Trail junction, we started the descent back to the bottom of the caldera. The descent is 3 miles and contains great views of the obsidian flows, the interesting smells of an active volcano, and a sense of being almost on another planet.

At this point the trail will become almost entirely obsidian. With the sharp obsidian underfoot I was grateful for my hiking shoes, as I would not want to tackle this section barefoot!

Towards the bottom of the descent, the trees thin out, the trail flattens, and you will reach a junction with the Newberry Crater Trail. From here, it’s about three and a half miles back to the Paulina Peak summit access road.

The beginning of this trail was mostly flat and hugged the obsidian flow for a mile and a half. The flow was interesting, but the rest of the trail we knew ahead of time was going to be a bit dull. After the obsidian was out of sight, the trail undulated up and down several small hills, following a power line for about 2 miles until we reached our vehicle.