The City of La Pine

On Tuesday, November 7, 2006, the voters of La Pine approved the formation of Oregon's newest city. After 100 years as a community, La Pine is now the 242nd city in Oregon and is no longer considered the largest unincorporated area in the state. See the map.

History of La Pine

The first recorded exploration to the inland Oregon region known today as Central Oregon was in the winter of 1825 by Peter S. Ogden of the Hudson’s Bay Company.  Ogden’s chosen path was the River of the Falls, the Deschutes of the Oregon country.  On a second trip down the Deschutes Ogden discovered East and Paulina Lakes in Newberry Crater.  The winter of 1834 brought another explorer named Nathaniel J. Wyeth, who explored the upper Deschutes River.  In 1853 the La Pine basin became the site of the Elliott Cutoff Party’s attempt to find a new route through the Cascade Divide.  More than 250 wagons and loose stock, led by Elijah Elliot, followed the Little Deschutes River upstream to the vicinity of Crescent, Oregon before heading west across the Cascade Mountains creating the Willamette Pass.

Geographically, La Pine is fortunate to be surrounded by the Cascade Lakes, Deschutes River, Crane Prairie Reservoir, Wickiup Reservoir and Little Deschutes River.  The Deschutes River is often described as one of America’s strangest rivers.  The name of the river, Deschutes, goes back to the early days of fur trading when the river was called the “Riviera des Chutes,” meaning River of the Falls.  In normal years, the source for the river is Little Lava Lake in the High Country just east of the Cascade crest, where the small stream runs into the two man-dammed basins of Crane Prairie Reservoir and Wickiup Reservoir.  It is said that it is a river fed by a thousand springs.  All the feeder streams originate from the Cascades except Crooked River.  It is also regarded as one of the nations best fishing and recreation streams.

The most notable geographical landmark surrounding the La Pine area is the Newberry Volcano, which is one of the most recent volcanic features within the contiguous United States. More than a thousand years ago Mt. Newberry, a shield volcano, erupted leaving at least two hundred-fifty parasitic cones in existence on the Newberry slopes.  This area is known as the Newberry Volcanic National Monument consisting of Paulina and East Lakes.  Nestled within the Newberry Caldera and the Lava Lands is an area of fresh cinder cones, twisted lava, and year-round ice-cold caves.

Visitor Information

City of La Pine official web site

http://www.ci.la-pine.or.us

 

Central Oregon Visitors Association
572 SW Bluff Drive, Suite C, Bend
1-800-800-8334
www.covisitors.com

La Pine Chamber of Commerce
51425 Highway 97, Suite A, La Pine
1-541-536-9771
www.lapine.org

 

La Pine Parks & Recreation District

Located at The White School Park Building
16405 First Street
La Pine, OR 97739

http://www.lapineparks.org/

 

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 664
La Pine, OR 97739

 

Office: (541) 536-2223
After-School Program: (541) 536-2991
office@lapineparks.org

Office Hours: 9am to 1pm Monday through Friday
Beginning February 11, 2008.