Conditions report for areas east of Bend, sno-parks

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 2, 2021

An angler wets his line along a section of the Crooked River in 2018.

Go east this weekend for spring-like weather and plenty of room to socially distance on most trails and fishing spots.

With temperatures more seasonable, bugs are beginning to hatch meaning the fish are more likely to bite in the warmer parts of the day along open sections of Central Oregon rivers and lakes.

Fire crews have also been out performing prescribed burns near Pine Mountain and Crescent this week, so check centraloregonfire.org before you venture out to those areas.

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

Hiking and Day Use Sites

NOTE: Many of the trails along seasonally closed highways and forest service roads remain open, but can only be accessed by hike, snowshoe, cross country ski or snowmobile due to snow levels. See Forest websites for more details and restrictions.

Deschutes National Forest

Bessie Butte Trail: Open

Boyd Cave Day Use Area: Open

Horse Butte Trailhead: Open; mostly snow free and clear

Pine Mountain: Open; prescribed burns in the area through Friday

Ochoco National Forest

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

Fry Trailhead: Open

Hammer Creek Trailhead: 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

Rock Creek Trailhead: Open

Round Mountain North Trailhead: Open

Round Mountain South Trailhead: Open

Scotty Creek Trailhead: Open

South Prong Trailhead: Open

Steins Pillar Trailhead: Open

Twin Pillars North Trailhead: Open

Twin Pillars South Trailhead: Open

Wildcat North Trailhead: Open

Wildcat South Trailhead: Open

Bureau of Land Management

Badlands Rock Trail: Open

Black Hills ACEC: Open; climbing and geocaching are prohibited

Chimney Rock Trail: Open

Christmas Valley Sand Dunes: Open

Crack-in-the-Ground: Open

Derrick Cave: Open

Flatiron Rock Trail: Open

Fossil Lake ACEC: Open; motor vehicles and fossil collecting prohibited

Green Mountain: Open

Lost Forest: Open, vehicles restricted to designated roads only

Lower Crooked River: Open

North Fork: Open

Oregon Badlands Wilderness Tumulus Trail: Open

Oregon State Parks

Fort Rock State Natural Area: Open; day-use hours 8 a.m,-8 p.m.; rock scrambling closed in southeast area to protect nesting falcons

Jasper Point: Open; boat ramp closed due to low water conditions; camping is closed for the season

Prineville Reservoir State Park: Open; expect reduced services

Ski areas and snow parks

Updated 8 a.m. April 1

Hoodoo: Open; 96.9-inch base; Hodag lift and Autobahn Tubing Park are closed

Mt. Bachelor: Open; 107- inch base; First Rays lift is closed, Red Chair and Outback are closed for the season but will be used as backup if needed

Willamette Pass: 45 inches at lodge; open weekends only

Deschutes National Forest

Crescent Lake Sno-park: Open; 2-8 inches; poor conditions with low snow

Crescent Junction: Open; 2-8 inches; poor conditions with low snow

Dutchman Sno-park: Open; 60-90 inches; good conditions, limited parking and no overnight camping; 40-foot max length limit for vehicle/trailer combination; expect heavy use

Edison Butte Sno-park: Open; 12-36 inches; marginal conditions

Kapka Butte Sno-park: Open; 36-60 inches; fair conditions

Meissner Sno-park: Open; 8-30 inches; marginal conditions; no more grooming this season; lodge currently closed

Skyliner Sno-park: Open; unknown snow depth, access road closed for the season, road is now a ski/snowshoe trail

Swampy Sno-park: Open; 30-48 inches; fair conditions; no dogs

Vista Butte Sno-park: Open; 36-54 inches; fair conditions; area north of parking area closed to snowmobiles, use Kapka Butte or Wanoga

Wanoga Snow Play: Open; 20-36 inches; marginal conditions; expect heavy use; pack out broken sleds and all trash; shelter is closed

Wanoga Snowmobile: Open; 20-36 inches; marginal conditions; shelter is closed

Newberry (Six Mile Sno-park): Open; 0-6 inches; poor conditions due to low snow.

