Parents of school-age children can (and should) be forgiven when they do not rejoice over the specter of the blank three-day weekend on the calendar. After months of school projects, sports, 8th-grade socials and other tween-to-teen benchmarks, I forgot that my imagination is often the only thing standing between my kids and screen zombification.

But over Memorial Day weekend, I was saved by the 10-kilometer forced march/history lesson. Because this is Central Oregon, options abound for a hike of that length. Just ask our kids: We could have visited any number of waterfalls, caves or ice cream parlors within 10,000 meters of our front stoop. The Deschutes River Trail from Dillon Falls to Benham Falls, for example, is gorgeous, shaded and local!

Such trails are also packed with tourists. Instead, we eschewed the holiday crowds and orchestrated our own shuttle between Madras and Pelton Dam, via the Willow Creek Canyon Trail. The route is largely a two-lane gravel road adorned with juniper trees and gigantic mesas, all of it framing, in part, a High Desert landscape that plays host to a variety of raptors, rodents and even a jalopy graveyard.

Feeling railroaded

This is the level of creative trip-planning that allowed us to survive pandemic homeschooling.

First, the history lesson: What is now the Willow Creek Canyon Trail was originally a trunk line connecting the Oregon Trunk Railroad (later acquired by the BNSF Railroad) to Madras built during in the early 20th century. In 1909, railroad barons E.H. Harriman and James Hill competed for the railroad rights to Central Oregon, which at that time was perhaps the largest contiguous area in the U.S. without rail transportation. The Hill and Harriman workforces toiled day and night, guzzled moonshine and even attempted sabotage with explosives against competing camps of workers. By 1911, the line had reached Madras and eventually Bend. Hill died in 1911, but the railroad wars ultimately brought civilization to Central Oregon.

Amid the flurry of digging, laying and abandoning track that ensued in the decades hence, this small section of the Oregon Trunk Railroad was one of the casualties. Central Oregon’s notoriously difficult terrain resulted in lots of abandoned trail tracks. The fight to resurrect the route into a hiking trail wasn’t without its own drama. A local landowner resented the federal right of way becoming a recreational path for the general public. Ultimately, the public won out and the trail has welcomed hikers for nearly 20 years.

The modern hiking trail begins off C Street in Madras, just under the (active) train trestle that stands sentry over the west end of town. Much of the trail resembles a gravel forest road, consistent with its origins as an actual route for train cars (and some current motor cars, but we’ll get to that later).

Wild, wild life

As the trail juts northwest from town, it evolves from a littered urban landscape to a ridgeline vista that offers breathtaking views of snow-capped Olallie Butte and Mount Jefferson. Willow Creek babbles far below the trail, out of reach from pets, so I recommend water bottles and portable dog dishes. The sheer cliffside above provides homes for cliff swallows, and the red-tailed hawks who hunt them. More importantly, they provide opportunities to bore our children with semi-informed geology lessons (something about volcanoes — we only have room for so much nerdiness in 800 words).

Far below the cliffs, a large gopher snake wisely rustled in the shade of a bush, far from the hungry eyes of hawks and golden eagles. Rattlesnakes also populate the area, which should serve as a reminder to keep your pup on a leash.

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Near the west end of the trail, assuming you get that far, lies Canyon Ranch Camp, hailing itself, perhaps morbidly, a “Place of Rest for God’s Children.” The camp seemed to be a source for some automobile traffic that forced us off trail at a couple of points along the way. The trail ultimately connects to Pelton Dam Road after passing private driveways. There is parking on this portion of the trail, just off of Pelton Dam Road.

Plan to get wet

Hot and exposed, the Willow Creek Canyon Trail is not an ideal August excursion, but it’s terrific for a mild spring or early summer day. The directional options aren’t exactly legion. There’s an out-and-back that can total nearly 13 miles. Our method required a bit more planning along with some multi-car family privilege: We shuttled my Toyota Tacoma to the west end of the trail near Pelton Dam, and drove our hiking party back to Madras, where the hike commences. The entire trail might have 200 feet in elevation change, and was downhill heading west, so it is not an aerobically challenging hike in either direction.

After 6.3 miles of trekking on hot gravel, we knew a cool oasis would be necessary to prevent inter-generational revolt. We had wisely packed our inflatable paddleboards, and cooled off at the Pelton Park Marina. I can recommend the hot honey chicken sandwich, for sale at the Dockside Café overlooking Lake Simtustus.

Getting there: To find the trailhead, drive north on U.S. Highway 97 into Madras, and turn left on C Street about halfway through town (the streets are alphabetical, you’ll do fine). Follow C Street as it becomes Canyon Road, and see the turnoff for the trailhead at the south side of the road. If you shuttle out to Pelton Park Marina as we did, turn left on J Street as you enter town from the south, and drive west as it becomes Belmont Lane. Then turn right on Elk Drive a few miles out of town for about one mile, then left on Pelton Dam Road. Lake Simtustus and Pelton Park Marina will be on your left.

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