It’s a seasonably warm Sunday afternoon and South Twin Lake is buzzing with the sounds of late summer.

Kids splash and swim in the shallow water adjacent to the sandy beach. Out in the middle of the round lake, a couple of people fish from an aluminum rowboat. Their voices carry across the water; the reverb melds with the rustic resort ambience. A canoe glides by, then two women in a paddleboat pedaling in unison.

A visitor plopped down here from some distant galaxy (or maybe Southern California) would have absolutely no clue that fall is just around the bend. But give this place another month or so and the sun may not feel so warm, the water may not look so darned inviting. Knowing that makes this lazy Sunday all the sweeter.

South and North Twin Lakes, which are adjacent to each other and the much larger Wickiup Reservoir, are both about 60-foot-deep volcanic craters filled with water.

South Twin is no remote secret spot. Twin Lakes Resort includes a full-service RV park, a tackle shop, boat rentals, gasoline and propane, a convenience store, restaurant (with outside dining), a laundromat and showers.

The resort also rents out lakeside cabins, all of which makes for a summer camp kind of feel.

There’s a nifty trail that circles the entire lake; at about 1.5 miles, it’s the perfect antidote to an hour’s drive with the kids in tow. It pays to keep an observant eye toward the water. I saw a half-dozen garter snakes along the way swimming S shapes in the shallows. One had a big oval bulge about midway down its body, evidence of a recent meal.

According to Alan St. John in ”Reptiles of the Northwest,” the juvenile snakes eat earthworms while the adults feed on small fish, amphibians and their larvae.

I wondered where the cold-blooded snakes go when the tourists leave South Twin Lake and the snow starts falling. St. John had the answer. According to the Bend native, garter snakes seek out rocky, south-facing slopes and often share their winter hibernacula with other species of snakes, including western rattlers.

You may also see rainbow trout in the clear lake waters. South Twin is a popular bait-and-lure fishing destination. Both boat and shore anglers are successful.

The resort rents fishing boats (no motors are allowed) for $12 an hour, $28 half-day and $65 full-day.

Kayaks ($10 an hour), two-person kayaks ($12 an hour), paddleboats ($12 an hour) and canoes ($12 an hour) are also available.

There are two full-service Forest Service campgrounds on South Twin Lake and a less-developed campground on North Twin.

To reach South Twin Lake, take Highway 97 south to Wickiup Junction in La Pine. Turn right on County Route 43 then left on Route 42. Turn left at the sign for South Twin Lake Resort.

Contact: Twin Lakes Resort, 541-593-6526.