Mount Pisgah West Loop Hike

Overview

Mount Pisgah is a basalt prominence wedged between the Middle and Coast Forks of the Willamette River just south and east of Eugene/Springfield. Lane County’s Howard Buford Recreation Area, the largest park in the county system, encompasses the south and west slopes of Mount Pisgah as well as parts of the north and east slopes. Most western trails are hiker only, while the summit and eastern trails are shared with horses. The Mount Pisgah Arboretum offers a denser network of trails on the Coast Fork Willamette River. Mount Pisgah can be hiked at any time of year, but the spring wildflower displays, especially the camas bloom, are worthy of a special visit. The place is one of many Mt. Pisgahs in the world: as recounted in the Bible, 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. In 2017, trail crews graveled Quarry Road, part of the western segment of this loop, once so notorious that hikers reported having their “boots sucked off” by the muddy quagmire. This leaves the central section of Trail #3, which runs with the waters of numerous seeps, as the wettest but also one of the most beautiful sections of this loop to hike. Cross the road from the Buford North Trailhead, and walk around a gate up to a kiosk and trail junction. A large map here shows the network of trails in the county park. Go left on Trail #3 (the West Slope Trail), and traverse an open hillside with clumps of blackberry and poison oak. Camas blooms in wet spots and ditches in April/early May. You’ll get a view across the Middle Fork Willamette River to Quarry Hill and the sprawl of Springfield. Enter an oak/poison oak wood, and switchback at a boundary fence. On the north slope, the forest cover changes to a lush maple/grand fir forest with a sword fern understory. Emerge from the woods to arrive at an open saddle, getting a view across the Coast Fork valley to Spencer Butte. Stay on Trail #3 at the ne

Trail Stats

Photos

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