6 min
Overview
The Rock Creek Wilderness, at 7,468 acres, is the most pocket-sized of the pocket wildernesses on the central coast of Oregon. The wilderness protects the creek valley and the ridges north and south of it, where there are meadows that shelter the endangered silverspot butterfly. No official trails lead into the wilderness area, but a rooty user path tunnels into the creekside thickets from the Rock Creek Campground. You’ll reach a meadow that was the site of a homestead, and by that time you’re officially inside the wilderness even though there are no signs to tell you so. To continue you’ll have to ford Rock Creek and end up walking along the creek bed itself. Note that the campground is only open for four months of the year, so the rest of the time, you’ll have to hike in from Highway 101. The campground is operated by a concessionaire, so day-use fees apply and the Northwest Forest Pass is not honored. Walk down the campground road until you reach Campsite #15 at the east end of the campground. You can access Rock Creek here to get a good impression of its lush environs. The user trail tunnels through salmonberry and elderberry thickets on the vestiges of an old road bed. Alder, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce form the overhead canopy and the boggy, rooty tread winds among skunk-cabbage and slough sedge. Cross a couple of trickling creeks, and pass a big Sitka spruce. Reach a skunk-cabbage bog, and walk along a log to avoid sinking into the mud. A bypass takes you left above more of the bog in an oxalis/foam flower carpet. Pass the root system of a large toppled spruce before hiking under young alders. The trail heads up the slope to your left and, on the descent, you’ll duck under a fallen alder and pass through more salmonberry thickets. Here, you may see a rusting tub and old tire in the underbrush. Cross a makeshift bridge on a small creek, and reach a weedy meadow, the site of a former homestead. This meadow is heavily frequented by elk. Follow a tread through the grass to the Rock Creek Ford. Yo
Trail Stats
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Photos
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