Deschutes National Forest Summer Trail Access and Conditions Update KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! Updated August 21, 2014 Summer Trail Highlights Additional trail, area and road closures possible due to wild fire activity. Check on area status for possible closures before going. http://inciweb.nwcg.gov Metolius River trail/campgrounds reopened. Bear Butte 2 fire partial closure (Cabot, Carl, Shirley Lks now open) in effect for section of Mt. Jefferson Wilderness near Jefferson Creek. PCT reopened south/north of Mt. Jefferson. Go to: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3963/ Muskrat Fire closure west and north of Cultus Lake has been reopened. 370 Road is open for the season and scheduled to remain open until Fall season. Summer trails are snow free. 70-80% of Deschutes National Forest trails are cleared of downed trees. YCC crew members working on “heavy” trail maintenance on July 15-Sept. 15, dog leash requirement in Met/Win Trail thru the Pole Creek Burn. effect for trails to and around Todd Lk, Green/Moraine Lks, Broken Top and South Sister Climbers Trails. Flagline Trail is open for the season. Green Lks, Moraine Lk basins snow free. Overnight camping permitted only in Designated Campsites; no campfires. Three Sisters Loop is snow free. Mild to cool weather with slight chance of showers . Watch weather forecasts closely. Go prepared with your Ten Essential Systems: Navigation (map and compass) Sun protection (sunglasses/sunscreen) Insulation (extra clothing) Repeated vandalism to trail signing and trail features along Ben’s Illumination (headlamp/flashlight) and other Phil’s Trailhead area trails. If you have information First-aid supplies regarding vandalism to signing and other facilities on Deschutes Fire(waterproofmatches/lighter/candles) National Forest lands, please call: 541-693-6911. Repair kit and tools Nutrition (extra food) Hydration (extra water) Emergency shelter GENERAL SUMMER TRAIL CONDITIONS AS OF AUGUST 21: Backcountry trail access is generally good with trail clearing continuing. Approximately 80% of the Deschutes National Forest Trails are clear of blowdown or readily passible to hiker, biker and stock travel. Down trees are possible yet on some trails. However, a few trails thru beetle or fire kill areas may have higher numbers of downed trees. Use on summer trails is on the increase so heads up and be ready to share the trail and watch out for each other. High Fire Danger! Fire danger is currently high to extreme calling for extra caution. Trail, road and area closures are possible on any given day during this highly active fire season. While crews are able to extinguish most lightning fires; with recent heavy lightning activity, remote access to some starts and limited resources, the possibility for larger uncontrolled fires is always present. Before heading out on your trail adventure, check for local fire conditions, activity and closures. If you encounter a wild fire, provide for you own safety and contact 911. http://inciweb.nwcg.gov Moraine Lake area on July 27. Camping in Moraine and Green Lakes basins permitted only at designated campsites. Tents must be within 15 ft. of campsite post. Campfires prohibited and please pack out toilet paper. Expect campsites near or at capacity on weekends. If full, camp outside of signed basin. YCC crew members assist with replacement of puncheon bridges over riparian areas of Swampy Lakes Trail in Happy Valley. SCA volunteers learning the fine art of clearing trails using crosscut saws and axes. Trail volunteers hitting the trails for logout and general maintenance. Each year, hundreds of trail volunteers put in thousands of hours towards maintaining over 2,000 miles of Deschutes National Forest trails; summer and winter! Without volunteers, your public access trails would not be as enjoyable as they Allingham Trail College students learning to appreciate trail drainge are. Remember to improvements using large (heavy) rocks. “Thank” our volunteers! Northwest Youth Corps crews complete finishing touches on variety of Metolius River restoration projects. DESCHUTES NATIONAL FOREST SUMMER TRAILHEADS/TRAILS: Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District summer trails/access: Phils TH area trails are mostly cleared of down trees, becoming dusty, increased use, and in good condition. Ben’s and Phil’s Trails are now one-way trails See map and additional information below! For more information on COTA, who they are, what they do and how you can help, go to: http://cotamtb.com/ Deschutes National Forest and COTA are asking for your help in preventing vandalism on public access trails. If you see or have information regarding vandalism on public trails and facilities, please contact local land managers or law enforcement. Tumalo Falls Trailhead is OPEN. North Fork Trail is snow free and in good