See the new pictures of the flooded Caledonia Marsh.

The Skillet Handle is a ruggedly beautiful natural open area of scenic panoramas and abundant wildlife. It is located on the Running Y Ranch Resort in Klamath Falls, Oregon. This wild area is unique in its geography in that it is a rocky peninsula that borders the wetlands of Caledonia Marsh on one side and Upper Klamath Lake on the other. It’s a wonderful place to experience nature.

Some of the best places in the Running Y Ranch Resort to observe wildlife are on the Skillet Handle. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of the waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway pass through the Klamath Basin. The Skillet Handle is a natural upland area that provides a hunting ground for eagles and other birds of prey. The Skillet Handle’s proximity to the wetlands on one side and the lake on the other make it an especially valuable area to observe and photograph wildlife.

In addition, the Skillet Handle contains valuable sites of historical and cultural significance. Indigenous people of the area lived on the Skillet Handle and nearby on the Resort in the past. Remnants of their cultural rituals still stand throughout the Resort in the form of placed rock cairns. These cairns, many only one rock high were associated with the vision quest ritual. The vision quest ritual of the indigenous people of the Klamath Basin was documented in 1930 by Leslie Spier in his monograph titled Klamath Ethnography.

This delightful area also is a great resource within the Resort for recreation in that it provides a lovely natural area for resort owners and guests to mountain bike, hike, and ride horses. In the winter months it serves as a great place to cross country ski and snow shoe.

It is possible that the area will be developed for lot sales. A large group of residents and lot owners are trying to persuade the developers of Running Y Ranch Resort, the JELD~WEN Company, not to develop this high value natural open space. The original documents for the Destination Resort stated the Caledonia Marsh and the Skillet Handle would remain undeveloped, even a restrictive covenant was proposed in the original documents to preserve it in perpetuity, but the temptation to develop the Skillet Handle has become apparent through actions by the developers due to the fabulous success of the Resort. On June 7 of 2005 we were told that the JELD~WEN Company has decided to develop this pristine area.

Take a look at this wonderful place through the slide show and if you can donate to the effort to preserve this natural open space. We have created a News and Updates page to provide the latest status on the development of the Skillet Handle area.

The Preliminary Development Plan for the Destination Resort at Running Y is detailed in a document called the D.R.O. 1-94 [PDF], the Destination Resort Overlay for Running Y Ranch Resort. It has been scanned in for your information.