Cultus Mountain and Lake Loop Trail is a 12.4 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near La Pine, Oregon that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from July until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
September 26, 2020
July 13, 2020As this trail runs around the lake, you would hope to have good views of the lake most of the time, but that was not our experience. The sheer number of blow downs makes finding a place to dig a cat hole an Olympic feat, let alone finding a place to stealth camp. It's a fairly easy hike with very little change in elevation but I would not recommend it for backpacking.
September 6, 2019Bring mountain bike if you have one. The washboard finish was brutal on my arms with my hybrid
July 15, 2018It was a great experience. I did about a 13 mile loop and the majority of the trail was shaded so it was nice and cool. The only downside is that you have to run up the road back up where you came from. If there was a way to connect it from another trail this would be a 5 star trail.
July 6, 2015
First to ReviewI hiked about one half the 'trail', and ran the other half. After doing so, I agree 100% with the trail's classification as a bicycling route. From Cultus Lake Lodge, approximately 1 mile consists of paved road, and another 3 miles of relatively high-volume gravel road puts you right at Little Cultus Lake. Once you get through that, you're left with about 1 mile of rough, old Forest Service road to Deer Lake, and then about 8 miles of nice, shaded single track roughly paralleling the lake. A better choice for runners and hikers (of similar length) would be to head from Cultus Lake Lodge north and then west along the northern bank, all the way to a nice gravel beach at the western edge of the lake, then back the same way. If you're looking for more of a challenge, throw in another couple miles to the top of Cultus Mountain. The two-star rating is from a hiking/running perspective, but I think even from a cycling perspective, the traffic volume on the roads, and several miles of gravel washboard on the actual loop, wouldn't allow for a rating above 3 stars. Beautiful area though--just need to get some more of the numerous trails on the map.
June 22, 2020May 24, 2020May 3, 2020September 27, 2019July 29, 2018July 22, 2016November 15, 2014May 28, 2012
