Living in Central Oregon and having kids involved in sports often means spending many weekends in Portland, Salem or Eugene for tournaments, track meets, etc.

This past weekend, we stayed two nights in Eugene as my daughter competed in the Oregon Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Springfield.

Her two races were early Saturday morning and early Sunday morning, which meant we had all day Saturday to find some outdoor adventure in the area.

I lived in Eugene in the ‘90s and early 2000s when I went to high school and college there. I was not as outdoor-minded back then as I am now after 20-plus years of living in Bend. I had hiked Spencer Butte in Eugene many times, but somehow had never climbed nearby Mount Pisgah.

My original plan was to hike Spencer Butte, but after reading about the abundance of poison oak along the narrow trails, we quickly nixed that idea. I decided on Mount Pisgah, which is also home to poison oak but offers a wide trail to the summit on which it can be avoided.

My son Mason and I (and our small dog Manny) made the 10-minute drive from our hotel to the trailhead, while my wife and daughter headed to the mall at Valley River Center in Eugene.

Howard Buford Recreation Area

The trailhead is located near the Mount Pisgah Arboretum, a 209-acre nature education facility where visitors can explore the ecology of the southern Willamette Valley.

Mount Pisgah is part of the 2,363-acre Howard Buford Recreation Area, between Springfield and Pleasant Hill and the largest of Lane County’s 73 parks. Pisgah has a summit elevation of 1,531 feet and rises 1,000 feet above the Willamette River’s Coast and Middle Forks, which flow around the mountain.

Numerous trails twist on and around Mount Pisgah, but we settled on Trail #1, Beistel’s West Summit Trail, which is the main hiker route to the summit and is about 3.2 miles round-trip. (Bikes and motor vehicles are not allowed on the trails.)

Steep trail, short hike

The trail started out pretty steep, with little shade, on a clear, warm afternoon. I carried Manny to give the little guy a break, and eventually the trail flattened out and led us into some trees that provided shade.

Coming out of the trees, we approached the summit and were treated to panoramic views of the surrounding Willamette Valley. To the east, we could see the rolling green hills of the McKenzie River Valley and could just barely make out Diamond Peak among the storm clouds in the Cascades. (Saturday was one of those odd days when it rained in Bend and stayed dry in the Willamette Valley.)

To the west, we could see the Coast Fork of the Willamette and parts of Springfield and Eugene.

After about 15 minutes enjoying the views on the summit, we made our way back down the same trail. We were tempted to branch off and try other trails, but Manny was getting tired.

The 3.2-mile trek took about 1 hour, 30 minutes, and included almost exactly 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

No, it was not an alpine wonderland-type hike that we are lucky to have here in Central Oregon, but it was an enjoyable jaunt and time well spent while stuck in the Valley.