Outside the city of Bend in Oregon’s Central Cascade Mountains, No Name Lake is a stunning alpine lake set beneath one of the region’s most iconic volcanic mountains, Broken Top. This lake is reached via a long day hike, but if you can make the journey, you’ll be rewarded with incredible views of massive volcanoes and mountain lakes spread across the Cascades.
I hiked this trail in the summer of 2022 on my summer road trip, and this was my first hike in the state of Oregon. It was a pretty sweet intro to the state, and one of the better hikes I’ve done!
Miles/Elevation:
13.7 miles
2,520 feet vertical gain
About Deschutes National Forest:
Stretching through large parts of the Oregon Cascade Mountains, Deschutes National Forest includes 1.8 millions acres of land on the range’s east side. Established in 1908, Deschutes now receives upward of 3 million visitors per year.
Visitors now come to Deschutes to experience its world class outdoor recreation. Deschutes includes 5 wilderness areas, and along with the hundreds of miles of hiking trails, this place is an amazing place to hike or backpack. Deschutes includes a number of peaks that are classic mountaineering goals, and skiing and snowboarding are hugely popular in winter.
In part due to the popularity of this area, some trailheads and wilderness areas require permits to use and access, even for day hikes. This is true for this hike, but there are also many others around the forest that require them as well. Check the official NFS page for more information.
Getting To The Trailhead:
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The closest city to the trailhead is Bend, Oregon, which is easily reached via Highway 97 or Highway 20. In Bend, take SW Century Drive southwest out of the city. This will eventually turn into the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway.
Continue on the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway for about 25 miles as you pass Mt Bachelor. After about 25 miles, turn right onto a gravel forest road known as Forest Road 4600-390. Follow this rough gravel road for about half a mile until you reach the Todd Creek Trailhead.
Day use permits are required here during peak season.
Tips:
- Be ready for water crossings. There is a canal you need to cross and I don’t think there is a way to keep your feet dry.
- Be prepared to hike on snow well into July.
- Continue on past the lake to reach Bend Glacier.
- Day use permits are required.
The No Name Lake Trail:
From the trailhead, head towards Todd Lake, but before reaching the lake, take a right onto the Todd Trail #34. The hike begins in a pretty dense pine forest, and remains in the trees for the first couple of miles. You’ll start with a nearly 600 foot climb in the first mile and a half or so before the trail levels off and even descends slightly.
Early on there isn’t much to look at, so I just pushed hard through the trees. There are some occasional looks through breaks in the trees towards Broken Top ahead and Mt Bachelor behind, but for the most part it’s uneventful, quick hiking.
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After a couple of miles you’ll leave the forest and enter alpine meadows. Much of this hike actually is in mountain meadows, something that may be surprising given the start of this trail. Once in the meadows, you’ll really start getting nice views of the big mountains around, but the higher you climb and the further you go, the better the views get.
After crossing Soda Creek, you’ll reach an intersection about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. Stay right here to continue on the Soda Creek Trail #11. Cross a couple more creeks, and then at the next intersection, take a hard right to continue on the Broken Top Trail #10.
Once on the Broken Top Trail, the hiking really gets good. You’ll be up around 7,000 feet in alpine meadows, and the views are great. Mt Bachelor is the obvious star when looking to the south, but the much closer Broken Top to the north will garner most of your attention.
This is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
As you hike, you’ll pass Broken Tops south face. On the far side of the meadow, there is a drainage canal. I searched up and down the canal for a bridge or log to cross on, but I didn’t see anything. When I hiked this trail in mid July, I just had to walk through it. Take your shoes off or keep them on. I kept mine on but there’s a case for either choice!
The water was chilly and calf deep, but was easy to cross. Unfortunately, I would have wet feet for the rest of the day, but that probably would have happened anyway because I almost immediately encountered deep snow!
Through The Snow:
I honestly hate hiking through snow. It gets your feet wet, it’s slippery, it slows you down. There’s nothing good about hiking in snow. Unfortunately, the rest of the hike to No Name Lake would be spent in the snow. The snow was at least well packed so I mostly stayed on top of it and didn’t punch through, but it was still really annoying.
