SUTTLE LAKE — The walk around this Cascade lake at the foot of Santiam Pass, even on a brisk autumn morning, is one not easily forgotten.

When photographer Barb Gonzalez and I undertook the 3½-mile jaunt from The Suttle Lodge, 14 miles northwest of Sisters, dozens of scaup, loons and hooded mergansers greeted us with a rustle of wings. For a couple of hours, on an amble often interrupted by photo stops, the waterfowl entertained us from the surface of the glassy lake and from perches on logs that hugged the shoreline, but never let us get too close.

The snowy tower of imposing Mount Washington began to appear from behind the rounded summit of Cache Mountain as we passed the first half mile of our hike along Suttle Lake’s northern shore. End-of-season salmonberries and yellowing bracken ferns brushed our trouser legs, signs of rehabilitation in a forest raked by fire in 2003.

A small red squirrel scampered to the tip of a snag on a fallen tree just ahead of me. It stared intently, chattering a high-pitched warning, then briefly vanished before reappearing even closer. Uncertain whether my encroaching footsteps represented a threat, the squirrel scolded me once more, then made a speedy exit, stage right.

Small woodland birds — red-breasted nuthatches, dark-eyed juncos and hermit thrushes — tittered as they flitted through myrtle and other waist-high shrubs lining the Deschutes National Forest trail. A light breeze carried the scent of earthy dampness from a light rain that had fallen overnight, and which promised to return.

At the west end of the lake, two anglers stood on a long pier, casting lines for brown trout. The fish, they assured us, gesticulating with their hands, exceeded 2 feet in length. But there were none to show us in their nearby camp, they said, because they were catch-and-release fishing.

Lakeside development

The campground was over a short bridge that crossed Link Creek, which flows into Suttle Lake from Blue Lake — a tiny crater lake best known as the location of the Caldera Arts Center. In summer, Caldera is a community that allows young people, from inner city or remote country, to explore their artistic selves. In winter, an artists-in-residence program welcomes individuals in a broad sweep of arts, from visual to performance to literary arts. But as we passed by on a late October morning, Caldera was inhabited only by a caretaker.

We found the round-the-lake trail again and proceeded along the southern shore, now paralleling a paved access road flanked by more campgrounds and picnic areas. Rustic stairways and a rough-hewn amphitheater connected the developed areas with the lakeshore, where Douglas fir, ponderosa and lodgepole pines rose beside small hemlocks.

At one point, we looked up to see a magnificent bald eagle soaring overhead, its broad wings carrying it southerly toward Cache Mountain where, perhaps, it nested.

Geologists say Suttle Lake was formed by glacial activity about 25,000 years ago. When the glaciers melted at the end of the last Ice Age, they left this lovely blue lake, about 1½ miles long and as much as 75 feet deep. Soon thereafter, about 10,000 years ago, it was discovered by Native Americans who came to fish, hunt and gather berries and other food. Thanks to ash deposits from periodic volcanic eruptions, many ancient artifacts have been preserved and discovered, including grinding stones and weapon points.

According to the Oregon Historical Society, the first record of white Caucasian visitors was in the mid-1860s, when John Settle — an Oregon Trail pioneer who had homesteaded in the Lebanon area — came upon it while on a hunting trip. Soon thereafter, as an investor in the Santiam Wagon Road (now U.S. Highway 20) that skirts the hillside north of the lake, Settle supervised road construction in the area. When the lake was officially recorded on maps, his last name was misspelled as Suttle.

The first lodge was built at the east end of Suttle Lake in 1925. Fire destroyed it in 1929. Another lodge was built two years later with the assistance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, but fire again swept through in 1939. In the early 1940s, a third lodge was well underway with hotel and dining facilities, but the two owners were drafted into World War II and wartime gas rationing doomed the resort to decline. It stood vacant until 1974 when a new remodel was undertaken — but again, a fire broke out, seven days before the grand opening.

In 1999, Ronda Sneva and a partnership team bought the resort property and turned it into the upscale Lodge at Suttle Lake. Three historic cabins were renovated and opened for guests in July 2004. A grand lodge opened in June 2005. The reconstructed Boathouse Restaurant opened in March 2007. Six new deluxe cabins were added 2009.

Four years later, however, disaster struck again when high water flooded the restaurant and insurance was insufficient to rebuild it with mandated improvements. Dinner service was shifted to the unequipped kitchen of the lodge, which soon was forced to close except for special events and weddings.

“It was time for someone else to take over this beautiful setting and promote the resort,” Sneva told Sisters’ Nugget newspaper.

New ownership

The buyers came from Portland with a reputation in creative historic rejuvenation, most notably the rebuilding of a 1911 structure into the Ace Hotel Portland. Dave Schrott and Robert Sacks of A&R Development Company took ownership on Oct. 1, 2015. Their team spent the winter planning, and with the arrival of spring went to work making those plans reality.

The Mighty Union management team, including owners and managers of the Ace Hotel Portland, directed the overhaul, beginning with the central structure. Renamed The Suttle Lodge, it opened to the public in August, but its restaurant wasn’t fully open until the end of last month.

The lodge replicates a Craftsman-style national park lodge, and changes here were subtle, no pun intended. The spectacular front doors, by Sisters artist J. Chester (Skip) Armstrong, haven’t been changed. Armstrong brings Native American myth to life with a life-size eagle dancer frozen in a place of great natural beauty, in a nod to the 15th-century work of Florentine sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. Throughout the lodge are other smaller wood sculptures, many representing the natural history of the region.

