Lower Metolius River Hike

Overview

The Lower Metolius River is less popular but less wild than the Middle Metolius River Hike. Most of the hike is on a closed dirt road which may not appeal to some people. It is sometimes near the river and sometimes a few hundred feet away, with river noise faintly in the distance. This hike is on the drier east side of the Cascades and at a fairly low elevation, so it's accessible in the spring, or even in the winter months, when there's snow higher up. The first 1.7 miles is along a gravel road that is open during the summer, so when the winter gate is unlocked, the hike is this much shorter. (The winter gate is closed from December 1st to May 15th to protect nesting golden eagles.) Then you'll reach Monty Campground. I suspect this is a fairly busy car campground in the summer. There's a gate just past Monty Campground that prevents vehicle traffic beyond in the summer. The campground has a convenient outhouse (which may be closed in winter), and there's a nice area to walk along the river, about a mile long. The next 4.6 miles is a closed gravel road. There is a private residence, so you might see some traffic. If you don't like walking along a gravel road then this hike wouldn't be as appealing. There are a couple of campsites between the road and the river. Then you'll get to 2.5 miles of a poorly maintained trail known as the Shut-in Trail. I'd almost call it a "fishermen's trail". There are a couple of places where the river is trying to claim the trail, but it's pretty easy to get by. There's a nice campsite right at the beginning of this, about 6.6 miles from the trailhead. A little further, 8.3 miles from the trailhead, is a nice campsite area on a quarter mile long mile long flat next to the river with a few trees and a number of fire pits. If you came here to camp, in the unlikely event someone else was here, you could find another place to camp out of sight and hearing. This is the end of what I arbitrarily define as the Lower Metolius Hike. Beyond, there is about three miles of old road

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