Aspen Camp, Big Eddy. Length of portage at Lava Island is long and not recommended. Not recommended for floating. The portage over the falls is over one mile of lava, brush and hills. It is likely this portage would result in personal injury.
Portages are difficult with lava, brush and few trails.
History Life along the Deschutes River can be traced back 9,000 years. The Lava Island Rockshelter provides a rare glimpse of the area's early inhabitants, who apparently made yearly hunting and gathering forays from as far away as the Great Basin valleys to the east. The climate was cooler then and more moist, which produced ample forage for large game animals. Central Oregon was a dramatically less desirable place 7,000 years ago. About 5,000 years ago the area's climate started to cool and the eruptive activity began to taper off.