Boats wait to be rented at Twin Lakes Resort in this October 2008 photo. (Andy Tullis / The Bulletin file photo)

After the sale of Twin Lakes Resort officially went through in May, the new owners are slowly beginning to make their mark on the historic resort.

“We have wonderful customers who come back every year and a lot of support from local businesses as well,” said co-owner Kate Dunn. “So we don’t want to change too many things too quickly.”

Twin Lakes Resort, located west of La Pine on the shore of South Twin Lake, had been owned by Jim Frazee and his wife, Joanne, until they decided to put it on the market in 2014. Frazee, who also owns Lava Lake Lodge, said he and his wife, both 68, were looking to move closer to retirement.

“We’re trying to create less work for ourselves,” Frazee said.

Dunn said she and her husband, Devan, are originally from Portland but visited Central Oregon whenever they had the chance. When the opportunity to buy the historic resort arrived, the couple jumped at it. Frazee added that the Dunns initially purchased the resort in July 2014, but he said myriad permitting issues kept the sale from going through until May.

Located on U.S. Forest Service land, the resort on S. Century Drive operates under a special-use permit.

“I think the Dunns are going to do great,” Frazee said. “They’re young and energetic, and they’ve got some good ideas.”

One of Kate Dunn’s first ideas was to reopen the java hut on the resort, which had been closed for several years. Today, the shop serves coffee and frozen beverages for summer visitors.

While Dunn said she has a few ideas in the development stage, she and her husband wanted to get settled a bit before diving into other renovations.

The resort, established in 1936, is nestled between the two symmetrical lakes, North Twin and South Twin; both were formed as maars, a type of volcanic crater, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Twin Lakes Resort has 14 cabins organized around a restaurant and store, along with a campground and an RV lot. Due to its proximity to the twin lakes and the Deschutes River, the resort is a popular fishing spot, and the resort rents paddleboats, rowboats and other watercraft.

“It’s somewhere that visitors can be in the outdoors but still have some amenities available,” Dunn said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com