Zach Urness|Salem Statesman Journal
Show Caption
This won’t come across as any surprise, but Oregon is home to some of the world’s most spectacular forests and trees.
From yew to sitka, ponderosa to redwood, from redcedar to myrtle, oak, hemlock and Douglas-fir, trees are the star of the show in the Beaver State.
A few months ago — pre-pandemic —I sat down with Chandra LeGue, author of “Oregon's Ancient Forests: A Hiking Guide” and a field coordinator for Oregon Wild. We picked our 10 favorite tree-centric trails — hikes that are all about interesting, or unique, or downright bizarre patches of forest across the state.
Our conversation can be heard online in an episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast. But included here are our 10 picks that include trails in every corner of the state.
(Note: While most of Oregon's outdoors has reopened, double-check before traveling for COVID-19 limits or closures. See the online version of this story for links to stories with more details, including directions).
1: Oregon Redwoods (Zach pick)
My first pick has to be the Oregon redwoods, just because nothing quite compares with the majesty of an old-growth redwood, and because there’reso few places to see them on Beaver State soil.
Redwoods just look and feel different from any other tree.
There are actually two places to hike among Oregon redwoods and both are located around the town of Brookings in the extreme southwest corner of the state. My favorite is Oregon Redwood Trail. It’s a little more remote, a little farther back there, and I love this trail because it starts off being pretty nondescript. You’re hiking through the forest, pretty typical, and then the first grove of giant redwoods show up out of the mist and just tower over everything around them. I love the hikes where the trees really jump out, and that’s true here.
(Listen to the podcast for a story on how the grove was saved from plans to log it).
Details: Two ways to explore Oregon's redwoods in Southern Oregon
2: Malheur River Canyon (Chandra pick)
Here’s a great trail for a unique mix of trees: The Malheur River Trail. It begins about 5.5 miles from the river’s headwaters, in the Malheur National Forest southeast of John Day, at the Malheur Ford, and heads downstream past steep canyon walls up to 1,000 feet tall.
Designated as a Wild and Scenic River corridor, the forest along the trail is dominated by big lodgepole and ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs, with quite a bit of forest diversity. The trail follows the river, climbs to forested benches, crosses small drainages with vibrant riparian vegetation and enters a grove of ancient larch trees. The recommended segment of the trail is 4.5 miles round trip.
3: Echo Basin (Zach)
For my next pick I am going with Echo Basin, a 3-mile trail off South Santiam Highway near Tombstone Pass in the CascadeRange.
The reason I am picking this trail — which is typically known for spring wildflowers — is that it’s home to one of Oregon’s most impressive groves of Alaska Yellow Cedar. They are a really cool tree that only grows in a handful of places in Oregon and here, they stand out. They have a grey-ish white, shaggy bark, with an almost golden hue to them. They stick out to pretty much everyone whohikes this trail.
One of the reasons they grow in this area is the geologic region — it’s an area known as the Old Cascades. It’s a much older range of mountains compared to the volcanoes of the young Cascades, and the old ones are a lot more biodiverse. A lot of really interesting wildflowers and trees all grow here, including the Alaskas, which are some of the oldest trees recorded — they can age to 1,800 years old and have kind of drooping appearance that goes along with shaggy bark.
Details and directions: Echo Basin comes alive with wildflowers and Alaska yellow cedar
4: Marys Peak East Ridge-Tie Trail Loop (Chandra)
My next pick is also best known for the spring wildflower displays in its summit meadows, but the forests that surround Marys Peak, and that shelter the Corvallis water supply, are just as worthy of exploring.
Located on the eastern edge of the Coast Range and Siuslaw National Forest, Marys Peakis the highest peak in the Coast Range and not far outside of Corvallis. The recommended 5-mile loop begins on the East Ridge Trail at Conner Camp, climbs through a tall, cathedral-like forest of Douglas-fir and vine maple, then gains elevation through a forest that transitions to a unique stand of old-growth noble firs. The loop uses the Tie Trail, which follows a moist slope of Douglas-fir and hemlock forest dotted with huge cedar trees, to return from the summit area.
