1.4 hr
Overview
NOTICE: Trails in this area were affected by the 2020 Lionshead Fire. Please check current closures in the Willamette National Forest before planning an outing. After having driven here on one of the worst access roads in this part of Oregon, you'll no doubt be wondering if this hike is worth the trouble it took getting there. It most definitely is. If you are only going to Park Ridge, you'll be treated at the top with an impossibly great view of Mount Jefferson, and should you choose to continue on down to Jefferson Park (see the Jefferson Park via Park Ridge Hike), you'll discover an alpine wonderland of gorgeous lakes and meadows filled with wildflowers, with Mount Jefferson filling the sky above you. Note that first part of the hike was affected by the 2010 View Lake Complex Fire, but in 2020, the far more severe and devastating Lionshead Fire swept along the entire route, including all along Park Ridge and into Jefferson Park itself. The trail (the Pacific Crest Trail, actually) begins at the Breitenbush Lake Trailhead, at an elevation of 5,500 feet. Not surprisingly, snow lingers here well into July. You'll start through small meadows and forests of small trees. At about mile 0.6, you'll notice a small reroute including a bridge over a rocky channel that's usually dry most of the hiking season. Cross a talus slope and, at a junction that may or may not be signed, you'll see an informal trail leading westward from the older route to Pyramid Butte. The Crest Trail climbs through a large talus area with views of Pyramid Butte, bright red Ruddy Hill and Olallie Butte. It then resumes ascending through huckleberry meadows. The trail crosses a saddle at mile 1.5 and you'll get your first views of Mount Jefferson. The trail flattens for a bit, and then resumes a well-graded climb into subalpine terrain. The views expand to the west as the trail climbs. There are a couple of small ponds near mile 3, near the edge of timberline. The land takes on a foreboding look above timberline. There's very little soil
Trail Stats
0.0 km
422 m
2095 m
0 m
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Photos
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400px-JeffersonParkRidgeMap
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