Middle Metolius River Hike

Overview

The Metolius River is best known for fly fishing. The water is very cold and clean. At Lower Bridge there are warnings that the river is blocked below here making boating impossible. There shouldn't be any boats going by while you are hiking. The Middle Metolius River Hike is a less popular hike than the Wizard Falls Loop Hike. There is no access to any public roads as you walk along. There some nice campsites all along the route - nice flat areas right next to the river with a fire pit. For the first 1.5 miles, the trail follows along the river - hikers only along here. The rest of the way is an old dirt road, gated closed. A negative about this hike is there are no views. It's almost claustrophobic. There are trees all the way to the river. You get occasional glimpses of hills and cliffs in the distance. There are no side trails, except short ones to campsites on the river. The forest is not really dense like the west side of the Cascades, but it's close enough to the crest and it's a high enough altitude so there is still a fair amount of rain. There is a mixture of pine, fir, and cedar trees, with some undergrowth in places. Start the hike at the Lower Bridge Trailhead. Walk through Lower Bridge Campground. This campground can be busy in the summer. In the winter, it's officially closed but you can still camp there - it's not gated - but there's no drinking water, garbage pick-up, or toilet paper in the outhouse. The trail takes off at the far (north) end of the campground and is well marked. The trail closely follows the river. At about 0.8 and one mile, there are two nice campsites. At about 1.5 miles, the trail peters out. From here, occasionally there's a trail along the river, but it's easiest to follow the dirt road. Candle Creek Creek Campground, a semi-developed automobile accessible campground is across the river. It would be difficult to cross the river because it's fairly big. Up to Mile 7, where there's a private area, there are tire tracks in the road and any trees have been removed, so th

Trail Stats

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