Elk Lake Guard Station was built on the northwest shore of Elk Lake in 1929 to serve as a much—needed satellite of the area’s busy ranger station. It operated sporadically, as funds allowed, until the 1940s. From then until the 1990s it was in consistent use during the summer months and played an important role, as the forest guard stationed there communicated by radio and telephone with the district ranger in Bend, with other guard stations and with fire lookouts. By the late 1990s the guard station had fallen into disrepair and a group of volunteers worked tirelessly until 2001 to restore the site to its original state. Elk Lake Guard Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 and today, volunteer Forest Service information and interpretation specialists staff the station each summer. Here, thousands of visitors get information and assistance, as well as an opportunity to step back in time and see how forest guards lived and worked during the middle decades of the twentieth century.