A mountain biker rides along the River Trail at Smith Rock State Park.

Central Oregon is warming up and what better place to soak up some rays than by heading to the open vistas of the High Desert areas.

Many of these places have sprawling openness with little shade making them perfect for a later winter stroll. Plus, this weekend we spring forward with daylight saving time beginning early Sunday morning, giving us all a little more sunshine to explore in.

Remember, March weather can change quickly so always go prepared.

For a full list of conditions updated regularly, please visit centraloregonexplore.com

Hiking and Day Use Sites

NOTE: Many of the trails along seasonally closed highways and forest service roads remain open, but can only be accessed by hike, snowshoe, cross country ski or snowmobile due to accumulating snowfall. See Forest websites for more details and restrictions.

Deschutes National Forest

Bessie Butte Trail: Open

Boyd Cave Day Use Area: Open

Horse Butte Trailhead: Open; mostly snow free and clear

Pine Mountain: Open

Ochoco National Forest

Alder Springs Trailhead: Open; access road closed to motor vehicles

Cyrus Trailhead: Open

Gray Butte Trailhead: Open

Hammer Creek Trailhead: Open

Rimrock Springs Trailhead: Open

Scales Corral Trailhead: Open

Skull Hollow Trailhead: Open

Tam-A-Lau Trailhead: Open

Bureau of Land Management

Badlands Rock Trail: Open

Black Hills ACEC: Open; climbing and geocaching are prohibited

Chimney Rock Trail: Open

Christmas Valley Sand Dunes: Open

Cline Buttes Recreation Area: Portions of Deep Canyon, Fryrear, Maston and Jaguar Road are closed through Aug. 31

Crack-in-the-Ground: Open

Derrick Cave: Open

Flatiron Rock Trail: Open

Fossil Lake ACEC: Open; motor vehicles and fossil collecting prohibited

Green Mountain: Open

Huntington Wagon Road: Open

Lost Forest: Open, vehicles restricted to designated roads only

Lower Crooked River: Open

North Fork: Open

Oregon Badlands Wilderness Tumulus Trail: Open

Redmond Caves Recreation Site: Open

Scout Camp Trail: Open

Steelhead Falls Trail: Open

Trout Creek Trail: South side of trail, including Trout Creek climbing walls is closed through Aug. 31

Oregon State Parks

Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint: Open; expect reduced services; restrooms are closed, portable toilet is on site; maintain social distancing and wear a mask

Cove Palisades State Park: Open for day-use and lake access; Crooked River Campground (E Loop) is open, Deschutes Campground and moorage slips will open May 14.

Fort Rock State Natural Area: Open; day-use hours 8 a.m,-8 p.m.; rock scrambling closed in southeast area to protect nesting falcons

Jasper Point: Open; boat ramp closed due to low water conditions; camping is closed for the season

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint: Open

Prineville Reservoir State Park: Open; expect reduced services

Smith Rock State Park: Open — limited services; no camping; climbing closures to protect nesting raptors in place until August; park-wide drone ban is in effect.

Ski areas and snow parks

Updated 8 a.m. March 11

Hoodoo: Open; 96.7 inch base; Hodag lift and Autobahn Tubing Park are closed

Mt. Bachelor: Open; 109 inch base; First Rays lift is closed

Willamette Pass: 65 inches at lodge; rentals and tickets must be reserved online in advance

Deschutes National Forest

Crescent Lake Sno-park: Open; 10-12 inches; fair conditions with low snow

Crescent Junction: Open; 10-12 inches; fair conditions with low snow

Dutchman Sno-park: Open; 72-96 inches; good conditions, limited parking and no overnight camping; 40-foot max length limit for vehicle/trailer combination; expect heavy use

Edison Butte Sno-park: Open; 30-48 inches; fair conditions; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31, 2021

Kapka Butte Sno-park: Open; 42-66 inches; good conditions; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31, 2021

Meissner Sno-park: Open; 24-36 inches; good conditions; area roads closed through April 1, 2021; no dogs; lodge currently closed

Skyliner Sno-park: Open; unknown snow depth, access road closed for the season, road is now a ski/snowshoe trail

Swampy Sno-park: Open; 42-66 inches; good conditions; no dogs; area roads closed through March 31, 2021

Vista Butte Sno-park: Open; 42-60 inches; good conditions; area north of parking area closed to snowmobiles, use Kapka Butte or Wanoga

Wanoga Snow Play: Open; 36-48 inches; good conditions; expect heavy use; pack out broken sleds and all trash; shelter is closed

Wanoga Snowmobile: Open; 36-48 inches; good conditions; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31, 2021; shelter is closed

Newberry (Six Mile Sno-park): Open; 2-6 inches; poor conditions due to low snow.

