Smith Rock jumps out of a hole

Smith Rock has an odd look to it when you first see it across the Central Oregon desert.

The feature looms above the scene located near Redmond and Terrebone north of Bend, but appears to be coming up out of a huge hole.

When you get to the rim and look down you see that what is actually a series of gigantic rocks starts below and is even taller from bottom to top than it initially appeared.

The Crooked River snakes its way through the landscape around and in front of the rocks.

All of the rocks are part of what is left of an ancient volcano.

The hole they come up out of was formed when the magma chamber below was emptied and collapsed in on itself to create the Crooked River Caldera.

Subsequent activity resulted in the rocks, which are composed of volcanic tuff.

The tops of the rocks stand at roughly 3,200 feet above sea level.  They offer the goal of thousands of possible climbing routes available in Smith Rock State Park.

The 641-acre park is crisscrossed by 15 major trails for other uses such as hiking, trail running, mountain biking and horseback riding.  They range from several easy trails to difficult paths with names such as the Misery Ridge Trail.

Slack lining is another available activity in the park.

Those with less time and/or energy can walk a short ways down from the parking lot and take in the scene at a lookout next to one of the gnarly juniper trees.

The day use area is open all year from dawn to dusk, with tent camping only offered to those who want to stay.

How to get there:

Smith Rock State Park has an address of Smith Rock State Park, Terrebone, OR. 97760 and can be reached by calling (800) 551-6949 or (541) 548-7501.

Follow the signs from nearby Highway 97, which runs north and south across all of Central Oregon and Washington.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.