Birding Around Camp Sherman
Camp Sherman is located on the self-guided Oregon Birding Trail. Pass your days driving it, stopping to wander among the ponderosa pines of the Metolius River Basin. Listen for the tapping of white-headed, downy and hairy woodpeckers or the chatter of the comical pygmy nuthatches that often hang from the branches upside-down.
If you'd prefer to concentrate on the birds, leave the driving to someone else by arranging a Woodpecker Wonderland Tour through Paradise Birding. Its half- and full-day tours cover the Metolius Basin. Your tour will include hikes over varied terrain to the best birding sites.
Paradise Birding
Woodpecker Wonderland Festival
P.O. Box 2005
Sisters, OR 97759
541-408-1753
Camping
Along the riverbank just a half-mile north of Camp Sherman, says Frommer's, is the 15-campsite Camp Sherman Campground. It's a favorite of anglers up to the challenges of trout fishing on the Metolius, and just one of nearly a dozen campgrounds stretching along the river like a days' catch on a line. Reservations are first come, first served.
Camp Sherman Campground
P.O. Box 249
Sisters, Oregon 97759
Suttle Lake
Located in the Deschutes National Forest about seven miles west-southwest of Camp Sherman, Suttle Lake offers fishing and swimming, with boating and waterskiing at its west end and canoeing and kayaking at its east. A three-mile hiking and biking trail (dogs are OK) loops the lake, providing great views of Mount Washington and Black Butte. Ospreys and bald eagles diving for fish flash through the air.
The four campgrounds along the lake's south side have tent and RV camping, with boat ramps and fish-cleaning stations. For a one-day visit, buy a Northwest Forest Pass either online from the U.S. Forest Service website or at the Sisters Ranger District.
Deschutes National Forest
1001 SW Emkay Drive
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 383-5300
www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/
The Black Butte Trail
Rising above the National Forest about 10 miles south of Camp Sherman, the Black Butte volcanic cone now serves as a Forest Service fire lookout site. A two-mile hiking trail scales the butte through stands of ponderosa pine, mixed evergreens and alpine vegetation.
Persevering over the trail's second mile will reward you with unparalleled views of the Metolius River Basin and Cascade Range. Get a Recreation Site Pass from the Sisters Ranger Station or the U.S. Forest Service website to access the trail.
Deschutes National Forest
1001 SW Emkay Drive
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 383-5300
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/recreation/dayuse/blackbutte.shtml