Newberry (10 Mile Sno-park): Open; 18-30 inches; fair conditions, low snow around sno-park; road beyond park closed to vehicles for the season

Three Creek Sno-park (Lower): Open; 2-6 inches; marginal conditions due to low snow

Three Creek Sno-park (Upper): Open; 14-18 inches; good conditions; Forest Service Road 16 is plowed by may have icy ruts

Walt Haring Sno-park: 8-10 inches; good conditions

Ochoco National Forest:

Bandit Springs Sno-park: Open

Mark’s Creek Sno-park: Open

Ochoco Divide Sno-park: Open

Walton Sno-park: Open

Willamette National Forest

Gold Lake Sno-park: Open

Ikenick Sno-park: Open

Little Nash Sno-park: Open

Maxwell Sno-park: Open; Mountain View and South Maxwell shelters are closed

Potato Hill Sno-park: Open

Ray Benson Sno-park: Open; 54-66 inches; good conditions, expect heavy use

Salt Creek Sno-park: Open

Santiam Sno-park: Open

Waldo Lake Sno-park: Open

Camping

BLM — Prineville District

Barr Road North Staging Area: Open

Big Bend Campground: Open

Buckhorn Staging Area: Open

Castle Rock Campground: Open

Chimney Rock Campground: Open

Cobble Rock Campground: Open

Lone Pine Campground: Open

Macks Canyon Recreation Site: Open

Palisades Campground: Open

Post Pile Campground: Open

Steelhead Falls: Open; no potable water

Stillwater Campground: Open

Cycling

Fatbike and winter trails:

Ben’s-MTB-Kent’s, Horse Butte Loop, Horse Ridge Area: Muddy

Wanoga — 3 PSI, Wanoga — Outer Loop: Rideable snow

Madras East Hills, Maston, The Radlands: Riding well

East of Bend trails

Dry River Canyon: Closed through Aug. 31

Coyote Loop, Has No Horse, Horse Butte Loop, Horse Ridge Area, Sand Canyon, Swamp Wells: Muddy

All other trails riding well

Maston complex

All trails riding well

Redmond trails

Cole Loop, Gray Butte: Muddy

All other trails riding well

Madras East Trails

Coyote Run, Valley of the Bones: Winter mix

Peek A Boo — Berm Mountain, Wide Open: Muddy

All other trails riding well

Fishing

Updated at 8 a.m. March 11

Lower Deschutes (Pelton Dam to Columbia River): 4,900 cfs; redband trout, steelhead, whitefish; trout will continue to be less active through the winter but can be caught on something slow and tasty, steelhead fishing is done as most fish are entering spawning grounds in closed waters.

Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 3,910 cfs; brown trout, rainbow trout; water is higher and clarity is good with decent trout fishing; open year-round for trout, artificial flies and lures only; no limit on brown trout

Crooked River (below Opal Springs): 1,292 cfs; rainbow trout and mountain whitefish; only fish downstream of Bowman Dam to Lake Billy Chinook; fishing has been good but water remains low; any trout over 20 inches are considered steelhead and must be released, bull trout must be released unharmed and reported to the USFW at crookedbulltrout@fws.gov

Metolius River: 1,410 cfs; bull trout, rainbow trout; consistent fishing reported between Allingham Bridge and Bridge 99 but access may be difficult depending on snow; fly fishing only upstream of Bridge 99, artificial lures and flies permitted below; catch and release only; public access to Wizard Falls Hatchery remains closed; river is closed to fishing above Allingham Bridge until May 22, 2021

Prineville Reservoir: 40% full; rainbow trout, small and largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, crayfish; trout fishing has been fair, good for warm weather species

Ochoco Reservoir: 19% full; rainbow trout, black crappie, smallmouth bass; trout fishing should start increasing with lower temperatures; ramp still likely unusable due to low water levels

Haystack Reservoir: 83% full; rainbow and brown trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and bullhead catfish; west side boat ramp is open

Lake Billy Chinook: Bull, brown and rainbow trout, kokanee, smallmouth bass; Metolius arm is now open but tribal fishing permit required, kokanee fishing has been excellent

Fire danger is currently listed as moderate in the Deschutes National Forest. Fire danger is listed as Low in the Ochoco and Willamette National Forests.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level is currently at Level 1 for the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Prineville District — Bureau of Land Management.

As of July 22, Deschutes River access is closed due to safety concerns and to prevent further erosion to the river bank. The access point will be closed until further notice. For more information visit bendparksandrec.org

To protect nesting raptors, the following climbing routes are closed: Cajun Cliff, Victoria Tower, Little Three Fingered Jack, Puddy’s Tower, The Monument, Anglin’s Buttress, French Tent Rock, First Kiss Area north of Monkey Face and Smith Rock Group NE Face (both towers, above 100 feet).

The Canyon Trail near the bald eagle nest is restricted to groups of four or less and noise must be kept to a minimum. 

See smithrock.com/seasonal-closures for more information.

Beginning Jan. 28 the following trails are closed from Monday to 3 p.m. Fridays (except for federal holidays) due to timber harvesting and forest restoration work:

• Lower Whoops
• Pine Drops
• EXT
• Storm King from the junction with Forest Road 4615 and the junction with Phil’s Trail
• Phil’s Trail between the junction with EXT and it’s western terminus at the junction with Pine Drops
• Upper Whoops
• Lower Whoops
• Skyliners

The following Bureau of Land Management trails are now closed through Aug. 31 to protect nesting raptors:

• Millican Plateau OHV Trail System (Route 95 only)
• South side of Trout Creek Trail including climbing walls
• Cline Buttes Recreation Area (portions of Deep Canyon, Fryrear, Maston, Jaguar Road)
• Horny Hollow Trail
• Dry River Canyon

For more information visit blm.gov