Makenzie Whittle/Bulletin fileThe roots of a fallen juniper tree along the Tumulus Trail in the Badlands.

Cooler weather is on the way so it’s the perfect time to explore areas in the High Desert that you’ve maybe been putting off during this record breaking summer heat. Plus you can add those trails that have been closed to your list for this fall and winter as seasonal wildlife closures for many BLM trails like Dry River Canyon and sections of Trout Creek lifted Aug. 31.

Here’s hoping for clearer skies this weekend!

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

Hiking and Day Use Sites

Deschutes National Forest

Bessie Butte Trail: Open

Boyd Cave Day Use Area: Open

Horse Butte Trailhead: Open; light deadfall above Swamp Wells Horse Camp near junction with Crater Rim

Pine Mountain: Open

Ochoco National Forest

Alder Springs Trailhead: Open

Cyrus Trailhead: Open

Gray Butte 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: Open

Crack-in-the-Ground: Open

Dry River Canyon Trail: Open

Derrick Cave: Open

Flatiron Rock Trail: Open

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

Green Mountain: Open

Horny Hollow Trail: 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

Tumalo Reservoir: Open

Trout Creek Trail: Open

Oregon State Parks

All campfires and any devices that emits flames or embers are prohibited within any state park or state-managed forest until conditions improve. Propane cook stoves and lanterns are allowed, propane fire pits are not

Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint: Open

Cove Palisades State Park: Open

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; cave tours canceled for 2021

Jasper Point: Open; boats with motors are not advised due to low water; Prineville Reservoir, Powderhouse Cove and Jasper Point boat ramps closed

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint: Open

Prineville Reservoir State Park: Open; boats with motors are not advised due to low water; Prineville Reservoir, Powderhouse Cove and Jasper Point boat ramps closed

Smith Rock State Park: Open

Camping

All campfires are prohibited within the national forests and lands managed by the BLM

Deschutes National Forest

China Hat Campground: Open

Ochoco National Forest

Cyrus Horse Camp: Open

Haystack Reservoir Campground and Day Use Area: Open

Haystack Reservoir Group Site: Open

Haystack West Shore Campground and Day Use Area: Open

Skull Hollow Campground: Open

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

East of Bend trails

Arnold Ice Cave, Crooked Arm, Dry River Canyon, Holy Loop, Horse Ridge Area, Sand Canyon: Sandy and loose

All other trails riding well

Prineville and Ochoco trails

Cougar Creek, Lookout Mountain: Riding well, deadfall reported

All other trails riding well

Maston complex

All trails riding well

Redmond trails

The Saddle: Closed for nesting eagles, likely to reopen late fall of 2021

All trails riding well

Madras East Trails

E-Bikes allowed on all trails

All trails riding well

Fishing

Updated at 8 a.m. Sept. 9

Lower Deschutes (Pelton Dam to Columbia River): 4,030 cfs; redband trout, steelhead, whitefish; steelhead fishing should start picking up downstream of Macks Canyon

Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 3,550 cfs; brown trout, rainbow trout; anglers reporting good fishing in the mornings and evenings; artificial flies and lures only, no limit on brown trout

Crooked River (below Opal Springs): 1,174 cfs; rainbow trout and mountain whitefish; water level is higher but will be lower than average this summer; more whitefish than rainbows, fair fishing for rainbows; 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

Prineville Reservoir: 25% full; rainbow trout, small and largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, crayfish; trout fishing has been good near the dam, all boat ramps are closed due to low water

Ochoco Reservoir: 12% full; rainbow trout, black crappie, smallmouth bass; water level is still extremely low and bank access is limited to walk-in only

Haystack Reservoir: 31% full; rainbow and brown trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and bullhead catfish; North Unit Irrigation District has ended irrigation for the season and will not be releasing water into the reservoir, boat ramps are unusable and shoreline access for any bank fishing will be from the muddy, exposed lake bed

Lake Billy Chinook: Bull, brown and rainbow trout, kokanee, smallmouth bass; bass fishing picking up with kokanee and bull trout fishing being fair

Fire danger is currently listed as Extreme in the Deschutes, Ochoco and Willamette National Forests.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level is currently at Level 4, General Shutdown meaning all operations are prohibited for the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Prineville District — Bureau of Land Management.

Campfires are banned with the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests, areas managed by the BLM and Oregon State Parks and state-managed forests east of Interstate 5.

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