Central Oregon outdoors, ski and trail conditions

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 25, 2022

Tony Barnes of Vancouver, Washington, gets ready to ski from the top of Hoodoo with Mount Washington and the Three Sisters in the background on Jan. 16.

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.

Most Popular

Deschutes National Forest

Head of the Metolius: Open; packed snow and ice

Lake Creek Trail: Open; snow, packed snow and ice

Lower Canyon Creek (West Metolius Trailhead): Open; snow and ice

Metolius-Windigo: Open; packed snow, snow and ice

Suttle Lake Day Use: Open; up to two feet of snow

Whychus Creek Overlook Trailhead: Open; possibly patchy snow and ice

Whychus Portal (Lower Whychus Trailhead): Open; patchy snow and ice

Willamette National Forest — Three Sisters Wilderness Area

Foley Ridge: Open

McKenzie River Trail: Partially open; closed from Tamolitch Falls Trailhead to Frissell Boat Launch due to fire activity

Separation Lake Trailhead: Open

Rainbow Falls Trailhead: Open

Tamolitch Blue Pool: Open

Ski areas and sno-parks

Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 24

Hoodoo: Open; 60.7-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; 73-inch base; Skyliner is closed for the season; all other lifts open

Willamette Pass: Open; Twilight and EPA operating

Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 23

Deschutes National Forest

Crescent Lake Sno-park: Open; 12-36 inches; poor conditions with shallow coverage

Crescent Junction: Open; 12-36 inches; poor conditions with shallow coverage

Dutchman Sno-park: Open; 48-72 inches; fair conditions; limited parking/no overnight camping; 40-foot max length limit for vehicle/trailer combination; expect heavy use all the time; no dogs

Edison Butte Sno-park: Open; 18-36 inches; fair conditions; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31; There is a temporary closure on Trail 3, between junction 134 and 132, and on Trail 25, between 133 and 125B due to logging

Kapka Butte Sno-park: Open; 45-60 inches; fair conditions; area side roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31

Meissner Sno-park: Open; 18-30 inches; fair conditions; area roads closed through April 1; no dogs

Skyliner Sno-park: Open; gate/road to Tumalo Falls is closed for the season; road is ski/snowshoe trail

Swampy Sno-park: Open; 30-54 inches; fair conditions. No dogs; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31

Vista Butte Sno-park: Open; 24-60 inches; fair conditions; area north of parking area closed to snowmobiles, use Kapka Butte or Wanoga; no dogs

Wanoga Snow Play: Open; 24-30 inches; fair conditions; expect heavy use all the time; area roads closed to highway vehicles Dec. 1-March 31; pack home broken sleds and all trash

Wanoga Snowmobile: Open; 24-36 inches; fair conditions; area roads closed to highway vehicles through March 31

Newberry (Six Mile Sno-park): Open; 0-10 inches; poor conditions due to low snow

Newberry (10 Mile Sno-park): Open; 12-30 inches; fair conditions with thin coverage; road 21 beyond Ten Mile closed to vehicles for winter season

Three Creek Sno-park (Lower): Open; 0-6 inches; poor conditions; Road 16 may not be immediately plowed due to low use and lack of funding

Three Creek Sno-park (Upper): Open; 12-36 inches; fair conditions; Road 16 may not be immediately plowed after a storm

Walt Haring Sno-park: Open; 6-24 inches; poor conditions with shallow coverage

Willamette National Forest

Gold Lake Sno-park: Open

Ikenick Sno-park: Open

Little Nash Sno-park: Open

Maxwell Sno-park: Open

Potato Hill Sno-park: Open

Ray Benson Sno-park: Open

Salt Creek Sno-park: Open

Santiam Sno-park: Open

Waldo Lake Sno-park: Open

Camping

Deschutes National Forest

Allen Springs Campground: Open

Camp Sherman Campground: Open

Lower Bridge Campground: Open

Sisters Cow Camp Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Cycling

East of Bend trails

Swamp Wells: Deep snow

Arnold Cave, Coyote Loop: Muddy

Dry River Canyon: Closed through Aug. 31

All other trails Riding Well

Phil’s Trail Complex

Some trails are closed weekdays until 3 p.m. Friday.

Storm King closed between Storm King’s junction with Phil’s Trail and Grand Slam

Storm King Upper: Closed

Ben’s, K.G.B., Kent, M.T.B., Marvin’s Garden: Ice

C.O.D., E.L.V., Expressway, Phil’s: Muddy

All other trails under snow

Wanoga Trail Complex

All trails muddy or winter mix

North of Skyliner trails

Shevlin: Winter mix

All other trails in deep snow

Swampy Lakes trails

Tumalo Creek: Muddy

All other trails in deep snow

Cascade Lakes trails

All trails in deep snow

Sunriver area trails

All trails deep snow or winter mix

Prineville and Ochoco trails

66 Trails: Muddy

Prineville Bike Park: Riding well

All other trails in deep snow

Sisters trails

Peterson Ridge, PRT East, PRT Middle, PRT West, Metolius-Windigo (Black Butte): Muddy

All other trails in deep snow

Maston complex

All trails riding well

Redmond trails

The Saddle: Closed for nesting eagles

Cline Butte: Winter mix

Gray Butte: Ice

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

Waldo Lake Region

All trails under deep snow

Cascade Crest

All trails under deep snow

McKenzie Region

McKenzie River trail closed from Tamolitch Trailhead to Fissell Boat Launch due to Knoll Fire

All trails in deep snow

Fishing

Updated at 10 a.m. Feb. 24

Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 3,770 cfs; brown trout, rainbow trout; anglers reporting good fishing in the mornings and evenings; artificial flies and lures only, no limit on brown trout

Metolius River: 1,240 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

McKenzie River (at Clear Lake): 331 cfs

McKenzie River (near Belknap Springs): 269 cfs; rainbow and coastal cutthroat trout; fire cleanup still being conducted in the area, access may be limited; all nonadipose fin-clipped trout must be released; lures and artificial flies only

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.

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