Newberry (10 Mile Sno-park): Open; 9-24 inches; fair conditions, low snow around sno-park; road beyond park closed to vehicles for the season

Three Creek Sno-park (Lower): Open; 0-6 inches; poor conditions due to low snow

Three Creek Sno-park (Upper): Open; 0-14 inches; marginal conditions; bare pavement on Trail 8 above park, not recommended

Walt Haring Sno-park: 0-4 inches; poor conditions with low snow

Ochoco National Forest

Bandit Springs Sno-park: Open

Mark’s Creek Sno-park: Open

Ochoco Divide Sno-park: Open

Walton Sno-park: Open

Willamette National Forest

Gold Lake Sno-park: Open

Ikenick Sno-park: Open

Little Nash Sno-park: Open

Maxwell Sno-park: Open; Mountain View and South Maxwell shelters are closed

Potato Hill Sno-park: Open

Ray Benson Sno-park: Open; 54-66 inches; fair conditions, expect heavy use

Salt Creek Sno-park: Open

Santiam Sno-park: Open

Waldo Lake Sno-park: Open

Camping

Deschutes National Forest

Pine Mountain Campground: Open; no campfires

Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland

Allen Creek Horse Camp: Open

Big Spring Campground: Open

Biggs Springs Campground: Open

Bingham Springs Campground: Open

Cottonwood Campground: Open

Cottonwood Pit Campground: Open

Cyrus Horse Camp: Open

Elkhorn Campground: Campground: Open

Frazier Campground: Open

Mud Springs Horse Camp: Open; no campfires

Salters Cabin Horse Camp: Open

Scotts Campground: Open

Whistler Campground: Open; no campfires

White Rock Campground: Open; no campfires

Wolf Creek Campground: Open

Wolf Creek Industrial Campground: Open

BLM — Prineville District

Big Bend Campground: Open

Castle Rock Campground: Open

Chimney Rock Campground: Open

Cobble Rock Campground: Open

Lone Pine Campground: Open

Palisades Campground: Open

Post Pile Campground: Open

Stillwater Campground: Open

Cycling

Fatbike and winter trails

Wanoga — 3 PSI, Wanoga — Outer Loop: Rideable snow

Ben’s-MTB-Kent’s, Cline Buttes, Horse Butte Loop, Horse Ridge Area, Madras East Hills, Maston, The Radlands: Riding well

East of Bend trails

Dry River Canyon: Closed through Aug. 31

Coyote Loop, Swamp Wells: Muddy

All other trails riding well

Prineville and Ochoco trails

66 Trails: Muddy

Cougar Creek, Independent Mine, Lookout Mountain, Round Mountain, Scotty Creek: Deep snow; deadfall reported

Prineville Bike Park: Riding Well

Fishing

Updated at 8 a.m. April 1

Crooked River (below Opal Springs): 1,248 cfs; rainbow trout and mountain whitefish; only fish downstream of Bowman Dam to Lake Billy Chinook; fishing has been good but water remains low; 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

Prineville Reservoir: 51% full; rainbow trout, small and largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, crayfish; trout fishing has been fair, good for warm weather species

Ochoco Reservoir: 23% full; rainbow trout, black crappie, smallmouth bass; trout fishing should start increasing with lower temperatures; ramp still likely unusable due to low water levels

Fire danger is currently listed as Moderate in the Deschutes National Forest. Fire danger is listed as Low in the Ochoco and Willamette National Forests.

Industrial Fire Precaution Level is currently at Level 1 for the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Prineville District — Bureau of Land Management.

The following Bureau of Land Management trails are now closed through Aug. 31 to protect nesting raptors:

  • Millican Plateau OHV Trail System (Route 95 only)
  • South side of Trout Creek Trail including climbing walls
  • Cline Buttes Recreation Area (portions of Deep Canyon, Fryrear, Maston, Jaguar Road)
  • Horny Hollow Trail
  • Dry River Canyon

For more information visit blm.gov

Marketplace