The trail reenters the trees and then takes a 90 degree turn to the left. Broken Top will not be visible when you first enter the trees, but the trail quickly begins to climb and the mountain will quickly once again be the most visible landmark on the horizon.
I can’t really say that much about the actual trail through here because I was hiking on snow the entire time, but the area is generally pretty wide open and there aren’t many trees. I don’t know if it’s grassy meadowland or rocky scrubland, but when I hiked through here I was crossing large open areas of snow. There is also a creek that runs through here.
As you continue climbing (through the snow or otherwise), you will eventually make your way to a series of rocky hills, maybe a hundred or two hundred feet tall. I believe these are glacial moraines, piles of dirt, rock, and other debris excavated and moved downhill by glaciers. I can’t think of any other way this much stuff would have been deposited here!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
There should be a pretty obvious use trail through the moraines (it was all snow for me), and you’ll eventually reach a creek. This creek comes out of No Name Lake and is your final landmark before reaching the lake.
The creek flows through a narrow slot in the moraine, and this is the most precarious spot on the hike to No Name Lake. I crossed a snowbridge over the creek (something I wasn’t super confident about but was the only way forward) and then hiked up steep and loose “steps” along the creek. These aren’t really steps, more the remnants of footprints in the dirt that have created quasi steps!
No Name Lake:
Once you’re through the slot you’re at No Name Lake! Looming high above is the corroded and crumbling face of Broken Top, but the most striking thing about this spot is the coloration of the water in the lake. The lake is fed with glacial runoff, and because of the suspended sediment in the water due to the grinding of the ice against rock, the water has a stunning, bright blue color!
This place truly has an alpine feel. The only materials in sight are rock and ice, and there really isn’t a plant in sight. You’re above the treeline here, and since the ground is so rocky and is covered with snow most of the year, there really is close to nothing here!
I sat down and enjoyed the view, but if you were feeling ambitious there is another place you could go from here. There is a viewpoint on the ridge above the lake where you can get a great view of Bend Glacier. I elected not to hike up there because it was a steep snow slope, and a fall would have meant sliding back into the still largely ice-covered lake, but that would be a cool place to check out if possible!
Hiking Out:
After relaxing at the lake for a while, I set out for the hike back. This is a simple out and back, so no navigation is required to get back. I had to get my feet wet again in the creek, but to be honest they were wet from the snow anyway!
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I made it back to the trailhead in only a couple of hours, but there is one more thing you should at least check out before leaving. This is the Todd Lake Trailhead, so in my opinion you might as well at least take a look at Todd Lake!
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It’s maybe a couple hundred yards off the main trail when you get back to the trailhead, and while it isn’t nearly as spectacular as No Name Lake, it is a really pleasant spot. There were a bunch of families enjoying the outdoors here, and it was quite busy, but I totally get why people come here to spend a day outside!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
This is an awesome trail that provides pretty much everything you look for in a hike. It has great views, the trail quality is largely excellent, and reaches an incredible alpine lake. There aren’t any truly exposed sections of trail which is why I’m only giving this hike a 9/10, but this is a fantastic trail!
Pros:
- Great views
- Excellent trail quality
- Unique scenery
Cons:
- Some boring stretches
- Unbridged water crossing
Alternative Hikes:
When To Hike To No Name Lake:
The hardest limit on hiking in the Cascades is snow. This mountain range receives massive quantities of snow each winter, and this snow limits the hiking season at high elevations. If you are ok with snowshoes, microspikes, crampons, or other snow gear, you can go pretty much whenever you want!
If you prefer not to hike in the snow, then the season is roughly July through September. Expect at least some trace remains of snow through the first half of July, and be ready for early snowstorms in September. The absolute ideal time to hike here would probably be late August to avoid snow, but for the greatest wildflower blooms, July would be best.
Links For Further Reading:
Bend Glacier and No Name Lake | Map, Guide – Oregon | AllTrails
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