Reviews of Lava Lands Visitor Center (Tourist Attraction)

Daniel Payne

Fun to learn about our geology and catastrophic history.

Cloe Nuckols

Learned new things. Great walking path.

tiff any

Superb views!!!!!! —cost $5 to park and $2 cash per person for the shuttle to get to the top. I don't think you can physically walk all the way to the top or it would take a couple hours, and it's a massive hill. there is a halfway lookout that you could walk to. the top views are beautiful! - exhibits inside are very well crafted. (they wouldn't run the video right before a scheduled talk so idk about that one) - bathrooms are super nice for a park. - rangers are all very friendly and helpful - everyone says Paulina Peak is also a must-see, but since it's a one hour drive from here, we didn't have time to do it.

Wayne Handsaker-Smith

I liked it because that Visitor Center was very nice large parking area hey lava flows were just amazing and the lava cone was just so different from the surrounding area

Marty Flansburg

This is a great place to stop before you start your long drive home from Sunriver. We stopped on a Sunday in late September and were lucky enough to have light dusting of snow to add a little contrast to the scenery. We had to wait around a bit, for the ranger to open the lower access gate to the road that leads to the top. We were the first ones there so we had a few minutes to take in the views.

Sytha Sanders

Fun exploring the lava lands

Teckelhut Jagdhunde

Weather was perfect! Center very informative. Got in using America the Beauiful Annual Pass.

Laurie Daykin

Great views all around.

Dean Landeche

Great for kids with science interests. Otherwise, if you have kids along, plan a short walk near the visitor center and to the edge of the black lava rock field. Spend the rest of your kid time in the small visitor center. Our sciences-and-rock-loving 13-year old likely could have spent hours here. We walked out and made the 1-mile RT to the lava field viewing point. Lots of great photo ops along the way. We made donations to get the small rock souvenir packs for the rest of the rockheads in our family. We also stopped at the lava river cave about .25 miles away where spent more time.

kath ricky

Very intresting and neat little place. I would recommend it.

Eric Lotgerink

It was a rather disappointing experience for us. We thougt that the visitor center was close to the lava butte and also to the lakes. It turns out that the lakes were more then 20 min. drive with a shuttle bus away. Also the butte was not what we hoped for.

Leonard Atkinson

Nice trails, informative fascinating

Keri Werning

Great stop to stretch your legs and walk the trails through the lava rocks. The views from Lava Butte are amazing!

Philip Schilke

This place gives you the story about volcanic activity in true perspective. Recommend anyone in the Bend area visit this place!

Shannon Kerwin

Such a great place to explore and drive up to Lava Butte, the top of the Cinder Cone!

Ken Cousens

Neat place and low price to get in.

matthew woods

Pretty cool displays in side and staffed well. There are a few walking trails in this area, the lava lands trail takes you right through the lava flow with information on what you are seeing. The more intense hike up cinder cone(there is also a shuttle bus that run up and back) is a bit of a hike but the views are very much worth it. One caution is to make sure you know when they close the gates(5pm?), if you think you will be there later make sure you are in the after hours lot. We did not see any posted hours and when we asked about hiking up the cone we were not told the lot would probably be closed before we completed the hike and got locked in the parking lot. Otherwise a very cool experience.

Ranjan Shakya

Very interesting place near Bend. There is an easy hiking trail (trail of the whispering pines) which takes you along a path surrounded by lava remnants. At the end of the trail you get a nice view of the Cascade range (Bachelor and the Sisters). There are also many interpretative signs along thw trail. The visitor center has a small museum-type exhibit where you can learn about volcanoes and the central Oregon area. Helpful rangers as well. Well worth a trip as you can also go to the top of lava butte via a shuttle.

Mirra Woods

Great experience except there were no visible details on when they close the gates. We got locked in the parking lot because all gates were closed. That was frustrating. Other than that it was informative and fun.

Erik Husby

This stunning volcanic landscape is definitely worth your time to check out!!!

Joris Vallenduuk

Interesting place to walk around in

Rebecca Pannaman

The lava Butte is really cool. When you go to the top you can see all the spots where lava flow burned down the forests. It's very cool. Gotta go on a clear day though. Can be super busy which sucks, also doesn't have a trail to the top of the Butte, you need to walk up the road if you want to climb to the top. Visitor center is nicely maintained and has a good selection of merchandise and snacks. They also apparently give lectures/tours.

jacqueline funk

So much lava! Looking forward to coming back. Fun to walk around.

