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