1.0 hr
Overview
Mount Pisgah is the high point of Lane County’s Howard Buford Recreation Area, the largest park in the county system. It is a basalt prominence wedged between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The eastern trails are shared with horses although you’re more likely just to encounter other hikers. You’ll see a mixture of oak savanna, shady Douglas-fir forest, and open meadows on this loop which covers the eastern and southern slopes of the mountain as well as the summit. There are many Mt. Pisgahs in the world: in the Holy Land, this was the viewpoint from which Moses first sighted the Promised Land. Note that the entire park is a lush haven for poison oak, so think twice about letting your dog venture off-trail. Trail #2 (Beistel’s East Summit Trail) takes you past a yellow gate along a gravel road, with an Oregon ash/spiraea swamp to the left and an open field to the right. Endemic Willamette Valley bitter cress and buttercup flower here in the spring. At a junction with an information kiosk, bear right to keep on Trail #2. The gravel track rises gradually up a slope, offering views across the farm fields to Bear Mountain and the Cascade foothills, with Mount June and Hardesty Mountain most prominent. These oak woods have been recently thinned of the encroaching Douglas-fir. The road curves left and passes some Pacific ponderosas where the trail descends a little. After a short rise, you’ll encounter the junction with Trail #4, where you should go right. This is a singletrack path through a forest of Douglas-fir with maple, oak, and incense cedar. In spring, fawn lilies, baby blue eyes, buttercup, camas, iris, and trillium bloom in the understory. Cross a powerline corridor, keeping straight on Trail #4, and meet a jeep track in deep Douglas-fir forest (this track follows a buried cable line). The verges of the trail are carpeted with invasive shining geranium. Pass the junction with Trail #24, and after a level traverse, rise steeply uphill and then descend again. Thickets of blackberry
Trail Stats
0.0 km
301 m
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Photos
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400px-MountPisgahEastMap
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400px-Buckbrush_Creek%2C_Trail_3%2C_Mount_Pisgah