Sometimes we just need to go to the mountains.

Sometimes nothing less than a crystal clear alpine lake that mirrors the firs that grow to its banks will do. Sometimes only emerald meadows, dazzling wildflowers, jagged peaks, tumbling water and achingly blue sky can get us where we want to be.

And sometimes we don’t have a full day or days to tromp in to a high lake miles off the beaten track to scratch that itch.

Todd Lake has all the Central Oregon Cascades bona fides and its easy, too. Just drive past Mount Bachelor and turn right at the sign. Park at the trailhead and it’s only a five minute jaunt to the basin, where you’d swear you were deep in the wilderness (a popular, well-attended wilderness) if not for the boaters with their canoes and the toilet facility on the near shore.

From that shore you can look out over the 45-acre lake and see the reflections of those fir trees on the surface. Brook trout dimple the water. There’s a big green meadow on the far shore. And Broken Top presides over the whole mountainy motif with a craggy authority.

Todd Lake is an ideal place for a picnic, a little trout fishing, a paddle or a hike. A good leg stretcher is a walk around the lake through the forest of firs. There still might be a little snow in places and the soil is boggy in others, so waterproof boots are a good bet.

Todd Lake is so easy and close that you can combine an outing there with other scenic stops along the Cascade Lakes Highway. A representative Central Oregon sampler for out-of-state visitors or newcomers could include a visit to the Green Lakes Trailhead to drink in the beauty of meadow and mountain and stream. Then you could pull in to Sparks Lake across the road and stroll down the Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail.

Take the left fork on the gravel road (the right fork takes you to the campground) and drive about a half mile to the trailhead.

The Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail is paved and barrier free part of the way and it’s this initial quarter mile or so that offers up the stunning views of the limpid waters of Sparks Lake and South Sister on the other side.

We stopped several places along the way to watch kayakers out on the lake and several ducks diving for food.

The trail goes on after the pavement ends. The 2.3-mile loop takes you through a pine, fir and hemlock forest and through Davis Canyon, a narrow defile that snakes beneath 20-foot vertical basalt walls on either side.

If your schedule allows, Devils Lake, Elk Lake, Hosmer Lake, Lava Lake, Cultus Lake, Crane Prairie Reservoir and Wickiup Reservoir are all within striking distance to the south.

It’s all magically mountainous and it’s all good. Especially for those times when nothing else will do.

— Jim Witty