Central Oregon outdoors and trail conditions
Published 12:00 am Friday, June 10, 2022
- Young mountain bikers ride along the Roundabout Trail near Sunriver in 2020.
After a warm week, this weekend brings another dose of rain to Central Oregon. While the forecast looks a little on the damp side, there’s still lots of terrain waiting to be explored.
Head toward the lush forests south of Bend or the arid ancient lake beds of Lake County for some solitude. Just don’t forget to bring a rain jacket and be prepared for whatever weather comes your way.
For a full list of conditions updated regularly, please visit centraloregonexplore.com.
Hiking and Day Use Sites
NOTE: Trails above 6,500 feet are under deep snow. The snow line is around 5,000 ft. Most of the trails along seasonally closed highways and Forest Service roads remain open, but can only be accessed by hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing or snowmobiling due to snowpack. See forest websites for more details and restrictions.
Deschutes National Forest
Bessie Butte Trail: Open
Boyd Cave Day Use Area: Open
Fall River Trail: Open; likely snow-free and clear
Horse Butte Trailhead: Open; light deadfall above Swamp Wells Horse Camp near junction with Crater Rim; likely snow-free and clear; mud and snow in high elevation areas
Lava Cast Forest Trailhead: Open; likely snow-free and clear; NW Forest Pass required
Lava Island Day Use: Open
Lava Lands: Open; likely snow-free and clear
Lava River Cave — Show Cave: limited capacity, gate may periodically close to help with attendance limitations; cave only open to the halfway point at the Sand Garden
Lucky Lake Trailhead: Open; patchy snow with moderate downfall from trailhead to Lucky Lake; deep snow beyond Lucky Lake
Many Lakes Trailhead: Open; patchy and sometimes deep snow with possible downfall
North Twin Boating Area: Open; likely patchy snow with some downfall
Sun Lava Trailhead: Open; heavy use on weekends; snow-free and clear
Willamette National Forest — Diamond Peak Wilderness
Bear Mountain Trail: Open
Blue Lake Trail: Open
Corrigan Lake Trail: Open
Diamond Peak North: Open
Diamond Peak South: Open
Diamond Peak Tie: Open
Happy Lake: Open
Hemlock Butte Trail: Open
Marie Lake Trail: Open
Mt. Yoran Trail: Open
Pioneer Gulch Trail: Open
Rockpile Trail: Open
Willamette National Forest — Waldo Lake Wilderness Area
Abernethy-Deer Creek Trailhead: Open
Betty Lake Trailhead: Open
Betty Lake Trailhead: Open
Black Creek Trail: Open
Bobby Lake Trailhead: Open
Bunchgrass Trailhead — Lower: Open
Bunchgrass Trailhead — Upper: Open
Cupit Mary Meadow Trail: Open
Devil’s Garden Trailhead: Open
Erma Bell Trailhead: Open
Fuji Mountain Trailhead at Gold Lake: Open
Gander Lake Trailhead: Open
Gold Lake Day Use Area: Open
Harralson Trail: Open
Helen Lake Trailhead: Open
High Divide Trailhead: Open
Jim Weaver Loop Trailhead (Waldo Lake Trail): Open
Koch Mountain Trailhead: Open
Marilyn Lakes Trailhead: Open
Mt. Ray Trailhead: Open
North Waldo Day Use Area: Open
Rigdon Lakes Trail: Open
Salmon Lakes — Waldo Mountain Trailhead: Open
Spirit Lake-Waldo Meadows Trailhead: Open
Swan Lake Trailhead: Open
Twin Peak Trailhead: Open
Verdun Trailhead: Open
Wahana Trail: Open
Whig and Torrey Way Trailhead: Open
Winchester Ridge Trailhead: Open
Bureau of Land Management
Black Hills ACEC: Open; climbing and geocaching are prohibited
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes: Open
Crack-in-the-Ground: Open
Derrick Cave: Open
Fossil Lake ACEC: Open; motor vehicles and fossil collecting prohibited
Green Mountain: Open
Lost Forest: Open, vehicles restricted to designated roads only
Oregon State Parks
Fort Rock State Natural Area: Open; rock scrambling closed in southeast area to protect nesting falcons; cave tours canceled
La Pine State Park: Open
Camping
Deschutes National Forest
Big River Campground: Open
Blue Bay Campground: Open; no campfires
Bull Bend Campground: Open; no campfires
Candle Creek Campground: Open
Crane Prairie Campground: Open
Crescent Creek Campground: Open; no campfires
