TRAVEL

Top 13: Best Oregon outdoor adventures of 2015

Zach Urness
Statesman Journal
An island and the blue expanse of Summit Lake is seen below Diamond Peak in Deschutes National Forest.

The past year brought sweeping change to both the Statesman Journal’s outdoors department and to me personally.

After the birth of my daughter, Lucy, I spent the past 12 months learning how to become a dad.

The main lessons were to embrace the lack of sleep, enjoy each new stage (because they change so quickly) and to get her outside early and often. That last part wasn’t hard — Lucy is already hiking a quarter mile at Orchard Heights Park and investigating every stick, rock and piece of moss she comes across.

But while Lucy brought addition, the retirement of longtime columnist and outdoors writer Henry Miller brought irreplaceable subtraction. I’m happy Henry will have more time to fish — without having to worry about deadlines — but there’s a yawning chasm in our newsroom without the presence of one of the nicest guys to ever put ink to paper.

Michael Donnelly is seen in the off-trail backcounty of the Opal Creek Wilderness, among huge old-growth trees.

Such is life, I suppose.

Yet even with all the upheaval, the one constant was the number of incredible places I visited and wrote about in 2015.

I’ve said it countless times, but the wonderful thing about Oregon is that you can explore this state for a lifetime and still not see everything.

Here are my top 13 picks of 2015. (See the online version for links to each original story.)

Quick note: A special thanks is due to Salem's Michael Donnelly, who tipped me off to three of the places mentioned below.

NO. 13: GOLDEN AND SILVER FALLS

Two of Oregon’s most beautiful waterfalls are tucked into a little-known natural area east of Coos Bay.

Two-hundred-foot Golden Falls and 130-foot Silver Falls thunder into a Coast Range canyon that takes some work to locate.

Often mistaken for more famous Silver Falls State Park, this hideaway couldn’t be more different.

A remote road brings visitors from Coos Bay out past the small town of Allegany, where you follow rough Glen Creek Road to a barricade. From here, hike 1.5 miles along a washed-out road to a pair of trails that leads to both waterfalls.

Crowds are rarely, if ever, a problem here, and you’ll often have these waterfalls to yourself.

NO. 12: SOUTH SANTIAM RIVER KAYAK

When the rain pours heavy across the Cascade Mountains, I start to think about the upper South Santiam River.

This lush stretch of river above Cascadia State Park offers one of the best whitewater kayak runs in the state, home to countless waterfalls dropping into a canyon laced with ferns, moss and lichen.

The river rises and falls so rapidly that the upper South Santiam is only open for paddling a few times each year.

I was lucky enough to catch one of those perfect days last year and enjoyed almost every moment on this stunning stretch of river (except the part where I flipped upside down).

NO. 11: COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE WILDFLOWERS

They are nature's fireworks display, but instead of exploding in the air, they come up through the ground.

Blooms of wildflowers that arrive with spring provide a great reason to get outdoors, and few places in the Pacific Northwest offer a better showcase than the eastern side of the Columbia River Gorge.

Entire hillsides transform into fields of gold during peak blooms, turning already great hikes into memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

On a trip last spring, I explored five of the best places to enjoy these wildflowers, including the Mosier Plateau, Rowena Crest/Tom McCall Preserve, Memaloose Hills, Catherine Creek and Columbia Hills State Park.

NO. 10: MCKENZIE RIVER TRAIL MOUNTAIN BIKE 

Ask any serious mountain biker their favorite trail in Oregon, and there's a good chance the response will include just three words:

McKenzie. River. Trail.

Considered by many the iconic ride in Oregon — if not the United States — the 26-mile national recreation trail features thundering waterfalls, sapphire pools and old-growth forest on what's arguably the most scenic route in the Western Cascades.

Yet for all the accolades and magazine covers, many forget that this is actually a very challenging ride. Black lava rock on the trail’s upper section creates some very technical sections, as I discovered after being tossed ass-over-teakettle onto the side of the trail.

I loved riding the McKenzie, but it also was a surprise just how difficult it was.

