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Vista Butte Sno-Park

U.S. Forest Service
Looking south-east from Vista Butte Sno-Park. Terrain at true elevation.

Vista Butte Sno-Park sits at mile 13 of the Cascade Lakes byway, at 5,906 feet, facing 120 degrees. The terrain drops 133 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. Kapka Butte is visible to the south-southeast, 0.6 miles away, rising to 6,162 feet. The facing direction points toward sunrise, offset 30 degrees off square; sunrise runs from 05:24 at the June solstice to 07:39 at the December solstice, with sunset ranging from 20:54 in June to 16:32 in December.

Bend lies 15.3 miles to the east-northeast, Sisters is 21.4 miles north, and Redmond is 29.3 miles northeast. The previous stop along the byway is Arlies Rock/North Gateway Information Viewpoint.

The site is a sno-park with a small parking area. It provides access to 6 miles of ski trails and connects to the Swampy and Dutchman trail systems. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the lot is usually full on winter weekends. A map of the nordic trail system accessed from this location is available separately.

Position
Mile ~13 of 69
Access
On the byway
Elevation
5,906 ft
View
Southeast · 120°
Light
Best at sunrise
Relief
133 ft drop
In view
1 named features
View of Mount Bachelor, Oregon, from the east, on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway.
DimiTalen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Closeup view of Mount Bachelor, Oregon, from the east, on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway.
DimiTalen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
View of Oregon taken during ISS Expedition 15.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 29.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 29.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
Snowy weather en route to Mt. Bachelor — we did little to no skiing this day.
Kris Arnold from New York, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Kapka Butte6,162 ftsouth-southeast · 0.6 mi

Light

This overlook faces sunrise — 30° off square to it.

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:1019:1918:41
June solstice05:2420:5420:09
September equinox06:5419:0618:28
December solstice07:3916:3215:44

Local time (America/Los_Angeles). Computed for this exact position.

Where it is

Mile 13 of 69 along Cascade Lakes.

  • Bend15.3 mi east-northeast
  • Sisters21.4 mi north
  • Redmond29.3 mi northeast
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Vista Butte Sno-Park · U.S. Forest Service

This sno-park has a small parking area, provides access to 6 miles of ski trails, and connects to the Swampy and Dutchman trail systems. It is usually full on winter weekends.

To view a map of the nordic trail system accessed at this sno-park, click here.

Read it at U.S. Forest Service →

How high is Vista Butte Sno-Park?

Vista Butte Sno-Park sits at about 5,906 feet (1,800 m).

What can you see from Vista Butte Sno-Park?

From Vista Butte Sno-Park: Kapka Butte (SSE, 0.6 mi).

Is Vista Butte Sno-Park better at sunrise or sunset?

Sunrise. The land falls away from Vista Butte Sno-Park toward the sunrise, so at sunset the light is behind you. Exact times shift through the year; the page shows the current window.

What is the nearest town to Vista Butte Sno-Park?

Bend, 15 miles ENE of Vista Butte Sno-Park.

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