More: Winter climb up Oregon's Marys Peak features snowy old-growth forest, sweeping alpine views
5: Myrtle Tree Trail (Zach)
Next I’m again headed down to southwest Oregon to pick Myrtle Tree Trail — which, as you might guess, I picked because it’s home to the most impressive grove of Myrtle Trees in Oregon. If you’ve never seen a Myrtle Tree you’re not alone, but there is a good chance you’ve seen myrtlewood items because it has famously beautiful colors in the wood — shades of honey, browns, grays, reds and greens. Myrtlewood items often have a really cool, funky look and there’s a ton of myrtlewood shops on the Oregon Coast.
The trees are just as cool — and that’s evident on this trail, which is east of Gold Beach along the Rogue River. The trees kind of look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book — they’re very short and squat, with branches sprouting up almost like giant antennae into a huge crown. The trail is very short, so it’s best as a throw-in on a coastal trip or Rogue River trip, but it ends at whatused to be the largest Myrtle Tree in the world.
Apparently, the big tree has been toppled very recently by a storm, but when it was still standing, it was 42 feet in circumference, just a huge base, and 88 feet tall and it was believed to be 400 years old.
More: This Oregon forest full of old-growth myrtle trees is unlike anything you’ve ever seen
6: Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, Big Tree Loop (Chandra)
Most people go for the caves, but the Big Tree Loop at the Oregon Caves National Monument is my next pick.
This diverse and lovely 4-mile loop begins on the Cliff Nature Trail in front of the Visitor Center, climbs to a viewpoint, then joins the Big Tree Trail that ascends through a mixed forest of Douglas-fir, white fir, and cedars. The trail passes through open slopes and meadows with alpine shrubs and wildflowers on the way to the “Big Tree” --a gigantic Douglas-fir with a wooden platform to protect its base. Expanded in 2014, the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve now protects more of the diverse ancient forest and watershed that feeds the famous cave system.
(Be sure to check to see if cave tours and the visitor center are open before you go – these were still closed as of 6/19/20)
7: Valley of the Giants (Zach)
Alright, my fourth pick is a trail we’ve talked about and written about before.
The Valley of the Giants is a 51-acre patch of old-growth forest. It’s home to some of the largest and oldest Douglas-fir and hemlocks in the state. They really are monstrous — almost redwood level in size and girth, right along the beautiful North Fork Siletz River.
The reason this place has always stuck out is that it’s surrounded by one of the most heavily logged areas in Oregon. It’s like an island of giant trees surrounded by, well, a lot of stumps. It’s actually just down the road from the site of the legendary old logging town of Valsetz.
The story of how the Giants were saved is kind of a classic Oregon story. It was thanks to a writer named Maynard Drawson. He was a World War II vet and barber who lived in Salem. Drawson was known for traveling to wild places around the state and writing about them in his series of books called Treasures of Oregon Country.
In 1974 he came to the Valley of the Giants and was really impressed by the size of the trees — just the way they showed what the Coast Range forest used to look like. And he was horrified by the idea the trees would eventually be cut, so he launched a crusade to save the area. He gave lectures, took people on field trips and basically just wore down the Bureau of Land Management until — almost to get him off their back — they preserved it as an Outstanding Natural Area.
A quick note if you’re planning to visit — the drive to the Giants is one of the worst and most confusing in Oregon. WIthout a good map you will 100 percent get lost. So make sure to get the official directions from the BLM in Salem — shoot me an email if you want them at zurness@statesmanjournal.com.
8. Three Pyramids (Chandra)
Speaking of the Old Cascades, we're headed back there for my next pick: the Three Pyramids. These eroding ancient volcanic plugs in the Middle Santiam watershed are just west of Santiam Pass andsurrounded by gorgeous ancient forests.
On this challenging 5.6-mile round-trip hike you can take in an amazing ancient forest of Douglas-fir, noble and silver fir, and Alaska yellow cedar interspersed with alpine wildflower meadows and — as a final reward — a mountaintop view.