NO. 9: CAPE LOOKOUT WHALE WATCHING 

To be completely honest, I’ve always found whale watching on the Oregon Coast a little boring.

The practice of driving to ocean overlooks and scanning the horizon for nature’s most majestic animal has its appeal, but the standing around gets old pretty fast.

That’s why the combination of hiking Cape Lookout and whale watching is so appealing. You can enjoy one of the coast’s best trails (4.8 miles round-trip) while hiking to one of its best places to spot whales.

"The Cape Lookout hike is awesome because it puts you out where the whales are," said Travis Korbe, a state park ranger with the Cape Lookout Management unit. "There have been times when I've been out with visitors at the end of the cape and have been able to look down and see the entire whale as they surface for air."

NO. 8: THE PAINTED HILLS AND SUTTON MOUNTAIN 

The famous multicolored hills of Eastern Oregon have been on my bucket list for a long time, and this past autumn, I finally made the trip to see the Painted Hills.

The trip didn’t disappoint. Although the Painted Hills — located northeast of Bend — are small and only home to a handful of short trails, the views are so beautiful and the geology so interesting that it’s well worth making the trip.

On the second day of my trip, I headed onto Sutton Mountain, a gigantic fault block that rises like a battleship above the Painted Hills.

Sutton Mountain is the centerpiece of a proposed wilderness area and a very cool place to explore, home to a grassland plateau that conjures up thoughts of an African savanna high above the Oregon desert. It provides a wilder, more remote experience in this canyon country east of Bend.

Journey toward wilderness on Sutton Mountain

NO. 7: PROXY FALLS SNOWSHOE 

Proxy Falls is one of the most crowded waterfall hikes in Oregon during the summer, but during the winter, it becomes a haven of solitude and a winter wonderland.

The 7-mile trip to Proxy Falls in winter — typically taken in snowshoes or cross-country skis — begins at a gate on McKenzie Pass Highway 242, which is closed from late fall to early spring.

Follow the closed highway 2.6 miles to the Proxy Falls Trailhead. Then, follow the official loop 1.8 miles past Upper Proxy Falls (126 feet) and Lower Proxy Falls (226 feet).

The trail would be quite challenging in skis, so snowshoes are recommended.

The best part of the Proxy Falls adventure is finding the waterfalls tucked into the snowy forest, the falling water ornamented with icicles. That view makes the long and sometimes challenging journey worthwhile.

NO. 6: BENSON AND SCOTT LAKES

I traveled to Benson Lake in search of what I’d been told was the most beautiful viewpoint in Western Oregon.

The viewpoint, located on the north side of the lake and a sacred site of the Calapooia, was indeed stunning. The mountain lake spreads out below, a rich sapphire blue, while the Three Sisters rise so high and close it feels as though you could reach out and touch them.

But that’s not all this area, located along McKenzie Pass Highway 242, brings to the table.

The trailhead for Benson Lake is Scott Lake Campground, one of the nicest places to set down a tent that I’ve come across. And, if you hike past Benson Lake to the summit of Scott Mountain, you’ll be rewarded with a view of no less than seven Cascade Range peaks.

NO. 5: GOLD BUTTE LOOKOUT

Even by mountainton-lookout standards, the view from Gold Butte Lookout is spectacular.

Every major Cascade peak from Mount Hood to the Three Sisters is visible, and nearby Mount Jefferson is the main attraction.

It’s no wonder this lookout northeast of Detroit is a popular place to spend the night.

Built in 1934 and active during World War II as a station for spotting Japanese air attacks, Gold Butte was refurbished for public use in 2007 by the Sand Mountain Society. The lookout is so beloved that it’s almost impossible to rent unless you start working at it six months in advance.

A rough road and steep hike bring those who’ve made reservations to the lookout. A wood stove heats the lookout, and there’s a twin bed and cots to sleep up to four. You must bring your own water, stove and cookware, and no electricity is provided.

NO. 4: FAT BIKING SAND AND SNOW

My favorite new form of outdoor recreation, by far, is a sport known simply as “fat biking.”

These mountain bikes with oversized tires allow you to ride places other bikes never could — including the snow, mud and Oregon Coast beaches.