Fadwa Najamy

Beyond words. You just have to experience it

virgina oshel

Part of a National Park. Entrance fee required for park. Visitor center itself is free. Visitor center rangers very informative. Interactive displays. Tactile, audio, visual, films. Good for all age levels. Good gift shop. They give out timed passes to allow you to drive to the top of the crater, as parking is limited on top. Get pass as you enter park. It's worth it to go to the top. Wonderful views, a fire lookout with a informative ranger, and a trail around the rim of the crater you can hike. From the center itself are 3 hiking trails. There are large flushing bathrooms just outside the visitors center which were very nice. Lots of free parking. Park in shade or crack windows a bit or your car will get very hot quickly. W/C accessible.

Annette Wilcox

Extremely interesting! Very good exhibit. The shuttle bus to the top is well worth the round trip price. Very informative & gives you an excellent perspective of the whole area.

Emile Maillet

So sad the lava cave was closed, to early.

Sherri Foreman

Small but nice visitors center/Ranger Station. They have a couple of short videos to watch, just ask & they will turn them on. They have ranger walks & talks, times posted outside. And of course a gift shop LOL. There is a shuttle that takes you to the top of the cone [ quite a walk ! ]. I believe you can take the stairs to the fire lookout there. Runs every 20 min starting on the hr. $2, per person, CASH, EXACT amount. Very beautiful there. I was there in June & there were several mtns with snow. TIP : if they refer you or if you plan on going to Newbury caldera, the road to the peak to look down onto the two lakes is closed for logging til maybe Aug !!! Have fun !!

Rachel Chinadle

The service was great and they had a lot of information. Great views and helpful staff. Easy to walk and to learn about lava. Great shuttle service to the top and resonable prices.

Bunny Pi

Wish we had more time.

Tawnie *Tonja*

Beautiful place to visit.

Laura Karstens

The two dollar/person shuttle bus was totally worth it to get to the top of Lava Butte

paul stanifer

Beautiful Bute. Lots of flow, walking, and views on a clear day. Take the time to go further down the road to the river. Big Brown Trout fishing to be had, you can cast right over the river on the walking bridge.

Jessica Peles

It was good. Me and my worker went there for the 1st time. I liked it

Zachariah Owen

Great place to go for hikes and learn about the natural twrrain

Dawn Rosiejka

Friendly week informed rangers, engaging displays, variety of activities

Dash Macbrock

Really hard to believe,in the middle of this plush evergreen forest,the remains of a, once very active Volcano, This is the Southern Cascade Range, With the exception of Mt.Saint Helen's .The Cascades have been quiet,However they are part of the Pacific Rim. If your ever in the area, this is a very cool place to visit

robert mckheen

Great place to visit.

H F

fun place to hike

Margaret Green

Absolutely a must see!

Nile Peterson

Really cool stop

Katie Stuempfle

This was really cool! I got to walk on lava. There was a trail through lava rocks and it led to a pretty good view. Fun and interesting

Mike Barer

Really fun and a great learning experience You can turn back at any time, but you may want to go to the end. Just remember, you come back the same way.

Michelle D

My family and I visited in September 2018, but I didn't post my pictures. It was a little windy, but it was still beautiful and a wonderful visit! Amazing that this park wouldn't be here without a volcanic eruption! There's a decent amount of walking on the path up to the lookout point, so if you can't walk long or slightly inclined walks, you may not want to go. But, the view is breathtaking!!

Christina Hepp

The coolest place ever. I walked through the lava lands. I will NEVER EVER forget this place and cant wait to go back

Stan Lengele

Nicely done

Katey McKinney

Beautiful views, and lots of information

Hector Marquez

A walk trough time, awesome

James Quattlebaum

Outstanding exhibits and tours of the Newberry Caldera

Sam Hisel

Very informative and well done

arianna serra

The site is interesting but I had a very bad experience there (on 08/02/2019 h. 4.30 pm) with one of the rangers. I kindly asked him if it's allowed smoking (more than 20 feets from the Visitor Center and keeping with me the but) and he replied me "it's allowed but I suggest you to put the butt in your mouth". Well, I didn't make a travel from Europe to have such a rude and unpolite reply. All my experience on the site was damaged by his reply. Such a shame, as I'm always very careful to respect the rules and to be polite.

Johnpaul Morton

Beautiful barren views. Easy walking trail for all ages. Breathtaking views from the top of the crater.

