Catalpa Lake
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes to this destination:
- Catalpa Lake Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Catalpa Lake via Bonney Meadows Trail Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.22558, -121.63696
- Elevation: 4105 feet
Description
Circular three-acre Catalpa Lake lies nestled below a scree slope on the Frog Lake Buttes. According to Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur's Oregon Geographic Names, the lake was named by a "fish-planting crew" around 1950. Catalpa trees (Catalpa sp.) are native to the east and south of the United States, and other species live in the Caribbean and east Asia. They are popular deciduous flowering trees in gardens and one would assume that one of the "fish planters" from the Oregon State Game Commission had a fondness for them, thus introducing a "non-native" name into the wilderness.
There is no trail all around the lake, but you can bushwhack through the rhododendrons to make the circuit. On the north shore of the lake is a campsite with an historic thunderbox. Rough-skinned newts laze idly in the waters on a warm summer day.
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Contributors
- bobcat (creator)