Admittedly, Maiden Peak is the highest viewpoint you can hike to near Waldo Lake.  But why climb 2900 feet when you can gain a similar view for about half the effort on the less well-known trail to The Twins?  From the airy top of this volcano, vast Waldo Lake sprawls through the forests at your feet while the peaks of the Central Oregon Cascades march along the horizon.  Like its bigger sister, Maiden Peak, The Twins is a geologically recent cinder cone with broad, forested flanks and a cute summit crater.  The Twins earns its name because a gap in the crater rim has left two summits. 

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes : Central Oregon Cascades