condition. The trail is cleared of blowdown and open to bikers in the uphill only direction. Reminder for bikers, biking is permitted in the uphill direction only on North Fork to the Metolius- Windigo Trail for a downhill, return trip on Mrazek and or Farewell Trails. Bridge Creek Trail is hiking only and closed to bikes, stock animals and dogs, as it passes thru the Bend Municipal Watershed. North Fork Trail is open to hikers, dogs and bikers (uphill only). South Fork trail to Swampy trail system might have light blowdown. Flagline Trail, is open for the season. Be aware of water line construction in progress along Skyliner Road to Tumalo Falls Trailhead. Mrazek Trail beyond Shevlin Park currently has a short detour due to the Two Bulls Fire. Follow the trail detour signs to the 4609 road. All other trails have reopened with the control of this fire. For further fire information on this and other incidents go to: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/3889/22042/ Deschutes River Trailheads/Trails are in good condition from Entrada to Benham Falls and on to Sunriver. The new Sun-Lava paved path is now open. Benham Falls day use areas East and West are getting some additional “face lifting” work to trail tread and fencing over the next week. They remain open, but please be careful during this period. Sun-Lava paved path is now open. These 10 ft. wide paved trails are open to non- motorized wheeled vehicles (bikes, wheel chairs, strollers, roller blades, skate boards, unicycles, etc.) and connect Sunriver to Lava Lands and Benham East day use area. The paths are very popular on weekends with heavy wheeled traffic. Please slow down on hills, at road/trail crossings and in congested areas. Watch for other trail users and be courteous. The seasonal DOG LEASH regulation along the Deschutes River Corridor is in effect May 15 thru Sept. 15. During this time, due to high use and potential for user conflicts, dogs are required to be on leash when in the corridor between Meadow Picnic and Benham Falls East. This includes all the River trails and recreation sites between these two locations. Dogs are permitted off leash in the river. See below under Wilderness for the July 15 to Sept. 15 seasonal DOG LEASH regulation on high use Wilderness trails around Todd Lake, Broken Top, Green and Moraine Lakes and South Sister. Lava Lands Trails - Lava Lands is open seven days/week. Lava Lands interpretive trails and the trail on Lava Butte are open. Blackrock Trail to Benham East has reopened with minor reroutes/connections with the newly opened Sun-Lava paved path. Wanoga Mt. Bike Trails are snow free with maintenance in progress. Be aware of possible special trail events/races over the coming weeks. Swampy Lake Trails are snow free, possible blowdown on trails. Flagline is open for the season. Tumalo Mt. – Trail is snow free and cleared of blowdown. Todd Lake Trailhead and parking area are open. Todd Lake basin is snow free. There are about 15 trees down on the trail around the lake and the meadows may be soft and possible with mud; please stay on trails. Road 370 is open for the season. This includes access to road 380 which provides vehicle access to the Broken Top Trailhead. Road 380 is very rough and high clearance vehicle recommended. Todd Creek Horse Camp – Snow free access. Access on the Metolius-Windigo Horse trail southbound to Quinn Meadow is good and northbound may have a few down trees to Happy Valley. Sparks Lake Trailhead – Trailhead is snow free with trail to Met/Win TR cleared and snow free. Ray Atkison Trailhead and Sparks Lake boat ramp – Snow free access and trails cleared of blowdown. Green Lakes/Soda Creek Trailhead – Snow free and mostly cleared of blowdown. See Wilderness sections below! Devils Lake/South Sister Trailhead – Snow free on Climbers Trail. Most trails in area are cleared of blowdown. See Wilderness sections below! Quinn Meadow Horse Camp area trails – Snow free access with most non-Wilderness trails near the camp now cleared of blowdown. Limited trail clearing currently in Wilderness. Metolius-Windigo Trail is snow free. Trail clearing in progress at low to mid elevations. Trail sections are cleared or light blowdown/passible from Bear Valley TH (see TH closure below) to Three Creeks HC and then cleared from Todd Ck HC to approx. Moore Creek Trail. Then cleared along Crescent Lake to Windigo Pass. Limited clearing in progress north of Crescent Lake towards Moore Creek. Cultus Lake and Winopee Lk TH - Accessible. Winopee Lk Trail is snow free and cleared from TH at Cultus Lk to Winopee Lk. Trails beyond Winopee Lk. to PCT possible light to heavy blowdown, snow free. Trails around Cultus to Deer Lk, Little Cultus and on to Many Lakes Trailheads are also cleared. Lemish Lake TH – Accessible with trail to Lemish/Charlton Lks then west to Many Lks Trailhead snow free and cleared of blowdown.