Hike or Ride North Umpqua Trail, Oregon

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Hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, photography, fishing, and sight-seeing opportunites abound in the spectacular settings of the North Umpqua Trail in the Cascade mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The trail is about 79 miles (127 km) long. It is broken up into 12 segments, ranging from 3.5 to 13 miles (21 km) in length. The trail ranges in elevation from 800 feet (240 m) to about 6,000 feet (1,800 m). The North Umpqua Trail is a designated National Recreation Trail and follows the North Umpqua River as it winds west out of the Cascades and towards the city of Roseburg, Oregon. The trail is inside the Roseburg District BLM and Umpqua National Forest lands and closely follows the river for most of its length. It has been designated by the International Mountain Biking Association as an 'Epic Ride', an honor bestowed on only a handful of trails around the world. The trai has the following segments: Tioga: Length: 15.7 miles Difficulty: Difficult, Steep Terrain, long distance Trailheads: Swiftwater and Wright Creek The Swiftwater Trailhead is the western end of the North Umpqua Trail. The Tioga Segment is the lowest in elevation, and provides year-round recreation opportunities. The trail winds through old growth forests of Douglas-fir, hemlock, and sugar pine, with trees often over six feet in diameter. The first quarter-mile of the trail is accessible to persons with disabilities and provides easy access to Deadline Falls. Travel another 1.5 miles through the attractive forested fern groves to the small, but picturesque, Fern Creek Falls. Day-hikers can venture a few more miles through riparian and forested areas, to Bob Butte. Then it's up the trail to a rock outcrop meadow and suggested turnaround for day-hikers. Beyond this, the trail drops down and meanders for many miles, close to the North Umpqua River. Hikers who want to complete all 15.7 miles might consider spending the night due to the long distance. There are no developed campsites, although primitive "no-trace" camping is allowed off the trail. Mott: Length: 5.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Wright Creek and Mott Paralleling the North Umpqua River, this segment serves as an excellent year-round access for all trail users. Passing through an old-growth forest at the western portion, the trail follows the river with small scramble trails down to the waters edge, where you can enjoy fly-fishing as well as beautiful scenery. East of Wright Creek is the McDonald Trail. After several steep switchbacks, this four-mile side trail passes through middle-aged and old-growth forests and an old homestead. Wildflowers abound in the spring. Panther: Length: 5 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Mott and Panther This portion serves as an excellent year-round trail for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. The Trail passes by alder-covered gravel bars, then climbs to rocky bluffs away from the river. The picturesque Steamboat Area has served as a retreat to countless visitors through time. From traditional peoples who gathered food here, to miners vainly searching for gold, to a century of tourists, this area has drawn visitors from around the world. Calf: Length: 3.7 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Panther and Calf Along this segment, the trail stays near the river allowing hikers to hear its rapids. You'll pass along the edge of the 17,000-acre human-caused Apple Fire of 2002. Here, the North Umpqua River stopped the fire from spreading farther north. Along this segment, you will see burned trees and the beginning of the natural regrowth process. Marsters: Length: 3.6 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Calf and Marsters Offering visitors a bird's eye view of the river below, the trail winds through moss-covered rock bluffs, fern-covered hillsides, lush forests, then passes above an old-growth Douglas-fir grove that features several 5 to 7-foot diameter giants over 800 years old! Jessie Wright: Length: 4.1 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Marsters and Soda Springs In 1915, Jesse Wright (1898-1990) and her husband, Perry, homesteaded nearby. The trail will take you along an old roadbed, into Dark Canyon, through a forest of Douglas-fir and big-leaf maple, and below the volcanic remnants of Eagle Rock and Old Man Rock. Several side trails intersect with this segment. The Illahee Flats Trail (1 mile) leads to a scenic Cascade meadow used in the past as an American Indian gathering place and a Forest Service Guard Station; and now as a popular area for equestrians. The Boulder Creek and Bradley Trails provide a loop trail through the Boulder Creek Wilderness. Both trails are closed to mountain bikes. Deer Leap: Length: 9.6 miles Difficulty: Moderate (west to east), Difficult (east to west) Trailheads: Soda Springs and Toketee Lake Named after a volcanic plug that rises 1500-feet above the river, this trail segment follows high along the canyon rim. At the western end, you'll pass by the Soda Springs Dam and Reservoir, then cross Medicine and Slide Creeks. Look for a great view from an open bluff 500 feet above the North Umpqua River. A side trip will take you to see Medicine Creek Indian Pictographs, one-mile up Road 4775. Please respect this cultural heritage site. Near Toketee Lake is Toketee Falls, a double-tiered waterfall plunging 80 and 40-feet over a sheer wall of columnar basalt to the emerald pool below. Hot Springs: Length: 3.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: Toketee Lake and Hot Springs Although short, this segment crosses the North Umpqua River three times. From Toketee Lake, hikers will see the tall metal penstock that channels water down a steep cliff to the hydroelectric generator below. You will find both camping and fishing at Toketee Lake. Dread & Terror: Length: 13 miles Difficulty: Difficult Trailheads: Hot Springs and White Mule In 1908, two rangers on horseback named a four-mile ridgeline south of the river as "Dread and Terror" in reference to the disagreeable possibility of fighting forest fires in the impenetrable thickets of white thorn brush blanketing the area. Many forms of flowing water make this segment unique. Just east of the Umpqua Hot Springs, you'll discover Surprise and Columnar Falls. Several miles farther you'll find Lemolo Falls, a wonderful 102-foot "horsetail-type" falls. Lemolo: Length: 6.3 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Trailheads: White Mule and Kelsay Valley This segment travels west-east on the lower slopes of Bunker hill through mixed-conifer forests of Douglas-dir, lodgepole and ponderosa pine. Lemolo Lake (to the south) is the largest reservoir in the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project. The lake was formed in 1954 behind a 120-foot rock dam and covers 435 acres. Maidu: Length: 9 miles Difficulty: Difficult Trailheads: Kelsay Valley and Digit Point Access The first mile of trail from Kelsay Valley trailhead follows the river as it meanders through a broad, grassy flat. At 2.7 miles, near the Tolo Mountain Trail (#1466) you enter the 55,100-acre Mt. Thielsen Wilderness (this segment is closed to mountain bike use). As the trail climbs toward Maidu Lake, you will travel over deep deposits of pumice deposited over 7,700 years ago by the eruption of Mt. Mazama that created Crater Lake. From Maidu Lake, you hike west to Kelsay Valley Trailhead (9 miles) or east to Digit Point Trailhead (4.75 miles). Be prepared for hoards of mosquitos during the late spring and early summer months. Some sections will test your grit and fear of heights on a mountain bike as the single track trail comes very close to the edge of cliffs over the river far below. You'll pass by Umpqua hot springs and have to make a river crossing. In the early 1970’s, local trail advocates envisioned a trail extending from Rock Creek to the Cascades. Construction began in 1978 and was completed in 1997 through the cooperative efforts of many dedicated volunteers, the Umpqua National Forest, Roseburg District Bureau of Land Management, and Douglas County Parks Department.

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