Resort plans to build upon the past

Some 12,000 years ago, the depression now filled by Suttle Lake was buried under tons of glacial ice.

According to Larry Chitwood, Forest Geologist for the Deschutes National Forest, the glacier was more than 300 feet thick at Santiam Pass.

Suttle Lake Resort, he said, is built on the terminal moraine of that now-vanished glacier. A moraine is the pile of dirt and rock rubble pushed up at the snout of an advancing glacier.

That debris, left behind by the retreating ice, formed a dam that created Suttle Lake.

The Forest Service is focusing new attention on the region because of a plan by resort owners to rehabilitate the resort and surrounding area. The resort, which has occupied the site for approximately 80 years, has had its ups and downs.

The first Suttle Lake Lodge, which was built in the early 1920s, burned to the ground in 1929. It was rebuilt two years later, but burned again in 1939.

In 1941 the resort reopened with new hotel lodgings, a small store, 12 cabins, a fireplace lounge, dance hall, gas station, thirty boats and even its own small hydroelectric plant on Lake Creek.

Amid great fanfare, the resort got off to a good start but hit a major stumbling block when both resort owners were drafted into the army for World War II. Wartime gas rationing further doomed the resort to decline.

During the latter half of the 20th century, the resort struggled. The ownership changed repeatedly, and the Forest Service was forced to close the resort a number of times because of various permit violations, as well as health and safety concerns.

The next high point came in 1974, when the resort was completely remodeled and scheduled to open on Memorial Day.

In keeping with its history, of course, that flicker of hope once again burst into flames and the lodge was completely destroyed seven days before it was to have opened.

After that fire, the resort languished as more owners wrangled with permit problems, environmental analyses, and various public concerns. In 1991, however, the resort was purchased by Jim Schmit and, since that time, has made slow but steady progress along the road to return it to its former glory days.

A draft Environmental Assessment is now in the works to examine the current owner's plans to recreate the 1940 lodge.

The proposal, which has been scaled down in response to public input, calls for a 10,000 square foot, two-story facility that would contain 10 to 12 guest rooms.

Also planned are six modern full-service cabins, six primitive camping cabins, a new maintenance building, and remodeling of the existing restaurant and marina.

The new improvements would enable the resort to operate year-round, and initial discussions have been opened with Hoodoo Ski Area on the possibility of partnering for winter ski packages.

(Editor's note: This is the first in a planned four-part series on Suttle Lake. Next week's installment will examine fish populations in the Suttle Lake system).