“Alex!” my mom called, as my brother waded straight into the McKenzie River, fully clothed. “It looks freezing!”
“I’m going to find Bigelow hot spring!” he called back, feeling his way over the river stones with a long stick.
It was a chilly Memorial Day weekend, and we were on our third day of hiking the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail in central Oregon. All four of us were fairly disheveled from a weekend of camping in the rain. I watched Alex from the shelter of the maple trees higher up the mossy riverbank, and shivered a little at the thought of wading in the river. Another hiker at the parking lot had told us the river was too high right now, and Bigelow hot spring was washed out.
But the McKenzie River Trail was glorious. It was late May, and the rain and warming temperatures had brought the ferns and moss into the height of their spring majesty. It was like walking through a fairyland forest.
26 miles altogether, the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail meanders through old-growth forests with a fascinating volcanic story. Lava flows that dammed the McKenzie River thousands of years ago have left a string of natural wonders along the trail, from the impossibly blue Oregon Blue Pool to two huge McKenzie River waterfalls: Sahalie and Koosah Falls.
Here’s a quick rundown of the top wonders along the moss-draped McKenzie River Trail:
-
Oregon Blue Pool: An impossibly blue natural pool tucked away in the forest
-
Clear Lake: A lake that formed when lava dammed the McKenzie River 3,000 years ago. The flooded forest is still preserved underwater since the water is so cold! For more on Clear Lake’s origins, check out the Forest Service page.
-
Sahalie and Koosah Falls: Two enormous waterfalls
-
Bigelow Hot Spring: A riverside natural hot spring
With so much to see, it’s easy to get confused about the best way to hike the McKenzie River Trail. Here I’ll share our 3-day McKenzie River Trail itinerary as a sample to help you plan your own trip.
Day Hiking the McKenzie River Trail
Since the McKenzie River Trail is 26 miles long, some people prefer to backpack or mountain bike it so they can experience everything. We prefer day hiking, so we hiked sections of the trail over a 3-day weekend. We weren’t able to see the whole trail this way, but we saw many of the key highlights without hauling our gear.
The Upper & Lower McKenzie River Trail
The McKenzie River National Recreation Trail is generally discussed in two parts, with the upstream half referred to as the Upper McKenzie River Trail, and the downstream half referred to as the Lower McKenzie River Trail.
Most of the landmark sites (Oregon Blue Pool, Sahalie Falls, Koosah Falls, and Clear Lake) are along the upper trail, which makes the upper trail more crowded. Parking areas right next to the waterfalls make it easy to drop in and see Sahalie and Koosah Falls without a hike, so they’re busy with visitors on weekends. The Oregon Blue Pool requires a hike of about 4.5 miles, but it’s such an intriguing sight that the short hike hardly dissipates the crowd.
The exception to the crowd factor on the Upper McKenzie River Trail is Clear Lake. We encountered hardly anyone along the Clear Lake hike, a 5-mile section of trail that encircles the lake. I suppose the rainy day may have contributed!
The crowds aren’t on the upper trail for no reason, though. The sights along it really are spectacular. Accordingly, we allocated two of our three days to the Upper McKenzie River Trail and the third day to the Lower McKenzie River Trail.
The tranquility of the Lower McKenzie River Trail makes it a perfect way to close out a visit to this beautiful place. It has few landmarks, but a great deal of quiet mossy forest, with occasional huge old-growth trees.
Where to Stay Near the McKenzie River Trail
To maximize our time on the McKenzie River Trail, we booked a campsite right along it. As you can see on the map, there’s no shortage of campgrounds near the McKenzie River Trail. We booked a site at Ice Cap Campground (circled here). I’ve also heard great things about Paradise Campground, but alas, paradise was full when we booked our trip!
I’d recommend booking as far in advance as you can. You can make reservations online through Recreation.gov. Here’s the direct link for Ice Cap Campground.
What I like best about Ice Cap Campground is the forested setting, with campsites spread out among the trees. It feels like being in the forest versus crammed into an RV park. We stayed at campsite #15, which turned out to be huge. The picnic table and tent spots were so far from the parking area that it took us a couple minutes to figure out where they were.
Despite it being a holiday weekend, there were few other campers at Ice Cap Campground…but I suspect that was due to the weather. Temperatures didn’t rise above the 50s, and rain showers came and went all weekend. Brrrr! We were glad to have brought our mini camp stove. Canned soup never tasted so good. Really warms you up from the inside.
Ice Cap Campground is right next to Koosah Falls, so we hiked to Koosah Falls, Sahalie Falls, and Clear Lake right from our campsite.
Not into camping?
If the weather isn’t great for camping or you’d otherwise rather not, a great option is the Clear Lake Resort. “Resort” may conjure images of fancy hotels far from nature, but the Clear Lake Resort isn’t that. It offers cozy-looking cabins for rent along the west side of Clear Lake, and there’s a small restaurant and dock where you can rent rowboats and kayaks to take out on the lake.
I’m planning to check this out next time. I’d like to paddle out onto the lake and look for the underwater forest!
Day 1: Clear Lake Hike
So, now for the itinerary! For a virtual tour of the itinerary highlights, stay tuned for our video at the bottom of this itinerary.
