Trails/Hiking

Looking for a specific trail? The Trip Planning Guide has information about the more popular trails on the Willamette National Forest, along with information about nearby campgrounds, picnic areas, and points of interest.

The Willamette National Forest has about 1,700 miles of trail. While many are in wilderness areas, a number of trails are low-elevation, easy-access trails for year-round hiking.

The trip planning guide lists of some of our more popular trails. It includes specific hikes with detailed information and generalized maps. We will continue to add to this list over time, so be sure to visit these pages again before planning your next trip!

Three scenic low-elevation trails have been designated as National Recreation Trails. Two of them, Fall Creek and McKenzie River Trails, are located within 50 miles of Eugene, and the third, the South Breitenbush Gorge National Recreation Trail, is located 60 miles east of Salem.

The Willamette has eight wilderness areas, most of which are near major mountain peaks in the Oregon Cascades. While trail maps on this website give you an idea of the length and difficulty of wilderness trails, they are NOT adequate to prepare you for a wilderness experience. Each year several people get lost while hiking in the wilderness.

• Be prepared with a good map and compass.
  Detailed maps are available at Forest offices for wilderness areas.
• Be prepared for changing conditions
  

Trail Travel Recommendations

Look for these icons for travel recommendations:

Hiking

Horse

Biking

Motorcycle

Accessible by Wheelchair

Explanation of Trail Difficulty

Each trail in our guide is rated for difficulty. These ratings are generally based on trail condition, steepness of grades, gain and loss of elevation, and the amount and kinds of natural barriers that must be traversed. These ratings mean different things depending on if the trail was designed for foot use, for horse use, for bike use or for wheelchair use.

Important Reading

We want your visit to the Willamette National Forest to be safe, enjoyable, and low impact. Before venturing out on any of our trails, please visit these links:

• Recreation Passes & Permits – Does your trail require a pass? If so, have you purchased it yet?
• Limited Entry Wilderness Pass – Are you going to either the Obsidian area in the Three Sisters Wilderness or the Pamelia area in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness? If so you will need a limited entry permit.