The BulleTin • Friday, March 26, 2021 B9
Willow Creek is surrounded by willow trees and basalt lava rocks on
either side. The creek was dry as of March 13. The train trestle can be
seen in the distance, above, and the view looking up from under the
trestle is shown below.
Makenzie Whittle/Bulletin photos
Willow Creek
Continued from B1
The trail passes under the
towering trestle bridge and fol-
lows the creek bed west (Wil-
low Creek is currently dry un-
til about the halfway point of
the trail). Explorers can enjoy
a shadier section at first with
basalt lava rocks from the De-
schutes Formation, and wil-
low trees and shrubs lining the
creek and the sides of the trail,
while western juniper trees
make their way up the south-
ern hill. Currently, the willows
are without their leaves, but
that should change soon as
spring surges forward.
The trail then crosses the
creek on a small wooden
bridge and continues on the
northern bank, passing several
of the cutouts made for the old
train line here. Now these rock
cuts make for several climbing
spots.
According to mountain-
project.com, the Willow Creek
Canyon climbing area has
several designated routes for
bouldering and rope climbing.
With names like Air Monkey,
Wigwag and Link and Pin,
many of the routes take their
monikers from old railroad
lingo, connecting this mod-
ern-day climbing area to its
train origins.
The climbing area is about
a mile from the trailhead, and
from there the trail begins
to climb slightly and Willow
Creek begins to drop further
into the canyon.
The easy incline of about
100 feet soon brings the full
size of the canyon into a grand
perspective, with rimrock
topped plateaus above and
rock outcroppings eroded over
the years, typical of other Jef-
ferson County landscapes.
Views of the past
The further you go on the
trail, eventually, the effects of
humans come into full view
again with an old dumping
ground of rusted-out cars,
metal jugs and coolers and
old tires. The old jalopies have
been weathering for decades
by the looks of them, and the
gully they’ve landed in feels
more like an archeological site.
They were thrown and
rolled from the top of the road
above and left largely forgotten
until people began using the
trail for recreational purposes.
Now they’re a glimpse into the
past lives of the people who
lived here.
It is also at this point that the
trail connects to Willow Creek
Road, which is passable by ve-
hicles, according to maps of
the area.
The gravel road then con-
tinues another 3 miles to Lake
Simtustus, a reservoir created
by the damming of the De-
schutes River between Round
Butte and Pelton dams.
At the 3.4-mile mark, at
a cattle guard in the road, I
turned around, cutting the
trail’s length in an uneven half,
deciding that after a winter of
mostly sitting in my house, a
13-miler wasn’t a great idea no
matter flat the trail is.
Critters
The best way to know that
spring is on the way in Central
Oregon is when the yellow-bel-
lied marmots make their ador-
able appearances.
Willow Creek Canyon is
full of rock crevices and other
places where these cute rodents
can find a home and when the
sun begins to shine, they also
like to hit the trail.
They, along with squirrels,
moles, other small rodents and
Where Empowerment Replaces Fear & Knowledge Creates Options
The road less traveled
Willow Creek Canyon trail
may not be as popular as a
Smith Rock or Barnes Butte
trail, but it is still a lovely
stroll through some great
high desert terrain, with
plenty to see and do along its
long path.
The sights and sounds
found along this old train line
are great on more temperate
days as there is no water and
not much shade along the
trail. One can imagine how
hot it can get during the mid-
dle of summer.
There are no toilets or trash
cans either, so remember to
pack out whatever you pack
in and leave it better than you
found it.
To get there, while heading
through Madras, turn west
on SW C Street and continue
straight for about a half-mile.
The trailhead is on the left
side of the road. There is a
wide shoulder on the south
side of the street where you
can park.
A gate with a sign stating
the use of the trail is for hik-
ers, bikers and authorized ve-
hicles marks the start of the
long dirt trail.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0304,
mwhittle@bendbulletin.com
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Fire restrictions
Fire danger is currently
listed as Moderate in the De-
schutes National Forest. Fire
danger is listed as Low in the
Ochoco and Willamette Na-
tional Forests.
Industrial Fire Precaution
Level is currently at Level
1 for the Deschutes and
Ochoco national forests and
the Prineville District — Bu-
reau of Land Management.
lizards can easily be seen scam-
pering up the hillsides looking
for a place to hide from the
humans riding and hiking the
long path. And not far behind
them are the raptors.
On my recent hike, my sis-
ter and I spied a red-tailed
hawk soaring high above the
canyon as well as a golden ea-
gle as it flew around a hillside
and above one of the rock cut-
outs. Unfortunately, as soon
as the eagle saw us, it flipped a
U-turn and soared out of sight.
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