How about that for a taste of winter. Unfortunately, yesterday morning’s snow eventually turning to rain could make for some crummy conditions this weekend. Expect soggy trails at lower elevations, especially with temperatures expected to rise and rain in the forecast Sunday. To avoid ruining trails, head out to the desert or Redmond-Prineville area to find some dryer earth that’ll soak up the precipitation.

Skiers, be ready for a reopening of Mt. Bachelor this weekend since its closing following opening day. Sno-parks are also open and the recent snow should stick in the mountains so make sure to pick up a permit before heading out.

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

Hiking and Day Use Sites

NOTE: There is snow above 5,000 feet and many summer trails have snow on them. These trails remain open, but may be accessible only by snowshoeing, cross country skiing or other means due to accumulating snowpack. See forest websites for more details and restrictions.

Ochoco National Forest

• Alder Springs Trailhead: Open
• Antelope Flat Reservoir: Open
• 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
• Henderson Flat OHV Trail System: Open
• Henderson Flat Staging Area: 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
• Scotty Creek 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: Open
• Wildcat North Trailhead: Open
• Wildcat South Trailhead: Open

Bureau of Land Management

• Chimney Rock Trail: Open
• Cline Buttes Recreation Area: Open
• Horny Hollow Trail: 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
• Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint: Open
• Prineville Reservoir State Park: Open
• Smith Rock State Park: Open

Ski areas and sno-parks

Ochoco National Forest

• Bandit Springs Sno-park: Open as of Nov. 1; no report
• Mark’s Creek Sno-park: Open as of Nov. 1; no report
• Ochoco Divide Sno-park: Open as of Nov. 1; no report
• Walton Sno-park: Open as of Nov. 1; no report

Camping

Ochoco National Forest

• Allen Creek Horse Camp: Open
• Barnhouse Campground: Open
• Big Spring Campground: Open
• Biggs Springs Campground: Open
• Bingham Springs Campground: Open
• Cold Springs Guard Station: Open
• Cottonwood Campground: Open
• Cottonwood Pit Campground: Open
• Cyrus Horse Camp: Open
• Deep Creek Campground: Open
• Dry Creek Horse Camp: Open
• Elkhorn Campground: Open
• Frazier Campground: Open
• Haystack Reservoir Group Site: Open
• Mud Springs Horse Camp: Open
• Ochoco Divide Campground: Open
• Ochoco Divide Group Site: Open
• Ochoco Forest Campground: Open
• Ochoco Forest Camp Group Pavillion: Open
• Ochoco Ranger Rental House: Open
• Salters Cabin Horse Camp: Open
• Scotts Campground: Open
• Sugar Creek Campground and Day Use Area: Open
• Walton Lake Campground: Open
• Walton Lake Group Campsites: Open
• Whistler Campground: Open
• White Rock Campground: Open
• Wildcat Campground and Day Use Area: Open
• Wildwood Campground: Open
• Wiley Flat Campground: Open
• Wolf Creek Campground: Open
• Wolf Creek Industrail Campground: Open

BLM — Prineville District

• Barr Road North Staging Area: Open year-round
• Big Bend Campground: Open year-round
• Buckhorn Staging Area: Open year-round
• Castle Rock Campground: Open year-round
• Chimney Rock Campground: Open year-round
• Cobble Rock Campground: Open year-round
• Lone Pine Campground: Open year-round
• Macks Canyon Recreation Site: Open year-round
• Palisades Campground: Open year-round
• Post Pile Campground: Open year-round
• Steelhead Falls: Open year-round; no potable water
• Stillwater Campground: Open year-round

Cycling

Prineville and Ochoco trails

• Prineville Bike Park: Needs report
• All other trails riding well

Maston complex

• All trails riding well

Redmond trails

• All trails riding well

Madras East Trails

• E-Bikes allowed on all trails
• All trails riding well

Fishing

Updated at 2 p.m. Dec. 6

• Lower Deschutes (Pelton Dam to Columbia River): 7,440 cfs; redband trout, steelhead, whitefish
• Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 4,930 cfs; brown trout, rainbow trout; anglers should use caution on the river margins where shelf ice may be present; open year-round for trout, artificial flies and lures only, no limit on brown trout
• Crooked River (below Opal Springs): 187; 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
• Metolius River: 1,520 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; the Metolius above Allingham Bridge is Closed till May 22
• Prineville Reservoir: 57% full; rainbow trout, small and largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, crayfish; anglers report fair fishing for trout, crappie and bass. Currently experiencing an algae bloom
• Ochoco Reservoir: 31% full; rainbow trout, black crappie, smallmouth bass; fishing has been good near Ochoco Dam with reports of nice size rainbow trout
• Haystack Reservoir: 75% full; rainbow and brown trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and bullhead catfish; slow fishing until restocked and populations rebound
• Lake Billy Chinook: Bull, brown and rainbow trout, kokanee, smallmouth bass; anglers in the Deschutes arm are seeing bull, brown and rainbow trout; Tribal fishing permits are required for the Metolius; for the remainder of the reservoir, harvest is limited to one bull trout over 24 inches under the daily trout limit; anglers can now keep five kokanee in addition to daily trout limit; no bag or size limits on brown trout and bass; the Metolius Arm (the western third) is closed for season and will reopen March 1; the rest of the lake remains open all year
• Walton Lake: Rainbow trout; Open year-round, but this gated facility does not have vehicle access when campground is closed, which it is.

Fire danger is currently listed as Moderate in the Ochoco National Forests, the Crooked River Grasslands. The Deschutes National Forests and Willamette National Forests fire danger is low.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level has been lowered to 1 as of Sep. 20 in the Deschutes, Ochoco and the Crooked River Grasslands and the Willamette National Forests.

As of July 22, 2020, Deschutes River access is closed due to safety concerns and to prevent further erosion to the riverbank. The access point will be closed until further notice. For more information visit bendparksandrec.org

• The Monument Area will be open to climbing beginning July 7, 2023.