Explore Responsibly

LEARN ABOUT exploring responsibly & SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE BELOW FOR THE CHANCE TO SCORE a copy of Ineffable!

17353532_10154582777183925_5555735193377693100_n.jpg

For over a quarter century, Wanderlust Tours has been caring for the beautiful Central Oregon landscape and bringing our community together through volunteer events.

Every year Central Oregon’s outdoor spaces see an increase in cherished use. To preserve these special places, there are many easy actions we can all take. We have shared a few to build awareness. We ask you to please share below your stewardship practices and consider signing up for one of our Volunteer Events which bolsters ecosystems! 


Snow Melting

Spring has sprung and the snow is melting. Whether you are mourning the lack of fresh powder under your snowshoes, or reveling in the soft spring corn snow-the fact is that it is disappearing quickly! 

This means new wildlife previously unable to move, live and survive in the deep snow are coming back, soon to be snacking on the buds of the trees and shrubs. While we find joy in the melting snow and newly emerging wildlife, we also find other hidden treasures, one less appealing.  

Post snow-melt trash is a huge component of living in a snowy world.  While our community is great about picking up micro-trash on the trails or accidentally left dog poop bags, once a new layer of snow falls, the trash is buried. As spring unfurls, each layer of melting winter snowfall reveals a layer of unintentional debris.  

Now is the time to scour the snowmelt, to sniff out the candy wrappers, to find the used hand warmers before the wildlife does!  And if you find a cell phone on Tumalo Mountain, please give me a call!


Paddling Central Oregon Lakes & Rivers

Evening-Canoe-Tours-Central-Oregon-Bend

Paddling canoes and kayaks on our tours mimics the original form of North American travel beyond one’s own two feet! Native Americans modeled this mode of transport and we so love the Americana associated with paddling! 

Because we use our boats on different lakes, rather than sinking them after use to preserve them for future use, we clean them after every trip to ensure our waters stay clean and free of invasive species. 


Subterranean Adventures

Photo by Chaney Swiney

Photo by Chaney Swiney

Our local caves have seen varied use over the years by Native Americans and Euro-Americans. From shelter to ice collection to exploration, human use has always affected the caves. Current culture, for some crazy reason, includes marring our caves with sprayed graffiti. 

Wanderlust partners with the High Desert Grotto to sustainably sandblast graffiti away as well as our yearly cave clean ups, picking up trash for everyone’s enhanced cave experience. We so enjoy when volunteers from the public join us on our clean-up efforts!

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME IN NORTH AMERICA

 We operate year-round cave tours in caves where our bats do not hibernate. WNS does not affect humans in any way. Learn about WNS in the United State here.

Photo by Drew Pick

Photo by Drew Pick


WANDERLUST TRIVIA

Test your knowledge below for the chance to score a copy of Ineffable!
"Ineffable," is a stunning photo book supporting Pledge For The Wild.
Winner will be announced in our May Newsletter


VOLUNTOURISM

Central Oregon is a special place. We do our best to keep it that way.
We organize regular clean-ups with small groups and company outings. Join Us!

Community Clean Up

LEARN ABOUT CENTRAL OREGON’S clean up efforts & SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE BELOW FOR THE CHANCE TO SCORE A HALF-DAY TOUR!

Our youngest stewards of the Land

Our youngest stewards of the Land

This October Wanderlust Tour’s staff and local volunteers headed out to both the mountains and high desert to clean up our lakes, caves and popular trailheads. The summer months see a great amount of use and this area needs some TLC after the season.

Take a look below of a recap of both the Cascade Lakes Clean Up & Cave Clean Up events.

We always appreciate the help in keeping these places clean. Stay tuned for more volunteer opportunities:

https://www.wanderlusttours.com/voluntourism


CASCADE LAKES CLEAN UP

With low water levels in the fall, it helps spotting trash and accidentally left behind items. This year we visited Sparks, Hosmer, Devil’s and Elk Lakes plus Wanoga Sno-Park sledding hill .

  • 200 Volunteer Hours

  • 65+ Volunteers coordinated

  • 300 LBS+ of Trash Removed

We met up at Cascade Lakes Brewery where Wanderlust provided quick instruction on the day’s plan. From here, volunteers broke up into small groups to tackle high traffic areas.

Special thanks to all the amazing volunteers who braved the weather, to Cascade Lakes Brewery and Knott Landfill!

Sparks Lake - Instruction - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
Photo by Annie M.

Photo by Annie M.

Photo by Annie M.

Photo by Annie M.

Sparks Lake - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
October - Sparks Lake - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
Sparks Lake - Lakeside Clean up - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
Sparks Lake - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
Kids Volunteering - Cascade Lakes Clean Up 2020 - Wanderlust Tours.jpg



Cave Clean Up

Thanks for everyone’s efforts in cleaning up our Central Oregon Caves!

  • 38 VOLUNTEER HOURS

  • 6 VOLUNTEERS

  • 50LBS+ OF TRASH REMOVED

  • GRAFITTI REMOVED FROM CAVE WALLS

A special thanks to Neil & the Oregon High Desert Grotto and Central Oregon Visitor’s Association..

cave clean up - Bend Oregon - Oregon High Desert Grotto - Wanderlust Tours.jpg
setup graffiti removal - cave clean up - Bend Oregon - Oregon High Desert Grotto - Wanderlust Tours.jpg.jpg
sandblasting graffiti - removal- keep caves clean - cave clean up - Bend Oregon - Oregon High Desert Grotto - Wanderlust Tours.jpg.jpg

WANDERLUST TRIVIA

Test your knowledge below for the chance to score a half-day tour!
Winner will be announced in our November Newsletter

Special Places deserve Special Attention

Cascade Lakes Clean Up

Wanderlust Tour’s staff and local volunteers headed out to the Cascade Lakes to clean ‘em up. The summer months see a great amount of use and this area needs some TLC after the season.

With low water levels in the fall, it helps spotting trash and accidentally left behind items. We visited Sparks Lake, Homser Lake, and Elk Lake.

We always appreciate the help in keeping these places clean. Stay tuned for more volunteer opportunities:

https://www.wanderlusttours.com/voluntourism

Wanderlust Tours - Cascade Lakes CLean Up.jpg
Cascade Lakes Clean up - Sparks Lake.jpg
IMG_5215.jpg