Deschutes National Forest · Oregon

Suttle Tie

5.5 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 4094 · trail class 3 · typical grade trail_grade · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, bike

Picnic areas

Along the way Cinder Beach Day Use Area

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 44.4264, -121.7267 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Suttle Lake the Forest Service's write-up

Suttle Lake
Photo: US Forest Service

Bound on all sides by mixed conifer forest, the lake is deep and clear. The west end is best for seeing waterfowl because it's sheltered from the prevailing wind. Link Creek, which empties into Suttle Lake, is shallow and clear enough to view spawning fish. Yellow, orange, or red hues from vine maple proclaim the arrival of autumn in September or October.

The lake was formed and a terminal moraine, which was deposited by glacial ice about 25,000 years ago during the Suttle Lake advance of the Cabot Creek glaciation. The principle surface input to the lake is Link Creek, which flows out of Blue Lake. The outlet of Suttle Lake is Lake Creek, which flows eastward into the Metolius River. The lake covers an area of 253 acres. The average depth of the lake is 44 feet with a maximum depth of 75 feet. The lake has an excellent population of naturally reproducing kokanee, plus brown trout, whitefish, and crayfish.

Motorized and non-motorized boats are allowed on this body of water.

Caution : Cabins are privately owned and trespass is prohibited. Campgrounds close for winter as early as October.

For boat launch and day use information see

South Shore Boating Site

Link Creek Boating Site

Blue Bay Boating Site

Suttle Lake Day Use Area

Cinder Beach Day Use Area

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Deschutes National Forest

All 432 trails in Deschutes National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.