Bon Manhkong

Exhibit and videos are informational and very well done! This is one of the few monuments managed by the US Forest, but your America the Beautiful pass let's you in for free.

Don Hansen

Friendly informative people

Kellsey Osterhout

Plenty of educational information. There is a miniature landscape model of Newberry National park showing all the terrain and volcano.

Dylan Robrecht

Quick and easy trail not longer than 1 mile that takes you far up the rocky cliff. You can see lots of obsidian and pumice rock, formed from lava long ago. It also over looks a lake

Nate Joseph

Really nice hikes. Interesting vistas and viewpoints. Rangers very helpful and informative. Pathway winds around a bit but very easy to walk. Not totally accessible. Would recommend shoes because lava rock is sharp

David Bauschman

Long walk but interesting. Cant say i would do it twice.

Mark Felter

The rangers at this place are amazing. They all seem to love there job. We went on a guided hike with one of the volunteer rangers and he was so knowledgeable and friendly. He took his time to answer questions and even help take pictures.

Toni Kirby

Great place to visit, well worth the hike up the lava fields

Don Aakervik

Fantastic views and easy hike!

Bill Phillips

Very nice short stop. Space for RV's. Took our towed to the top of the caldera as there is a length limit on vehicles. Excellent photo opportunities. Or take a short easy hike on one of the trails. Two or three hours should do it.

Angel Kinzig

It's great to see the volcanic rock, walk the trails & chat with the rangers. They are all very knowledgeable & friendly.

George Scott

We went after the season ended and the visitor center was closed as was the road up to the butte. It was snowing. The parking lot and trails were open so we hiked the trail of molten land. Interesting views with the snow covered lava flow. Very good signage on the trail. If you want to see the butte in winter you will need to hike it (about 1.8 miles).

Sharon Sandberg

It's a wonderful natural park. The guides and volunteers are helpful and knowledgeable, very friendly. It's a great way to spend an afternoon.

Drake Bridgewater

Great way to get a taste for how the volcanos changed the landscape of the nearby lands.

Kathryn James

Very nice people amazing place we learned a lot and were just in awe all day well worth the time

Jack C

Different kind of terrain... But interesting, nonetheless

Destiny Lengele

Wow it's amazing

Wayne Smith

Great park with a lot of educational value.

Shannon Landry Dawson

This is a great visitors center. We stopped here after a trip to Crater Lake, and we learned more about Crater Lake here! Excellent rangers, thorough and engaging interpretive panels, well organized all around and exciting little hikes that are accessible for a wide range of ages and abilities. Highly recommend this, and if you do Crater Lake on the same trip like we did, save the reading and learning for this place, you'll get so much more out of it.

George Pierce

Great run up!

John Iverson

Good glimpse into the volcanic history of the area

Brandon Willman

The fire lookout on lava butte is an excellent view of all central oregon! Have not been in the visitors center in about 15 years.

Katherine Oglesby

Interesting little museum while you wait to drive up the butte.

Xiaoou Han

Great place to visit. My six year old loved it.

jane matthews

Great overall experience. Loved the bus ride to the top and the view was amazing. The Rangers were very helpful and gave a lot of information I definitely recommend stopping by.

adam damiano

Really cool hiking grounds

Holly S

I've volunteered here 2 summers in a row and found the staff and other volunteers to be very knowledgeable and committed to providing info and great service to the public. A lot of people come to Lava Lands Visitor Center as they're passing by so they don't know much about the monument. It's always fun to show them the table map and highlight the great hikes and activities available at the monument, which extends about 15 miles south to Newberry Caldera (with Paulina and East Lakes).

Roger Chase

Excellent bike ride opportunity!

Andrew Henderson

Very pretty place. End of August is the perfect time to catch butte in bloom.

Falcona03

Super cool to have all this stuff to check out in Oregon! Fun stop.

Hilary Bright Angel

This was a treat to see from the ground and also from the top of the Lava Butte. The geology and history is humbling. The fee is $5 and the gate person gives you a time to go on top of the butte. This keeps crowds down and from the top you can enjoy your 360 degree view of the lava fields, trees and the Bend area. The top offers a short walk around the butte and is a fun time for any photographer. The Lava Butte offers lots of information on geology and the surrounding area.