Crescent Lake Campground: Open
Cultus Corral Horse Camp: Open; no campfires
Cultus Lake Campground: Open
East Davis Lake Campground: Open
Fall River Campground: Open
Fall River Guard Station: Open
Gull Point Campground: Open
McKay Crossing Campground: Open; no campfires
North Davis Creek Campground: Closed for the season due to hazard trees
North Twin Lake Campground: Open
Ogden Group Campground: Open; no water
Prairie Campground: Open; no water
Pringle Falls Campground: Open; no campfires
Quinn River Campground: Closed for 2022 due to hazard trees
Reservoir Campground: Closed for 2022 due to hazard trees
Rock Creek Campground: Open
Sheep Bridge Campground: Open
South Shore Campground: Open
South Twin Lake Campground: Open
Sunset Cove Campground: Open
West South Twin Campground: Open
Whitefish Horse Camp: Open; likely melted out
Windy Group Campground: Open
Wyeth Campground: Open; no campfires
Cycling
Sunriver area trails
Crater Rim: Deep snow
All other trails riding well
Waldo Lake Region
All trails under deep snow
Fishing
Updated at 10 a.m. June 9
Upper Deschutes at Benham Falls: 1,380 cfs; rainbow trout, brown trout; anglers report good rainbow and brown trout fishing below Wickiup Dam
Fall River: Brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout; open to fishing all year; fly-fishing with barbless hooks only
Crane Prairie Reservoir: 90% full; rainbow trout, brook trout, largemouth bass, kokanee; anglers report improved fishing with warmer weather
Wickiup Reservoir: 38% full; kokanee, brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass; anglers should expect to see fewer kokanee this year following recent reservoir drawdowns; under low water conditions, boat ramps may be unavailable for launching large watercraft
East Lake: Brown trout, kokanee, rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon
Paulina Lake: Kokanee, rainbow and brown trout; good fishing for kokanee and brown trout
North Twin Lake: Rainbow trout; good fishing reported
South Twin Lake: Rainbow trout; good fishing reported
Davis Lake: rainbow trout and largemouth bass; water level is low and it may be difficult to launch larger boats; fair fishing for largemouth bass; fly fishing only; fair fishing, catch and release for trout, no limit on size or number for warmwater fish;
Lava Lake: Rainbow trout; algae bloom; no road access due to snow; recent reports are mixed, should improve as water quality does
Little Lava Lake: Rainbow trout, brook trout and whitefish; ; best methods are bait, lures and flies, still-fished or trolled
Cultus Lake: Mackinaw, rainbow and brook trout; troll depths for mackinaw and shallower areas for rainbows
Hosmer Lake: Brook, cutthroat and rainbow trout; fly fishing and catch and release only with barbless hooks; good fishing reported
Elk Lake: Brook trout and kokanee; jigging, still-fishing and trolling from a boat or fly fishing are best
Diamond Lake: trout; all brown and tiger trout must be released; trout fishing has been good on lures; if you catch one over 20 inches, take it to the marina to be entered for a raffle
Crescent Lake: 17% full; kokanee, mackinaw, rainbow and brown trout, whitefish and chub; one lake trout per day, 24-inch minimum; fishing is poor; lake level is extremely low, developed ramps are unavailable for launching boats
Waldo Lake: Boating restricted to electric motors or non-motorized vessels
Odell Lake: Lake trout, kokanee, rainbow trout; fair fishing for kokanee with some larger fish being caught; 25 kokanee per day in addition to daily trout limitmerged
Fire danger is currently listed as moderate 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 April 1
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 has been closed to climbing since Jan. 10.
• The Canyon Trail near the Bald Eagle nest is restricted to travel in groups of four 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 parkwide ban on drones is in effect for remainder of nesting season.
The Saddle is closed as of Feb. 1 and will be in effect for the remainder of the nesting season.