The sprawling great room has been modified with the placement of a large hand-drawn map that divides the doors from the main lobby seating area. Behind it, a large shelf of used books encourages old-fashioned reading, while a substantial selection of vinyl records, mainly of 1960s and ‘70s vintage, stands beside a stereo player.

Clearly, patrons are encouraged to leave modern technology behind when they visit this resort, which spreads across 15½ acres and operates under a special-use permit from Deschutes National Forest. General manager Greg Frodsham acknowledges that the primary mission of the owners “is to make the national forest accessible to the public.” That said, there is limited Wi-Fi access and a single flat-screen television in an upstairs recreation room, where a pingpong table can be quickly converted into a conference table.

Most guests are content to relax beside a large fireplace with picture-window views across a broad lawn to the lake waters. In one corner of the room, an intimate six-seat bar serves cocktails, wines and Oregon beers, as well as modest continental breakfasts at the start of each day.

Guest lodging

That’s especially appealing to guests in the 11 spacious and luxurious lodge rooms. Prices here start at $154 to $168 until spring (when rates will increase). A standard suite features a small gas fireplace and forest views; luxury suites have a Jacuzzi bath and a lake view.

In all, the resort can accommodate up to 130 guests in all of its rooms and cabins. Lakeside cabins (starting at $208 until spring) are great for families: They have three queen beds, including two in a loft, along with a kitchen and full bath, a stone fireplace, a porch with Adirondack chairs and a barbecue grill. Three of these are lakeside, with a fourth beside Lake Creek, which flows from Suttle Lake through Camp Sherman to the Metolius River.

A half-dozen rustic cabins (from $65 until spring) have basic amenities such as heat and electricity, but they lack kitchens, private bathrooms or, indeed, running water. They have one queen and two twin bunk beds, but are just one step up from camping.

Particularly intriguing are three historic cabins, whose reopening schedule has not yet been determined. There’s a former Forest Service guard station beside the one-lane bridge that leads into the resort, and the 1920s Falls Cabin tucked away beside Lake Creek. (Both of these, as well as the rustic cabins, are pet-friendly.) Grandest of all is The Pointe, which has survived every fire at Suttle Lake since it was constructed in 1925. Located where Lake Creek flows out of Suttle Lake, it has two private decks, two private baths and a full kitchen, and can sleep up to eight.

The Boathouse

One of the most anxiously awaited additions to The Suttle Lodge has been the restoration of The Boathouse restaurant, closed since the floods of 2013. Joshua McFadden, the highly regarded executive chef of Ava Gene’s in southeast Portland, designed the casual menu and consulted with the Mighty Union team on its reimagining of the interior.

“It’s sort of American diner-meets-fish house,” said Frodsham, the general manager, and that’s a pretty accurate description. Far from the fine-dining establishment that The Boathouse once was, or that Ava Gene’s is today, the new restaurant is a much more casual affair, an order-at-the-counter spot with soups, salads, burgers, fish-and-chips and sandwiches. Diners then find their own tables on an outdoor deck facing the marina or in a bright lakeside dining room.

On the lawn behind The Boathouse, where scores of lakeside weddings have been performed over the years, a beer garden encourages visitors to get acquainted at long tables while enjoying a selection of little-known beers from all over Oregon and the Northwest. A Native American salmon feed was held here in September, and more are envisioned in 2017.

An upstairs room of The Boathouse is being developed as a resort store, selling not only souvenirs but also necessities for Suttle Lake campers and fishing licenses for outdoors lovers. Beneath, a rental store is expected to have snowshoes and cross-country ski equipment available for the upcoming winter season, as well as kayaks and stand-up paddle boards for summer lake recreation.

Trout fishing is as good at Suttle Lake as it’s ever been. While it’s best known for its native brown trout, massive fish then run 3 to 5 pounds in size and greater, there are also good populations of kokanee, whitefish and brook trout. Rainbow trout are stocked to maintain a population balance. Motorboats are also available for rental by ambitious anglers.

Great location

I find the location of The Suttle Lodge is an enviable one for year-round weekend visitors — even those who live as close as Bend, no more than three quarters’ of an hour drive distant. In winter, it is an ideal place to stay during a downhill ski trip to Hoodoo Ski Bowl, at the summit of Santiam Pass, or a nordic excursion to Camp Sherman, to which it is connected by a nordic ski trail along Lake Creek.

In summer, wilderness hiking opportunities are legion, with routes from the lake connecting directly to the Pacific Crest Trail — and to the expansive Three Sisters Wilderness Area — via Mount Washington.

And for foodies, should the casual fare offered by The Boathouse be insufficient, two of Central Oregon’s best gourmet restaurants are just minutes away. Camp Sherman’s Kokanee Cafe offers a classic dining experience in a grove of ponderosa pine from spring through fall. The luxurious Black Butte Lodge, with views of the Cascades across Phalarope Lake, serves some of the region’s finest steaks and other entrees throughout the year.

— John Gottberg Anderson can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com.

(Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. The original story misidentified the The Suttle Lodge & Boathouse’s affiliation and the last name of the new chef was incorrect. The Bulletin regrets the errors.)