Central Oregon outdoors, ski and trail conditions

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 11, 2022

Take in the warm, spring-like weather this weekend by packing a lunch and heading north toward Redmond and Prineville to explore drier, more open terrain. The weather makes this weekend a great time to soak in the sun on trails and campgrounds north of Bend. 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.

Ochoco National Forest

Baneberry Trailhead: Open

Barnhouse Trailhead: Open

Black Canyon East (Formerly South Fork) Trailhead: Open

Black Canyon West (Formerly Dusty Camp) Trailhead: Open

Boeing Field Trailhead: Open

Coffeepot Trailhead: Open

Cottonwood Trailhead: Open

Cougar East Trailhead: Open

Cougar West Trailhead: Open

Cyrus Trailhead: Open

Fry Trailhead: Open,

Giddy-Up Go Trailhead: Open

Gray Butte Trailhead: Open

Green Mountain North Trailhead: Open

Green Mountain South Trailhead: Open

Hammer Creek Trailhead: Open

Keeton Trailhead: Open

Kelsey Trailhead: Open

Line Butte East (Formerly Fawn Creek) Trailhead: Open

Line Butte West Trailhead: Open

Lookout Mountain Lower Trailhead: Open

Lookout Mountain Upper Trailhead: Open

Mascall Corral (Formerly Apple West) Trailhead: Open

Mother Lode Mine Trailhead: Open

Payten Trailhead: Open

Potlid North Trailhead: Open

Potlid South Trailhead: Open

Rim (Formerly Apple Middle) Trailhead: Open

Rimrock Springs Trailhead: Open

Rock Creek Trailhead: Open

Round Mountain North Trailhead: Open

Round Mountain South Trailhead: Open

Scales Corral Trailhead: Open

Skull Hollow Trailhead: Open

South Prong Trailhead: Open

Steins Pillar Trailhead: Open

Tam-A-Lau Trailhead: Open

Trail Crossing Corrals Trailhead: Open

Twin Pillars North Trailhead: Open

Twin Pillars South Trailhead: Open

Walton Lake Trailhead: Closed

Wildcat North Trailhead: Open

Wildcat South Trailhead: Open

Bureau of Land Management

Chimney Rock Trail: Open

Cline Buttes Recreation Area: Open

Huntington Wagon Road: Open

Lower Crooked River: Open

North Fork: Open

Redmond Caves Recreation Site: Open

Scout Camp Trail: Open

Steelhead Falls Trail: Open

Trout Creek Trail: Open

Oregon State Parks

Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint: Open

Cove Palisades State Park: Open; seasonal winter closures in place, ABC (Deschutes) Campground, South and Middle Loops of E (Crooked River) are closed, Lower Deschutes Day Use closed, marina 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, look for the posted climbing closure signs in the Monument Area due to raptor nesting, park-wide ban on drones for raptor nesting season

Ski areas and sno-parks

Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 10

Hoodoo: Open; 55.2-inch base; Tiny Treat, Leap of Faith, Dante’s Vision. Hodag’s Horn, Hodag’s Trail, Rabbit Run, Impossible Dream Lower closed, all other trails open

Mt. Bachelor: Open; 65-inch base; Skyliner is closed for the season, all other lifts open

Willamette Pass: Open; Twilight and EPA operating

Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 3

Ochoco National Forest

Bandit Springs Sno-park: Open

Mark’s Creek Sno-park: Open

Ochoco Divide Sno-park: Open

Walton Sno-park: Open

Camping

Ochoco National Forest

Allen Creek Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Barnhouse Campground: Open; no campfires

Big Spring Campground: Open; no campfires

Biggs Springs Campground: Open; no campfires

Bingham Springs Campground: Open; no campfires

Cold Springs Guard Station: Open; no campfires

Cottonwood Campground: Open; no campfires

Cottonwood Pit Campground: Open; no campfires

Cyrus Horse Camp: Open; no campfires; no campfire Creek Campground: Open

Dry Creek Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Elkhorn Campground: Campground: Open; no campfires

Frazier Campground: Open; no campfires

Mud Springs Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Ochoco Ranger Rental House: Open; no campfires

Salters Cabin Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Scotts Campground: Open

Whistler Campground: Open; no campfires

White Rock Campground: Open; no campfires

Wildwood Campground: Open; no campfires

Wiley Flat Campground: Open; no campfires

BLM — Prineville District

Barr Road North Staging Area: Open; no campfires

Big Bend Campground: Open; no campfires

Buckhorn Staging Area: Open; no campfires

Castle Rock Campground: Open

Chimney Rock Campground: Open

Cobble Rock Campground: Open

Lone Pine Campground: Open; no campfires

Macks Canyon Recreation Site: Open; no campfires

Palisades Campground: Open

Post Pile Campground: Open

Steelhead Falls: Open; no potable water; no campfires

Stillwater Campground: Open

Cycling

Fatbike and Winter trails

Horse Butte Loop, Maston: Riding well

Ben’s, MTB, Kent’s: Muddy

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

Prineville and Ochoco trails

66 Trails: Muddy

Prineville Bike Park: Riding well

All other trails in deep snow

Maston complex

All trails riding well

Redmond trails

The Saddle: Closed for nesting eagles

Cline Butte: Winter mix

Cole Loop: Muddy

Trails 1: Sandy/Loose

All other trails riding well

Madras East Trails

E-Bikes allowed on all trails

All trails riding well

Fishing

Updated at 10 a.m. Feb. 10

Lower Deschutes (Pelton Dam to Columbia River): 4,770 cfs; redband trout, steelhead, whitefish; emergency closure from mouth to Sherars Falls in effect for steelhead, mouth to Moody rapids is closed to all fishing, fall Chinook and coho numbers are starting to increase; angling for all species is closed from the Northern Boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation upstream to the Pelton Regulating Reservoir from Jan. 1– April 21

Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 3,940 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): 1,220; rainbow trout and mountain whitefish; 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, the water is currently low and dirty with plenty of aquatic vegetation in the channel

Metolius River: 1,300 cfs; bull trout, rainbow trout; good fishing reported; 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

Prineville Reservoir: 19% 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: 10% full; rainbow trout, black crappie, smallmouth bass; water level is still extremely low and bank access is limited to walk-in only

Haystack Reservoir: 88% full; rainbow and brown trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and bullhead catfish

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 Low in the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River Grasslands. It is listed as Low in the Willamette National Forest.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level has been lowered to Level 1 as of Oct. 1

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

• The Monument Area will be closed to climbing beginning January 10th, 2022.

• The Canyon Trail near the Bald Eagle nest is restricted to travel in groups of 4 or less, and noise needs to be kept to a minimum.

• Peregrine and Prairie Falcon climbing closures will go into effect at a later date.

• A park-wide ban on drones is in effect for remainder of nesting season.