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We can't seem to find anyone to help us out as to what Indian lived here before the White man came in 1843, my guess is they were part of the Klamath Indians.

They left lots of artifacts here such as: Arrow-Heads, Sandals, Beads, Spear Tips, and more! While artifact hunting was a favorite hobby for the visitors to the area for many years, it should be noted that the government prohibits hunting on government and public lands and private land owners generally adopt the same policy.

The sandals were woven from sagebrush bark. Carbon dating revealed the sandals are more than 9,000 years old -- among the oldest human artifacts found in North America.

Settlement began after the Civil War. From 1905 to 1915 nearly all the desert basin floor was homesteaded. Homesteaders pulled up stakes and left when World War I brought employment. Electricity was brought to the area in 1955 which brought changes, too, transforming many fields from sagebrush to alfalfa. In today's time 2001 Christmas valley grows some of the hottest alfalfa around .

Christmas Valley provides mountains, vast plains, sand dunes, marshes, volcanic flows, towering rimrock and lush, green agricultural areas. The area also provides great fishing and hunting, ATV riding, camping, horseback riding, hiking, Cross Country Skiing, Golf course, birdwatching, archeological sites, geological oddities, and much more!

North Lake County includes the towns of Fort Rock, Christmas Valley, Silver Lake, Summer Lake and Paisley.

The Sand Dunes are very popular to the off-roaders and many come every year with their ATV's.

11,000 acres of sand dunes available to ATV use. The area "open" to vehicles is surrounded by several sensitive areas with more restrictive vehicle designations. The Fossil Lake area is closed to vehicles (and is fenced off), and in the Lost Forest, vehicles are restricted to roads which are posted "open". Although the bare dunes are open to vehicles, since they are within a Wilderness Study Area, vehicles are required to stay on trails that are posted "open" until they reach the bare dunes.

Approximately 11,000 acres of dunes are open to Class I, II and III ATV's year-round, but can be inaccessible during the winter and spring months due to extremely muddy roads.

Continue East past Christmas Valley approximately 10 miles, then turn left (North) on 5-14D and go 8 miles to a "T". Turn right on 5-14E, and follow it until you see signs for the Sand Dunes

This forest is a patch of ponderosa pines thriving in the desert with barely half the rainfall pines usually require. No other ponderosas grow within 50 miles. in the Ice Age, when pines grew throughout Southeast Oregon. This grove survived only because it grew on top of an ancient, sand-covered lakebed. The lake's hardpan collects rainfall from miles around. The tap roots of the ponderosa pines reach down through the sand and drink what they need from the invisible lake. Next to the Lost Forest, wind has sculpted some of the sand into an area of dunes.

Fort Rock has many cliffs and terraces formed when waves from Fort Rock Lake cut away parts of the crater walls. These features are 4600 ft (1400 m) around and 200 ft (60 m) high. The crater floor is 20-40 ft (6-12 m) higher than the floor of the old lake basin.

Derrick Cave's is a great place to visit Home to the bats, you might not get to see any but you will see mounds of bat guano.To find the cave from the Fort Rock store, follow "Christmas Lake" signs East eight miles to a junction, go straight on a paved road another eight miles to a Bureau of Land Management guard station, and fork left on a dirt road for ten miles.

Crack In The Ground
This two-mile-long basalt slot is ten to 70 feet deep. Often, it's so narrow that boulders bridge it. Patches of ice and snow from winter survive in the crack's cool depths year round. To find Crack In The Ground, drive eight miles north of Christmas Valley to the crack's northern end. (Plan for a little walk as the entrance road has been barred from any further motor vehicles.)

Christmas Valley And The Surounding area is a Great place to go hunting for Elk, Deer, Antelope, Couger, Waterfowl, Game birds, Rabbits. Not many Fishig holes, Duncan Res, Thompson res, and Ana Reservoir. Trout and Bass.

Ice Cave
This 1,000-foot lava tube is even longer than Derrick Cave and has more ice. To find it, drive ten miles due north of Fort Rock to Cabin Lake Campground, continue straight on gravel another six miles, and then turn left on Road 22 for 1.2 miles, where you'll find a South Ice Cave sign.

Hole In The Ground
A volcanic explosion crater half-mile-wide . To find Hole In The Ground, look for a sign on Hwy. 31, three miles north of the turnoff to Fort Rock (or 25 miles south of La Pine).

HOW TO GET HERE:

View the MapsMAPS

Christmas Valley Airport. Paved runway is 5,200' x 6O', lighted with Beacon.

From Portland, take I-5 south to Salem. Exit at Hwy. 22 and take southeast to Hwy. 20. Take Hwy. 20 east to Bend.

From Bend drive 25 miles south on Hwy. 97. Just past La Pine, turn left on Hwy. 31 for 29 miles. Turn East on County Road 5-10 towards Historic Fort Rock, and about another 24 miles will bring you to 11-Mile Corner. Turn left (East) on 5-14 and in 11 miles you will have made it to the community of Christmas Valley! Welcome!