Mark Macauley

A very interesting place to visit

Olivia Sathre

I love this park. The view from the top of the Butte is absolutely breathtaking and when you are up at the top it's amazing to see the lava fields and how many buttes there are surrounding Lava Butte. I've been several times now and I enjoy the short walk to the side of the Butte where the lava flowed out.

Lux Ferre

Super informative, take the bus ride tot he top of cone from spectacular views

Kaitlin Audrey

This visitor center is great. There are exhibits to explain the history and geology of the area and there were plenty of rangers on staff to answer questions. The “Molten Lands” trail lets you get up close to the volcanic rock and leads to a beautiful view of the Cascade range. The $2 shuttle to the top of Lava Butte is well worth it as you get 360 degree views of the volcanic area.

Angered Bees

Super fun, great for kids. Beautiful

Terry Meehan Gardner

Great way to learn about lava flows and volcano erruptions. Has a movie and a topo map that do excellent job of explaining what you are seeing. In back as a easily walkable, and I think wheelchair accessible, trai it's uphill, but easy climb.

N RJ

Cave walk and shuttle to top was a awesome experience

Mauricio Aspee

Save this place as a must see when in Bend. Very interesting.

Marsha Whitfield

Cool place. Fascinating story.

Lindsay Parlberg

Lorreta and the other rangers went out of their way to be helpful and informative! Would recommend stopping in at every visit.

Laurie Biehn

Great visit. Hiked up volcano in morning. The staff helped us plan our hikes for the next day and gave us appropriate suggestions based on weather. Really helpful.

Melinda G

Has a neat trail that loops around through the lava. Not too difficult. Has one steep part but you can skip it.

RovingFox

Unlike any thing you have seen. I explains ho volcanic eruptions form the landscape there.

Jeremy Nolan

The lava tubes were awesome!!

James Payne

It was closed! As was the road 2Observation Tower. Beautiful Day though! Ah FRESH AIR...Good 4the Soul!!

Javier Leiva Aguilera

Really interesting place. We enjoyed the visit and appreciated the information provided by the ranger

Eric Christensen

cave is ok first part easy to walk then gets treacherous.

Amanda J. Wright

It was very nice and the bus ride to the top of Lava Butte was enjoyable with amazing 360 degree views.

Bruce Baumann

Beautiful views, very educational.

Michael John

Great tourist destination.

Robert Carlton Miller

Spacious and Great view of the Mountains. Nice Geology spot, too!

Essence Alexander

SOOO cool.

Joan Starr

Excellent guide talk. Beautiful scenery. Learned so much from helpful forest rangers. Recommend for families

Sriram Ravindren

This is inspiring in its own way. To get the full experience, be sure to spend some time here silently pondering the enormity of what happened. While small at geological scales, it must have been a sight to behold all those thousands of years ago.

Kimmy E

The staff definitely know their information! Cool little spot to visit and learn about the area!

Nathan Rasmussen

You can get little souvenirs here and see some of the history of the area.

Trenna Butler

We arrived at 8am. The visitors center and road to top didn't open til 9. Bummed we couldn't access either due to our schedule.

Debra Belcher

Very cool and beautiful.. love it

Teresa Davis

Fun place with great information!

Bill Joyce

We stopped here two times. The first time there was smoke in the air from forest fires,, but we still took the narrow road up to Lava Butte. You have to get a free ticket at the guard shack to take this drive, since the parking spaces are limited. It was still worth driving up there, even with the views obscured by smoke. The second stop we took the Trail of Molten Land up into the lava fields and also went in and viewed the exhibits in the visitors center. All of it was well worth our time.

Itzik Kent

A great visitors center with excellent explanatory video and exhibits explaining how this special area was created

Deb Phillips

It's incredible the amount of the lava field and then we got to go up to the top of the mountain see the crater it was really impressive I recommend it

Ashok Srinivasan

A unique experience that is worth visiting once.

June Choi

Well run, friendly, and informative! A great place to start this area's lava journey.

ELIZABETH MCCALLUM

Super geological history of the high desert volcanology.

Sabrina Beskow

Great! Everyone was very nice and helpful! Great merchandise! Wish there was extended sizes on clothes and wish there were shot glasses (as we collect them).

Beth Templet

If you are in the Bend area, this is a must-see! Gorgeous sculptures, live animal exhibits, and well done interactive displays. Well worth the admission price.

Paul Catura

Great place with very friendly rangers.

Jani Hancey

B beautiful

jonathan Truong

this place is worth the visit when you pass by, nice volcanic features and a waterfall nearby the parking lot

Daniel Ode

Great place to learn about the Newberry volcanic area!!

