Smith Rock State Park was crowded with people on Labor Day weekend, all hoping to soak in the last rays of summer before fall sets in.

Families and couples hiked along the Rimrock Trail and down into the canyon. Distant figures could be seen rock climbing, even in the heat.

The Cascade lakes were surrounded by people adventuring and relaxing on the rocky shores. Many were taking advantage of the warmer water on their paddle boards, some even plunging right in for a swim.

Labor Day is widely viewed as the unofficial last weekend of summer, and plenty of tourists and locals were getting in one last vacation day before school starts.

“I love Labor Day. It’s a great wrap up to summertime. It’s a wonderful weekend just to come out and get in that last hurrah before everybody goes back to school,” said Matt Davey, Smith Rock park manager. “We are seeing a lot of people coming out and visiting the park because it’s getting that early hike in before it gets any warmer today.”

Exercise and positive energy

Brent Bunch and his wife, JoAnn, who live in Prineville, have been at Smith Rock all three days of the holiday weekend to get exercise in. On Monday, they brought their two dogs, Sally and Watson.

“We like to come out here because of the beauty and the positive energies from the rocks and trees,” said JoAnn Bunch.

This fall, Brent Bunch, 72, is looking forward to getting better after recently undergoing cancer treatments and being more active. He taught photography classes for Central Oregon Community College, but the cancer diagnosis put his teaching on hold.

“This is traditionally the last hurrah for people with families to get out and get crazy, before school and everything,” Brent Bunch said of Labor Day.

Josh Court, 26, has been visiting Bend for two weeks from Minnesota so his partner could check out job opportunities in Central Oregon and they could explore the area.

“I have heard very good things about the outdoor recreation here,” he said. “(Smith Rock) is one of the coolest places I’ve been in the states, and I’ve been to quite a few national parks.”

Court said they might spend the rest of Labor Day floating the Deschutes River, provided it didn’t rain.

Karlene Clark’s family members have a Labor Day swimming tradition, but this year decided to do something different and explore Central Oregon. Clark and her family came in from Eugene.

“Smith Rock is pretty,” she said. “We’re actually gonna hike the Lava River tube today, so we’re not gonna hike this today, but we wanted to come and just walk around the rim.”

A bucket full of lake frogs

Addi Hawkins, 10, of Bend, went searching for frogs on the banks of Elk Lake, filling up a bucket with over 100 hopping amphibians. After the last weekend of the summer, Hawkins is looking forward to heading back to school to play soccer.

Already over 100 days into hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Aiden Malone, 22, of Atlanta, Georgia, met up with his college friend, Ethan Losasso, 23, also of Atlanta. Losasso, who works at Oregon State University, Corvallis, made the 130-mile trip to see his friend on his day off.

“(Malone) was out here. I was like, ‘well, I have to make time,’ and he texted me like two days ago, ‘I’m in Bend.’ And I was like, ‘Bend’s two-and-a-half hours. That’s pretty close.’”

Malone is excited to return to his hike. He has about 30 days left until he reaches Canada.

“The weather is so perfect,” Malone said. “I was here two or three days ago, and it was hot. And now it’s like perfect weather.”

The Crowley family was staying in a cabin at Elk Lake for Labor Day weekend, staying with 10 family members in the area, including Hawkins. Kirsten Crowley, 52, of Tigard, took a splash into the lake off her paddleboard but wasn’t upset about it—the water was warmer than expected.

They set up chairs and paddleboards on the shores and explored the waters, pleased with the weather in the afternoon.

Her daughters, Kaitlyn Crowley, 22, and Reese Crowley, 15, are heading back to school soon. They plan to take a few more trips hiking and backpacking before school is in session.

Last weekend of summer

The gravelly drive into Todd Lake was scattered with people pumping up their paddleboards, cars squeezing by each other and even people riding horses, kicking up dust in their trot.

Mary and Jeff Lacksen of Sparta, Georgia, parked their camper and headed for a hike around Todd Lake. They’ve been traveling around Oregon since the end of July.

This Labor Day weekend, the couple was fishing, hiking and biking, enjoying the long weekend in the High Desert.

A group of four college students set out on their paddleboards enjoying the sparkling water and mountain backdrops. One of them, Nolan Rapp, 20, of Wilsonville, has been coming to Central Oregon since he was young.

“We were gonna hike South Sister. We woke up and we kind of wanted to relax,” Rapp said. “And Todd Lake has the most incredible views.”

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