We had our first heat advisory of the year issued for the weekend which prompted us to think twice about the 12 plus mile loop with over 3400′ of elevation gain that we had on our schedule for this week. I went looking at some of the hikes I had on our schedule for future Junes hoping to find something a little less strenuous and landed on the Rogers Peak Loop. This was another Oregon Hikers Field Guide entry. That entry described a 7.1-mile loop with 1065′ of elevation gain and an optional visit to Blue Lake which would add about 1.25-miles and 450′ of extra elevation gain. At 3706′ in elevation Rogers Peak is the third highest peak in the Coast Range behind 4319′ Mt. Bolivar and 4097′ Marys Peak (post).
The hike is located on private timberland using logging roads for almost the entire route. A big thank you to Hampton Lumber for allowing walk-in recreation to the public. Because this is private land access can be restricted at any time so, please check with Hampton Lumber before heading out and be respectful when visiting. They have a web page devoted to recreation here. Also note that weekdays may not be the best time to visit to avoid logging operations and log trucks using the roads.
We followed the Oregon Hikers directions to the trailhead which is just a small pullout before a yellow gate on Gilmore Creek Road. The roads to the trailhead were in good shape, but sections of the final 3.5-miles are very steep and windy.
The pullout only has room for two cars, a third might be able to squeeze in but it would be tight. DO NOT drive past the gate if it happens to be open as motor vehicle use by the public is not allowed beyond the gate.
Again please respect the private landowner’s rights and property. They have no obligation to allow the public access.
Before we started hiking we got distracted by the various wildflowers blooming near the gate.
Thimbleberry
Paintbrush
Lupine
Vanilla leaf
Inside-out flower
Iris
Starflower
Bunchberry
Trailing blackberry
Once we started hiking the road split shortly after the gate with the right-hand fork being the shortest route to Rogers Peak but being short also means steeper. We followed the field guide route and forked left.
The roadbed was fairly level as it traversed along a logged hillside which provided views of the Coast Range.
Cedar Butte and Triangulation Peak in the distance. (post)
Closer look at Cedar Butte
The roadbed also provided the open conditions that many wildflowers prefer.
Paintbrush and penstemon
Beargrass
Unsurprisingly the road passed a number of clearcuts but there was some intact forest along the route as well.
Thimbleberry and blackberry blossoms along the road.
Raspberry
Thistle
Lupine
Rosy bird’s-foot trefoil
We arrived at a saddle 0.8-miles from the car where we stayed right along the hillside.
A section of intact forest.
Coastal monkeyflower
Window to a clearcut.
Window to green.
View across the Rogers Creek drainage.
Columbine and thimbleberry
False lily-of-the-valley
Bunchberry bunch
Valerian
Another thistle
Fairy lanterns
Chipmunk
Anemone
Paintbrush, lupine, and iris
Junco
Clover
Salmonberry
Buttercups
Iris between a thimbleberry (green) and vine maple (reddish).
Scouler’s corydalis
Stink currant
California figwort. This one was driving us crazy trying to ID it on the hike. There was quite a bit of it along the route.
Another stretch of green forest.
Candyflower
At the 1.9-mile mark we came to a second saddle where we again stayed right along the hillside.
Views now were to the north where Saddle Mountain rose above a sea of clouds.
Humbug Mountain and the aptly named Saddle Mountain (post) rising above the clouds.
Saddle Mountain
Paintbrush
Self-heal
The view ahead. The route thus far had been mostly shaded due to the hillsides shadow which was helping to keep the temperatures down.
Youth-on-age
Bleeding heart
Plumed solomonseal
At the 2.8-mile mark we passed a road leading off to the left past a large pile of gravel.
Just 0.2-miles beyond that road (the 3-mile mark of the hike) another road forked off to the left, but downhill. The road to the left led down to Blue Lake, the optional detour. We decided that we should go down and visit the lake at least this one time to say we’d seen it.
The road lost approximately 450′ of elevation in 0.6-miles to a saddle above the little lake where a user trail next to a pole led down to the shore.
Blue Lake along the North Fork Wilson River. There were a few rough-skinned newts swimming in the lake.
After visiting the lake we made the relatively steep climb back up and continued on the loop.
Heading up. The shade was becoming more sporadic as the morning progressed.
A mustard
Another junco
Best guess is slender phlox.
A tenth of mile from the junction, or the 3.1-mile mark of the loop, we came to another fork. Once again we stayed right, and now the road began to climb.
Fork ahead.
The shade was abandoning us, and it was getting warm fast.