Lezlie Ramsey

Ranger talk gives you the history of the largest volcano in Oregon. Hands-on experience with different types of volcanic rock in the area. Visitor Center has exhibits and videos of the history and ongoing research. Shuttle bus takes visitors to the top of Lava Butte ($2 per person - exact change needed). There are several trails to hike, some paved, others are cinder.

Kokohonjin 7

The preserved formations of the lava bed are cool to look at and observe natires majesty.

Bryan deSilva

Great place to take the family from out of town. The amount of lava is impressive and the views from the top worth it. The visitor center is small and very helpful.

R A

It was fun and a great place for a family outing.

Tish Lane

Easy walk through the lava fields. What's not to love. Bike path available all the way into Bend. About 8 miles

Brian Platt

Been wanting to visit here for years but just never had the time. Had a great time at both the visitors center and up top. Amazing view.

Bill Cibart

Good place to visit and stop for a little visit

Laura Cook

So educational, beautiful in summer

Jillian

Very worth the trip. The rangers are super friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend

Paul Burola

Lava lands here in Central Oregon is a wonderful experience. There are trails for everyone and is also extremely accessible located right off hwy 97.. Great time especially for the kids! If you are in the area it is worth the stop.

Joy C

Beautiful view from the top of the trail. Totally worth the hike, which wasn't very long. Kid friendly. Sidewalk that goes up to the top lookout area.

Collen Hill

Amazing wonder Volcanic lland.

Dana Shaffer

Pretty cool. Bring your own light!

Teresa Zade

Very knowledgeable volunteers. Amazing place.

Jason Schiewe

The lava fields are a pretty impressive sight. It's a black scar interrupting the blanket of forest. The view from the butte is absolutely beautiful. The visitor center itself is fairly well layed out, but on my last visit I was in too much of a hurry to get to enjoy the displays and exhibits. I'd definitely go back some time.

Kyle Kramer

The lava cave was absolutely astonishing make sure to bring a high power flashlight me and my fiancee used our phones we could see decently well about 20-30 ft in front of us could see the ceiling and walls but not clearly definitely bringing multiple led flashlights next time !

Marty Pavlik

Take the bus to the top of the cinder cone.

Kathie Stewart

This place is very interesting. The view from the top is amazing. It was great to have a shuttle to get to the top, so my 87 year old dad could go with us and enjoy the view.

Suzanne Giovannoni

Nice staff. Great movies. Good displays.

Yoshi Yellow

Totally worth seeing! The staff are lovely too.

Kathy Wynegar

This Visitor Center has a tram that takes you up for the top of a cinder cone to view the flow and the beautiful high dessert scenery with other Volcanoes in the distance (small fee, cash only). Excellent geology displays in the Visitor Center.

Ms. L

A great place to start our bike ride to Sunriver!

Sherry Brower

It was a unique experience going to the volcano top. It was not crowded there. But we had to change our plans to do the lava cave because their is such a backlog of pking spaces you may wait an hour to park. Tomorrow we go kayaking at East Lake. Also plan to bike on some of the 40 miles of paved bike trails at Sunriver. There is a lot to do around here!

Aeris Knop

Seeing the lava flow was pretty cool, rocks everywhere. It's worth the hike

N N

Very near by if you are in Sun River. Surprisingly very less known and the place is super good. Good trail walk, bus ride to top of the butte and fantastic photo opportunities (Mt. Bachelor etc). Staff is courteous. Need $5 as a day pass (applicable to Lava Tube as well). One can go around after 5 pm closure time as well.

Denis Guest

Great place to visit. Great information on all aspects.

Mark Marcotte

Great walk through nature's wrath

Mitch B

Cool place, nice walking paths.

Lori Weathers

Loved our adventure to Lava Lands. We hiked to the overlook.

Samuel Smith

Super friendly and helpful staff.

Troleda Matzke

Just amazing!

James Ayers

This is a great place to spend a few hours. The staff is very knowledgeable and appeared to be excited about the material they are presenting. There are two small trails at the base of the Lava Butte and one Trail around the rim at the top. The bus ride to the top is $2 per person (cash only, no change), and is totally worth it! Even the gift shop has pretty high-quality items at prices that are not too ridiculous considering other similar places.

Richard Lamkin

Very informative, great day

James Wernicke

Easy to get to and fun to walk around.