Last year, I fat biked almost everywhere it’s possible.

In Central Oregon, I rode across the snow on trails designed for snowshoes in an experience best described as mountain biking single track … only cooler.

In Lincoln City, I joined West Salem resident Craig Wojcik — a retired titanium metallurgist who put the bikes together himself — and in Newport, I brought my parents fat biking on Nye Beach.

"Riding on the beach is gorgeous, and it's something that's accessible for most people,” said Daniella Crowder, co-owner of Bike Newport, one of the few business that rents fat bikes on the coast. “We're seeing a lot of rentals from people over 50 years old. It's not as strenuous as road biking, there's no traffic to worry about, and you can go a lot farther than your feet would take you.”

NO. 3: OPAL CREEK BUSHWHACK

The popularity of hiking trails in the Opal Creek Wilderness has exploded during the past five years, bringing major crowds into this ancient forest east of Salem on summer weekends.

To escape those hoards — and explore a section of the wilderness few ever see — I joined two Opal Creek veterans for an off-trail bushwhack down the length of this iconic creek.

Beginning from the creek’s headwaters at Opal Lake, we tromped downstream through virgin forest and swam into pristine swimming holes to the creek’s confluence with the Little North Santiam.

The trip took almost 12 hours and covered 10.4 miles. We were bloodied, bludgeoned and stung along the way. Yet the chance to experience Opal Creek at its most primeval, away from the masses, helped me understand the spell this area cast on a generation of Oregonians.

NO. 2: ELKHORN MOUNTAINS  

The Elkhorn Mountains might be the best-kept secret in Oregon.

The range of craggy peaks in Eastern Oregon, outside La Grande and Baker City, feature one of the best backpacking and mountain biking destinations in the Pacific Northwest, along with an excellent family-friendly base camp.

The backpacking and mountain biking route is the Elkhorn Crest Trail, one of the highest and most unique trails in Oregon.

The 23-mile national recreation trail tightropes across the granite spine of the Elkhorn Range, where mountain goats roam sheer peaks and alpine lakes dapple multicolored valleys. Since the trail stretches from pass to pass, there is limited elevation gain, making for an easier backpacking experience than you’d expect given the sweeping, high-elevation views.

The Elkhorn Crest also is among the very few alpine trails in Oregon open at least in part to mountain bikers. To learn more about mountain biking tours and backpacking shuttles on the trail, see this story online.

The family-friendly destination is Anthony Lake, an alpine pool home to a campground, good fishing, easy trails and a historic cabin you can rent. Anthony Lake makes a great base camp for adventure in this recreation-rich area.

NO. 1: SUMMIT LAKE

In eight years of writing about Oregon’s wild places, I’ve never felt quite so guilty as I did in featuring Summit Lake.

This little-known gem near Willamette Pass is home to emerald water, sand beaches and small volcanic islands where you can boat in and camp overnight.

Days spent gliding across sapphire water in a canoe or kayak, weaving among islands and peninsulas in search of sand beaches and groves of huckleberries is an experience close to heaven.

Despite these charms, the lake remains uncrowded due to three major problems: awful road access, late snowmelt and mosquitoes.

Try driving here in a low-clearance vehicle, and your muffler might fall off. Try visiting in June, July or early August, and you’ll get massacred by bloodthirsty hoards of tiny vampires that seem to laugh out loud if you try mosquito repellent.

Summit Lake is a high-risk outdoor experience with an upside better than almost any place I’ve visited.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for eight years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Facebook at Zach’s Oregon Outdoors or @ZachsORoutdoors on Twitter.

BEST OF 2015

1: Summit Lake

2: Elkhorn Mountains

3: Opal Creek Wilderness

4: Fat biking Oregon's sand and snow

5: Gold Butte Lookout

6: Benson and Scott lakes

7: Proxy Falls snowshoe

8: Painted Hills and Sutton Mountain

9: Cape Lookout whale watching

10: McKenzie River Trail mountain biking

11: Columbia River Gorge wildflowers

12: South Santiam whitewater kayaking

13: Golden and Silver Falls