In person this was one of the best bunchberry displays we’d seen.
We’d been keeping an eye out for Mt. St. Helens on the horizon, but someone missed it the first time it should have been visible. We did however spot Mt. Rainier as we made our way up the road.
It was just hazy enough that the snowy peaks blended in on the horizon.
Mt. Rainier
We passed a gravel pit as the road rounded a ridge where we had a view toward Rogers Peak.
There were some wonderful clumps of penstemon at the gravel pit.
Saddle Mountain from the gravel pit.
The road continuing to climb past the gravel pit.
At the 3.9-mile mark of the loop we came to yet another fork where we again stayed right to continue up to the ridge below Rogers Peak.
Taking a left at the fork would have put us onto the road seen below.
Dandelion (non-native) in the penstemon. There were surprisingly few non-native wildflowers which was nice.
These little guys might be some sort of speedwell.
Variable-leaf collomia (pink) and slender phlox (white)
Looking back after having made it onto the ridge. The loop route is the road seen on the right cutting along the hillside, not the roadbed straight ahead going up the knoll.
From the ridge we finally could see Mt. St. Helens (and Mt. Adams).
Mt. St. Helens (post) to the left and Mt. Adams to the right of the hill.
More zoomed in shot of Mt. St. Helens.
Closer look at the recently more active Mt. Adams.
In addition to the two Washington volcanos Oregon’s Mt. Hood was visible to the east.
Again the sun angle and haze made it hard to make out the snow peaks.
We actually stayed left at a fork along the ridge and at the 4.5-mile mark of the loop came to the spur road up Rogers Peak.
Don’t go right here, one of the few times we stayed left. This road would take you back down to the other side of the loop near the second saddle we passed through.
Violets
Oregon grape
Black currant
Spur road up Rogers Peak.
When the field guide entry was written this was an abandoned track but at some point recently the road was restored. Heather decided to skip the somewhat steep 0.2-mile climb up this road as the summit is relatively viewless due to trees. I however wanted to tag the summit and find the summit register so up I went.
Lomatium
Wide area at the end of the road below the actual summit.
The summit was a short scramble up this hillside to the right (NE) of the road.
The mossy rocks at the summit where the register is located.
Sourgrass
The summit register cans below the rocks.
I signed the register and left a Wanderingyuncks card in the can then had a quick snack and headed back to the loop to work on catching up to Heather.
While there wasn’t much of a view from the summit on the way down the road I had a pretty good view of Mt. St. Helens.
Back on the loop. You can see the road to the summit on the right heading uphill.
The only mushrooms I noticed all hike.
An alumroot
Penstemon and beargrass.
A clodius parnassian on arnica.
Looking out on the horizon I spotted another faint snowy peak on the horizon. The hump in the center foreground between the two trees is Kings Mountain (post).
Low quality due to how much I had to zoom and the poor visibility, but this is Mt. Jefferson.
Arnica
A half mile after rejoining the loop a short spur road on the right led to a nice viewpoint and where I found Heather.
Rogers Peak to the right of the spur road.
The two higher peaks to the right are Angora (post) and West Onion.
Mt. Rainier
We returned to the loop and began to descend.
The wildflowers had been good all day, but the stretch of road after the spur up Rogers Peak was spectacular.
Penstemon clumps with Saddle Mountain in the background.
Four tenths of a mile beyond the summit road we passed to the left of a small knoll.
The road steepened here as it dropped down to a saddle in another 0.4-miles.
We made a sharp right turn at the saddle and got a brief respite from the steep descent as the road passed above Morris Creek.
Robin
My guess is that this is a non-native species given it was growing in the roadbed, but it was pretty.
The road eventually steepened again as it dropped down to the fork near the gate where we’d gone left earlier in the morning.
The road junction as we decsended.
The gate from the junction.
My GPS showed 8.5-miles total including the side trip to Blue Lake, visit to the summit, and the viewpoint on the spur road. Total elevation gain was approximately 1525′.
This wound up being a very enjoyable hike. The wildflower displays and variety was impressive, we got to see five Cascade volcanoes along with several familiar peaks in the Coast Range, and we only saw one other person all morning. (Shortly after setting off we’d spoken with a Hampton Lumber employee who was driving out.) Again I wanted to acknowledge how much we appreciate when the lumber companies offer recreational access to their land. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Rogers Peak Loop
There were a couple of downed trees and at least one spot where part of the tread had given way on the hillside. A bigger issue was the broken glass and other garbage left by mouth breathers that was littered about.
It was just over a third of a mile to the falls.
