Section 36-Powder House Loop Hike

Overview

Oregon State University's McDonald State Forest is to the City of Corvallis as Forest Park is to Portland. Both the southern section of the forest and the northern section (Peavy Arboretum area) contain many short trails and forest roads which can be cobbled together to form worthwhile outings. This is a research forest, so you will see plantings and study areas in addition to some pockets of majestic old-growth Douglas-firs. The rain shadow (relatively speaking - this is the east side of the Coast Range) ecosystem here is conducive to a mixed woodland where grand fir and Pacific madrone are significant components. The loop described here is also a great spring hike as forest wildflowers bloom in sunny clearings and can be combined with the Peavy Arboretum Loop Hike for a decent excursion. The Peavy Arboretum area trails are hiker-only trails. Walk past an orange gate and up gravel Road 500. Pass Road 510 going up to the left and keep rising in Douglas-fir/big-leaf maple woods. The road crosses a small stream and reaches the Forestry Club Cabin. This is the actual trailhead for the loop. Turn in on the trail, cross a footbridge over the stream and come to a junction. Here, go left and then pass the junction for a short tie trail which leads down to the Forest Discovery Trail. Be careful about the vegetation you choose to be intimate with - poison oak abounds throughout this hike. The path here is graveled, as it is intermittently throughout. In spring irises (Oregon flag) bloom in sunny spots. Drop and then rise, and then drop again in maple, Douglas-fir, sword fern and hazel forest. Come to a junction with a trail heading down to the left for the 514 Road. Rise again to the junction with the CFIRP (College of Forestry Integrated Research Project) Trail, which heads down to the left (and joins the Forest Discovery Trail). Hike past a series of 1928 ponderosa plantings, the first being pines from the Lassen National Forest. The seedlings here came from 10 different locations in the western United States, the pu

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