We took our trip on the last weekend of May. On Day 1 (Saturday), we did the 3-hour drive down from Portland, arriving at Ice Cap Campground right around the 2pm check-in time.
After setting up the tent and exploring the pit toilets, we set off on foot from our campsite for the first epic hike of the trip: the Clear Lake hike. This hike follows most of the upper end of the McKenzie River Trail, first traveling two miles upstream to Clear Lake, then completing a 5-mile loop around the lake, and then returning back along the two miles to the campsite. The northern end of the McKenzie River Trail is just a little past Clear Lake, so we almost made it!
The two miles between the campsite and Clear Lake are jam-packed with greatness, so don’t worry about hiking that section twice. In fact, we hiked that section four times. My mom and brother joined us midway through the weekend and wanted to hike that section, too.
The reason: that two-mile section passes the two enormous McKenzie River waterfalls: Sahalie and Koosah Falls.
You might wonder if it’s worth hiking all the way around Clear Lake; wouldn’t hiking just part of the way do the trick?
I’d highly recommend making the full loop, because you’ll reach the lake from the south side, but one of the really intriguing sights is right at the north end of the lake. It’s called the Great Spring, and it’s one of the key water sources for Clear Lake and the McKenzie River. You can see the water popping right out of the ground and entering an ethereally clear blue pool. And unlike the Oregon Blue Pool further down the McKenzie River Trail, we saw no one else at the Great Spring.
For more on this day hike, check out our Clear Lake hike blog post.
Day 2: Little Nash Crater and the Oregon Blue Pool
Morning: Little Nash Crater
A sign posted at Clear Lake explained that the lava that originally flooded the river and formed the lake came from Little Nash Crater. With a couple of hours to spare before meeting my mom and brother for our next hike, Bryan and I searched Little Nash Crater on Google Maps and took off by car to look for the volcano.
After a lot of clunking around dirt Forest Service roads in our low-riding car (complete with exclamations every time we hit a large rock), we came upon Little Nash Crater, an otherworldly moonscape of red lava rock. While definitely intriguing, it looked like Little Nash Crater might be used commercially these days. Hard to say for sure. Let us know in the comments if you know!
Afternoon: the Oregon Blue Pool
Back at the campsite around midday, we met my mom and brother. They had driven over from the Oregon coast. We drove a few minutes downstream to the Tamolitch Trailhead, the closest trailhead to the Oregon Blue Pool. From this trailhead, it’s about a 4.5-mile out-and-back hike to the Oregon Blue Pool.
The hike is gorgeous (river, moss, ferns, big trees). The footing can be tricky because the trail passes through old lava fields. Bring hiking poles if you find they help your footing!
Like Clear Lake, the Oregon Blue Pool has volcanic origins. A different lava flow covered the McKenzie River upstream of the Blue Pool, so it actually runs underground for a few miles before resurfacing here at the pool.
For more about the Oregon Blue Pool, check out our Oregon Blue Pool blog post.
Day 3: Bigelow Hot Spring and Lower McKenzie River Trail
On Day 3, it was time for Bigelow hot spring and old-growth forests of the Lower McKenzie River Trail! Since we’d come from separate cities, we had two cars, so we envisioned parking one car at Deer Creek Road and one further downstream. That way we could all hike together in one direction, pick up the second car at the end of the hike, and shuttle back to the first. This would enable doing a long hike without needing to turn around halfway through.
There are also commercial McKenzie River Trail shuttles like this one that cater to mountain bikers and people backpacking the full trail.
However, Day 3 dawned with a steady rain, and we decided that on balance, we’d be happy with a shorter out-and-back hike that day…
The Deer Creek Road parking area is a few miles downstream from Ice Cap Campground. As soon as we got out of the car, we fell into conversation with someone who had just returned from checking out the hot spring.
Bigelow Hot Spring
“It’s washed out,” he explained. “The hot spring is right at the edge of the river, so when the water level is this high, the river water mixes with it and it’s too cold to use.”
Of course, my brother tried it out anyway…he’s actually standing in it in this photo. Brrr!
How to Find Bigelow Hot Spring:
After parking at Deer Creek Road, you’ll see the McKenzie River Trail trailhead across the street. The trailhead splits, with the right fork being the main trail and the left fork being the route to Bigelow hot spring. If you’re unsure, it’s likely you’ll be able to get directions from others in the parking area.
Lower McKenzie River Trail
After our short detour to Bigelow Hot Spring, we followed the Lower McKenzie River Trail a few miles downstream. We saw a runner pass us now and then, but most of the time it was just us and the forest. If you’re looking for a peaceful escape into nature, this is the best section of the McKenzie River Trail. Now and again, a giant old-growth tree rises above the rest of the forest, a reminder of the age and majesty of this special place.
Already been? Let us know in the comments if you’ve hiked on the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail before!
Other Adventures in the Pacific Northwest
Thanks for joining us on the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail! For more travel ideas in the Pacific Northwest, check out our PNW Trip Planner. You can find adventures near you and filter by season and difficulty level. There are weird and wonderful things to explore any time of year. The trip planner links to blog posts to help you plan your next adventure.
Happy exploring!
Leave a Reply