1 min
Overview
Elijah Bristow State Park’s 847 acres of riparian woodland and meadow became part of the state parks system in the 1970s. The park extends along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River below Dexter Dam, and an interlaced and somewhat confusing system of trails winds through the forest and along the river bank. Most trails are open to horses and bikes, and the park is very popular with equestrians. The loop described here takes you along Lost Creek and then along the Middle Fork, returning inland past sloughs and meadows. The park is named after Elijah Bristow (1788 – 1872), an 1812 War veteran originally from Virginia, who in 1846 staked the first official land claim in the upper Willamette Valley at Pleasant Hill. He had traveled to Oregon from Sutter’s Fort in California with Eugene Skinner along the Applegate Trail. Take the wide trail leading from the trailhead kiosk across a meadow that blooms with flax and ox-eye daisy in the summer. At a junction, make a left to hike up along Lost Creek in shady forest, passing the horse ford that connects to the Heron trail system. At the next junction, keep left to continue up the creek (if the bridge is out, you’ll need to head right and find your way back via the network of Elk trails). The shady mixed riparian woodland here is composed of cottonwood, big-leaf maple, Oregon ash, white oak, Douglas-fir, and both western red-cedar and incense cedar. Cross a footbridge over a backwater slough, and pass two more connector trails coming in from the left before leaving the woods at another junction, where you’ll stay left on the River Trail. There are a few well-weathered picnic tables here, and a spur trail leads left to reach the bank of Lost Creek. Keep following the River Trail as it bends right to pass through a glade of cottonwoods. A spur left gives you your first access to the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The route crosses a small footbridge and then bypasses a backwater floating with yellow water lilies. Look for basking pond turtles here. From a junc
Trail Stats
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Photos
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