Just outside Bend, Oregon, along the scenic Cascade Lakes Highway, the mountains are dotted with cool, clear lakes - perfect for fishing and splashing, kayaking and canoeing, hiking and biking, paddle boarding and room-and-boarding.

The water is so clear you can see life beneath the surface - fish, reeds, and the still life of river rocks in colors of lavender, green and gray. You can't help but look, and wonder, what's it like down there? Clear, cool, quiet ... if only you could breath water. Alas, it is only for us to look and to wonder.
If you're a dog, however, in a kayak, and you lean over too far, you might find out exactly what it's like. But that's a story for another day.

Highlights include Cultus Lake, Elk Lake and Hosmer Lake.  READ MORE