Central Oregon outdoors and trail conditions
Published 12:00 am Friday, June 3, 2022
- Suttle Lake Loop Trail is an easy 3.6-mile loop with little elevation gain.
This weekend head toward Sisters to explore the forests, lakes and crystal-clear waters of the Metolius River and Whychus Creek. Many campgrounds are opening up this time of year, and hiking and biking trails are becoming more accessible.
Remember that some upper elevation trails are still snowy, but there’s still plenty to see and do at the mid- and lower-level sites.
For a full list of conditions updated regularly, please visit centraloregonexplore.com.
Hiking and Day Use Sites
NOTE: Trails above 6,500 ft. 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
Black Butte Trailhead: Open; shallow snow on uppermost 200 yards
Boyd Cave Day Use Area: Open
Cabot Lake Trailhead: Open; patchy snow with moderate downfall to lake; deep snow beyond lake
Head of Jack Creek Trailhead: Open; snow-free and clear; possible downfall
Metolius River Trail: Open; snow-free and clear
Jack Lake Trailhead: Open; patchy snow with possible downfall; Central Cascades Wilderness Permit required starting June 15
Jefferson Lake: Open; lower 3 miles snow-free and clear; unknown conditions beyond
Lake Creek Trail: Open; snow-free and clear
Lower Canyon Creek (West Metolius Trailhead): Open; snow-free and clear
Rockpile Lake: Open; snow-free with light downfall on first mile
Round Lake Trailhead: Open; patchy snow with moderate downfall
Suttle Lake Day Use: Open; snow-free and clear
Tumalo Falls Trailhead: Open; site can get extremely busy; only park in designated areas or find another route to the falls. No dogs or stock allowed within the Bend Municipal Watershed; possible downfall and snow on upper portion near Bridge Creek
Whychus Creek Overlook Trailhead: Open; snow-free and clear
Whychus Portal (Lower Whychus Trailhead): Open; snow-free and clear
Ochoco National Forest
Alder Springs Trailhead: Open
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
Camping
Deschutes National Forest
Allen Springs Campground: Open
Allingham Campground: Open
Camp Sherman Campground: Open
Cold Springs Campground: Open
Gorge Campground: Open
Graham Corral Horse Camp: Open; no water
Indian Ford Campground: Open
Jack Creek Campground: Open
Link Creek Campground: Open
Lower Bridge Campground: Open
Lower Canyon Creek Campground: Open
Monty Campground: Opens Memorial Day; no campfires
Perry South Campground: Opens Memorial Day
Pine Mountain Campground: Open; no campfires
Pine Rest Campground: Open
Pioneer Ford Campground: Open
Scout Lake Campground: Open
Sisters Cow Camp Horse Camp: Open; no campfires
Smiling River Campground: Open
South Shore Campground: Open
Three Creek Meadow Campground & Horse Camp: Open
Cycling
East of Bend trails
Dry River Canyon: Closed from Feb. 1-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
Lower Whoops, EXT, Helipad, Pinedrops, Storm King Upper: Closed
All other trails riding well
Wanoga Trail Complex
Dino Moe Humm: Deep snow
All other trails riding well
North of Skyliner trails
Shevlin, Lower Mrazek: Riding well
Farewell: Variable
All other trails have some snow
Swampy Lakes trails
Tumalo Creek, Tumalo Ridge: Riding well
All other trails in deep snow
Cascade Lakes trails
All trails in deep snow
Mt. Bachelor
Bachy West XC: Deep snow
All other trails closed
Sunriver area trails
Crater Rim: Deep snow
All other trails riding well
Prineville and Ochoco trails
Independent Mine, Lookout Mountain, Round Mountain: Deep snow
Scotty Creek: Variable
All other trails riding well
Sisters trails
Upper Butte Loop, Metolius-Windigo (99 lower/upper): Deep snow
Metolius-Windigo (99 lower): Variable
All other trails riding well
Maston complex
All trails riding well
Redmond trails
The Saddle: Closed for nesting season
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
McKenzie River: Riding well
All other trails in deep snow
Fishing
Updated at 10 a.m. June 2
Middle Deschutes (Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook): 3,840 cfs; brown trout, rainbow trout; no recent report; artificial flies and lures only, no limit on brown trout
Metolius River: 1,600 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): 674 cfs
McKenzie River (near Belknap Springs): 466 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; anglers in the Deschutes arm are seeing bull, brown and rainbow trout, while a few bull trout are being caught in the Metolius arm; 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
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.