Unfortunately, like other beautiful forests in the Willamette National Forest, this wild area in the heart of the spectacular and diverse Old Cascades lacks any specific protection from logging.
Details: Hike to Middle Pyramid packed with wildflowers, mountain views
9: Opal Creek’s Cedar Flats
For my final pick I am going to pick a famous grove. It’s a group of trees that you could argue led to the famous battle for Opal Creek that raged for almost two decades during the height of Oregon’s Forest Wars.
The place that I’m talking about is known as Cedar Flats, and it’s home to some titanic 500 to 1,000 year old western red cedars. Really beautiful trees. They’re more common than the Alaska yellow cedars we talked about earlier, but I love red cedars almost as much and this grove is an example of how grand they can get.
Cedar Flats is located on the Opal Creek Trail — on a section known as the Kopeski Trail that runs south from Jawbone Flats, the environment education center and wilderness village. All totaled, it’s around 9 or 10 miles to reach Cedar Flats but like all of Opal Creek, it is a pretty well-traveled place in summer. I’d go in spring or fall.
Now, if you don’t know the story of Opal Creek, I’d encourage you to read our12-part feature about it the history. But in a nutshell, it was one of the pitched battles of the Timber Wars that raged in Oregon from the 1970s into the 1990s that pit loggers and environmentalists against each other over the issues of old-growth forest and spotted owl habitat.
Opal Creek became a flashpoint for this issue, because it was home to one of the last ancient forests of the Cascade Foothills — a temperate rainforest. George Atiyeh, nephew of the former governor, waged a decades-long battle to prevent the Opal Creek watershed area from being logged. He used lawsuits, mining laws and media attention to stop the area from being logged. When I wrote the series and wrote a feature about George and asked him why he fought so hard, he told me a story about bushwhacking up to Cedar Flats — to these giant red cedars — when he was a boy. He said it was a spiritual experience — that the trees talked to him. And he said that experience gave him the will to do basically anything to keep those trees from being cut.
If you appreciate Opal Creek for what it is today, it’s worth heading up there to see those inspiration trees — again, go in the offseason and midweek if you can to avoid crowds. But it’s one of Oregon’s great hikes and it’s even more fun with that history.
10. Cripple Camp- Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness
To wrap this up, let’s head south one more time. Located in the aptly named Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, which separates these two major river drainages, this moderate, 5.8-mile recommended hike offers mountain meadows and diverse ancient forests. The trail passes trees of mind-boggling size near the Cripple Camp Shelter and passes through a mix of dry and moist forest types with everything from Douglas-firs and incense cedars to Shasta red fir and sugar pine — some recently burned in a low-severity fire. Longer loop or hike options lead deeper into the wilderness if desired.
Extra points from Chandra
Cape Perpetua & Gwynn Creek
Hike the 6.5 mile loop from behind the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center, just south of Yachats on Hwy. 101, up Cook's Ridge to experience giant Sitka spruce trees and western hemlocks, then descend past ancient Douglas-firs with huge gnarled arms and furrowed bark along Gwynn Creek. Finish the loop on the Oregon Coast Trail back to the visitor center. This whole area is part of the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area in the Siuslaw National Forest.
Crabtree Valley
Some of the oldest Douglas-fir trees in Oregon can be found in this hidden-away area in a block of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management accessed northeast of Sweet Home. The maze of logging roads and steep terrain makes it a bit hard to access, but that's why this forest surrounding Crabtree Lake is still standing - protectedfrom fire and human impacts. There are several groves of trees near Crabtree Lake that are 800-1,000 years old, though some require an off-trail effort to find them.
Shale Ridge
Along the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, near the crest of Aufderheide Drive (connecting Hwy 126 and Hwy 58), the Shale Ridge Trail follows the boundary between the Three Sisters and Waldo Lake Wilderness areas in the Willamette National Forest. An ancient forest of Douglas-fir, yew, cedar, and hemlocksurrounds the trail, but the real highlight is a grove of giant western redcedars near the river, about 3 miles into the hike.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 12 years. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal.Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.