COVER STORY
PAGE 16 • GO! MAGAZINE
Thursday, June 3, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn
Take the road less traveled to the Ochocos
Story and photos by MAKENZIE WHITTLE • The Bulletin
W
hile the roads through the Cascades fill up for the summer, with tourists and locals alike enjoying some of the splendid beauty of Central Oregon,
take the mountain road a little less traveled through the Ochoco National Forest and enjoy verdant woodlands, breathtaking prairies, cool lakes and
crystal streams and a bit of rustic history along the way.
Driving east from Prineville along U.S.
Highway 26 yields the typical High Desert
topography you see to the north and east of
Bend. But drive a little further and soon the
sagebrush terrain, dotted with farmland,
changes to ponderosa pine forest.
The highway continues up through the
mountains and onto Mitchell, but if you
turn right on to Ochoco Creek Road where
the sign points toward Walton Lake and Big
Summit Prairie, the windy road takes you
on a tour of some of the more interesting
places in the forest.
Ochoco Creek meanders through mead-
ows and farmland along the roadway until
the Ochoco Ranger House.
Typically available to rent year-round for
overnight stays, at the time of writing, the
1940 building was still closed as part of the
COVID-19 closures from 2020 and accord-
ing to recreation.gov reservations become
available again in August.
Mercury in them hills
The rental cabin is in the same location
as the original ranger station that oper-
ated here from 1911 until 2001 when it was
moved to Prineville. The station is long
gone, but the house and the old Ochoco
Highway remain.
The highway, now Forest Road 22, was
built in 1933 and was the main route that
moved lumber, food and supplies between
the railroad and the eastern gold and mer-
cury mines in the mountains.
Gold was discovered here in the 1870s and
prospectors quickly struck their claims and
established the town of Scissorville. Driving
along the road a sign is all that marks where
the old town and the Mayflower mine were
located along Ochoco Creek.
By the 1930s cinnabar, the ore used to
make mercury, was the hot ticket item and
mines were built to harvest the mineral
from the mountains.
Today you can visit three of these
now-abandoned sites, Motherlode, Indepen-
dent and Blue Ridge mines, all accesses along
Canyon Creek Road/Forest Road 42. If you
do venture to the mines, don’t go inside them
as they are derelict and potentially hazardous
and remember to take only pictures.
Lakes, rivers and prairies
Up the road from the ranger house along
Forest Road 22, 7 miles is one of the most
A storm brews over Big Summit Prairie in May.
popular sites in the Ochoco Na-
up Forest Road 22 and take the
tional Forest is the small and
right fork at the ranger house,
relatively shallow Walton
you’ll be taken up the
Lake. Recently stocked
winding Canyon Creek
with rainbow trout, on a
Road/Forest Road 42
recent visit to the lake,
towards the mines and
in the span it took this
the Lookout and Round
reporter to eat her pic-
Mountain hiking trails
nic lunch by the water,
which offer stunning
a group of three fisher-
views from their sum-
men hooked about six
mits as well as wildflowers
fish, though not all were
in the early summer.
keepers.
As the scenic road be-
The lake has nicely laid
gins to descend back down
out, non-electric camp-
from its summit, it even-
A forest meadow along Forest tually makes its way to the
sites on either side of the
18-acre lake with the north
Road 22 in the Ochoco National very edge of the Big Summit
side more suitable for tents. Forest under a stormy sky in May. Prairie.
Sites are both reservable and
Stretching for thousands
available on a first-come,
of acres, the prairie is mostly
first-served basis. Visit recreation.gov for
private land but there are some public access
more information.
points along the edges for exploring (grab
The lake’s shoreline is also home to a
a map from the Prineville Ranger Station
short, barrier-free trail to allow for easy
if you’re unfamiliar with the area). Even by
bank fishing with a small portion of it paved just staying in the car the drive is still worth
for accessibility. There is a $5 day-use fee at
it, so enjoy the view.
the site and Northwest Forest Passes are not
Drive straight about 3.5 miles and veer
accepted.
left to stay on Forest Road 42/Arvid Nelson
If you decide to skip the lake and all that’s Road for about 6.5 more miles and cross the
North Fork Crooked River for the second
time, then turn right to follow the river.
The road and the river deliver quiet scen-
ery to take in with stunning rock formations
and the crystal clear waters themselves.
This section of the river is a recreational
segment of the federally recognized Na-
tional Wild & Scenic River and it’s easy to
see why it bears that distinction. The river
babbles along the basalt rocks as it gently
makes its way to meet the Crooked River
to the south and offers the quiet tranquility
that mountain streams often do.
The road eventually leads to Deep Creek
Campground that sits nestled among the
pine and larch trees by the river. It’s first
come, first serve that can fill up on holidays
and during hunting season so plan accord-
ingly.
From here, it’s best to turn back the way
you came and return to Prineville or you can
extend your trip by turning right just after
the river crossing you came from on Peter-
son Creek Road and follow the signs for an
unpaved hour-long adventure to Mitchell.
Whichever way you go, the detour
through the Ochoco Mountains is worth
every winding mile.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com