ELK LAKE — Drying out from a weekend’s rains on a sparkling weekday morning, a family of visitors launch their kayaks blissfully into the water, Mount Bachelor looming in the background.

Just off the lakeshore, a man and woman sit relaxed in their chairs and read. Meanwhile, a rested but hungry group of Pacific Crest Trail hikers silently scarf down their morning meals in a 1920s-era lodge while “Free Bird,” a 1970s-era song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, plays in the background.

This cool scene, typical during summer at the Elk Lake Resort in the Cascade Lakes area, partly reflects why a group of Bend partners bought the resort last year — and it’s exactly what they want to preserve.

The 1920s-era Elk Lake Resort, about 33 miles from Bend, had always been a low-key retreat and playground for Bendites and out-of-towners traveling along the Cascade Lakes Highway, said Jim Bruce, of Elk Lake Partners LLC, one of seven owners who purchased the resort in May 2006.

The owners are Jim Bruce and his wife, Nansee Bruce; Frank and Nancy Ring; Mitch and Traci Cole; and a silent partner, Jim Bruce said.

But its allure had faded in recent years and the year-round resort closed during the 2005-06 winter, a good snow season during which other Central Oregon resort and lodging properties bustled, Bruce said.

“The resort was in a state of disrepair, as you will have with any facility that old,” he said. “There were maintenance issues. We’ve invested money … and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

Last fall, the new ownership group started renovations that included a new coffee and ice cream bar in the lodge, building a new outside deck and extending the marina by 80 feet.

Bruce, who also is president of Bend used-car dealer Auto Warehouse, which will add a Mitsubishi dealership to its lineup next month, said a lot of fallen trees were cleared from the property and general improvements made, including a new outdoor wedding chapel and refurbishing a 13-passenger Snowcat, called the Elk Lake Shuttle, which transports skiers and snowboarders over snow to and from Mt. Bachelor ski area in the winter.

They’ve also installed a new water system, renovated seven existing cabins, installed a larger propane tank for heating in the winter and improved several roads around the resort.

Eventually, the owners want to replace several old cabins on the property with new ones similar to two recently built. Meanwhile, overnight visitors have their choice of 10 cabins, most of which sleep four or more people. Cabins range from $150 to $325 per night. Three additional camping cabins rent for $45 a night.

The U.S. Forest Service has approved bigger plans to build a new $3 million lodge at the lake, but those plans were put on hold while the owners decide if they can preserve the original lodge by remodeling it, Bruce said.

“Structurally, the existing lodge is failing,” Bruce said. “Eventually, something has to be done. But if there’s a way we can safely shore up the original Elk Lake Lodge and two original cabins, we can go forward as fast as we get building permits from the county.”

The new owners want to be careful not to overdevelop the resort into something too commercial that would harm its folksy charm, Bruce said.

“McMenamins is a great example of what we’re thinking,” he said. We could do hot tubs, a cigar bar, a card room. We could preserve those rustic old buildings, not so they become focal points, but to maintain their historic integrity.”

The changes would be a good thing for the resort and the region, said Ron Estes, an adjacent cabin owner on the lake since 1975 who has visited there since the 1940s, he said.

Estes commended the new owners for the changes they have made and hopes more are coming.

“I don’t think anybody on the lake would cringe to see (the lodge) go away,” Estes said. “A complete redo would be just fine.”

The resort’s revival could add to Central Oregon’s $498 million-a-year tourism industry, particularly during what’s typically the slower winter season, some officials say.

“It’s a really exciting, unique experience to be able to access a resort in that way,” Alana Audette, president and CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association, said about the Snowcat approach to Mt. Bachelor ski area. “Any time we can get new product development or a product that differentiates itself, we want to utilize that product and get the word out.”

The resort’s general manager, Jay Walsh, said the resort’s low-key atmosphere amid Central Oregon’s growing class of major resorts is one of its selling points for local and out-of-town visitors.

“Our charm is our peace and quiet and the lake’s serenity and beauty,” he said. “We’re not wanting to take that away. We’re not going to create a mega resort that would change the dynamics of the lake.”

Most of the people who visit Elk Lake Resort come from Central Oregon, Walsh said.

“Our local customer base is pretty good,” he said. “We’ve got a place that’s close and peaceful. But it feels like you’re a world away. And it’s fun.”

During the summer, the resort is a popular place for Bendites wanting to escape the heat and spend time out on the lake, hikers passing along the adjacent Pacific Crest Trail or for cyclists and tourists who are traveling along the Cascade Lakes Highway, Walsh said.

“People from all over the world who travel the Cascade Lakes Highway come here to see the mountains and lakes, or to fish, relax and experience (Elk Lake’s) sheer beauty,” he said. “We’re on everybody’s radar who travels through these parts.”

Along with Cultus and Twin Lakes, Elk Lake Resort is one of the few properties offering overnight lodging on the Cascade Lakes Highway, Walsh said. It can accommodate about 75 people, he said.

Its wintertime activities include snowshoeing, skiing and lounging around the lodge, he said.

For the upcoming winter, the resort has worked with Mt. Bachelor, which will allow it to park its Snowcat in the ski area’s parking lot, and Central Oregon Adventures, which will provide snowmobile tours to the resort from Wanoga Sno-Park, said Walsh, who also has been owner of Central Oregon Sporting Clays in Bend for the past 13 years.

“We just want to get the word out that we’ve renovated Elk Lake Resort and this is a great place to visit again,” Walsh said. “We’re not going to be happy until we’ve improved every aspect of the resort.”

The new owners want to ensure everything works, is safe and clean, especially during winter, he said.

“This winter will be one of our busier seasons because the amount of winter recreation (available) is huge,” he said. “When you’re operating in the winter, and there’s 16 feet of snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures, heating and plumbing takes on a whole new meaning.”

For Pacific Crest Trail hikers Elise Walsh (no relation to Elk Lake’s general manager), 21, of Lewiston, Maine, and Megan Humphries, 24, of Jasper, Ga., the resort offered a shelter from the unexpected rains that fell upon the Cascades last weekend. The pair are about two-thirds of the way through their journey that started at the Mexico-California border in April and will finish in Canada by fall.

“It’s the friendliest to hikers that we’ve come across since we started,” said Humphries, who hiked 30 miles through rain to access the resort. “We were soaked, dirty and exhausted and they totally took care of us. Anywhere there’s good food and lodging is a good place to go.”

Esther Hinkle, of Independence, Mo., spent two days in the cabins at the resort with her family kayaking in the shadow of Mount Bachelor.

“The scenery is so beautiful and different here,” she said. “It’s the first time in my life I’ve done this.”