Beaver Creek below the falls.
Trail snail
Fringecup
Starflower
Fairy lanterns
Scouler’s corydalis
Bleeding heart
False lily of the valley
Highway 30 crossing.
Sign along the section of trail between the highway and the fish hatchery.
Trail pointer on the shelter at the fish hatchery.
Youth-on-age
Numbering on a tree for the interpretive trails.
Bigfoot off the Gnat Creek Trail.
Trillium
Huckleberry blossoms and a downed tree along the Gnat Creek Trail.
Scouler’s corydalis along the trail.
The start of the short loop.
One of two benches along the loop.
Gnat Creek from the bench.
The backside of the loop was a little overgrown.
Star-flowered Solomonseal
We mostly stayed right at junctions to keep along the creek.
Barrier Falls
Unnamed waterfall near the hatchery trailhead.
Mill Creek from the bridge.
Stellar’s jay
Chipmunk
Loon Lake
The lake was formed by a landslide. The boulders in the Mill Creek picture above were part of that landslide.
Trillium
This was our first hike in the Elliott State Forest and possibly only hike given the forest webpage states under “There are no established trails, restrooms, or trash receptacles.”
Fairy lanterns
Given that the unnamed stream that feeds the waterfall appears to start just a bit further uphill I suspect it doesn’t often have much of a flow, but it was a decent waterfall in a lovely setting.
A very short path led down to the waterfall.
Camp Creek Falls. The rock here is sandstone which creates the 31′ stairstep cascade.
Snail
Before reaching Highway 38 I had to pull over to get a couple of photos of an elk herd.
Camas
Not sure why this was lying on the side of the trail away from the trailhead, but it provides information on the seasonal allowed usage of the units.
Geese
Roses
Channel along the dikes.
Rough-skinned newt
Slug
Snail
Made it out.
Bench along Coyote Creek
I should have gone this direction. The presence of the bench should have tipped me off.
Overgrown but in the right spot.
The orange section is where I turned right instead of left as I should have. I estimate that going the correct way would have added approximately 0.75-miles. I don’t know what type of condition the other section of trail through the woods is in.
Road to Fisher Butte,
Camas
Bird viewing platfrom.
Red-winged blackbird
Bullfrog. They were everywhere and continuously startled us when they would make a loud “alarm” sound before jumping into the water.
We turned left at the platform onto this dike.
Sparrow
Blue-winged teals. This was the first time seeing this species during Wildlife Week. We had seen a couple of these ducks back in 2021 at Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon (
Another big field of camas.
Fisher Butte at the end of another dike.
Geese in formation.
Checkerbloom
Blue sky, a far cry from the low clouds and showers we’d driven through in the Eugene area earlier in the morning.
Geese and cinnamon teals.
I needed a more powerful camera to make out the various ducks and other birds we were seeing in the distance.
There were a number of great blue herons hunting in the wetlands.
Another viewing platfrom.
Looking toward the Royal Avenue Unit.
Pelicans. Another species that I hadn’t seen at any other wildlife area this week.
Purple martin
One of at least a half dozen American bitterns that we saw in flight. We were unable to spot any before or after they were in flight.
Swallows in flight
There was a lot happening in this part of the unit.
White pelicans and a mute swan (non-native)
Geese
Another first this week – greater white fronted geese. It’s a blurry photo but it was the best I could do given their distance.
Goose passing the swan.
Same goose passing a pelican.
Northern shoveler
Hawk
Another large group of various ducks and other birds.
Bald eagles
Two types of camas
Heading back to the trailhead along the side of Fisher Butte.
Flax
The final stretch of Wildlife Week.
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Moss carpet
The first of several road and/or OHV trail crossings.
Skunk cabbage
Coming to an OHV trail crossing.
Violet
Another OHV crossing.
Trillium
Mushrooms
Approximately 1.4-miles along the Wilson River Wagon Road the trail followed Saddle Mountain Road for 150 yards before resuming on the far side.
The trail resuming on the left off Saddle Mountain Road.
Deyoe Creek
The Wilson River Wagon Road Trail arriving at University Falls Road across from the University Falls Trailhead.
University Falls Trailhead.
There was a clearcut on the right-hand side of the trail.
The Gravelle Brothers Trail joined from the right after 0.2-miles. This is the trail we’d used to reach the falls in 2015.
Salmonberry blossoms
Trillium near the falls.
Heading down the road from the trailhead.
Coltsfoot
Wood sorrel
University Falls Road below to the right.
This appeared to be a new section of trail replacing the old alignment on the north side of the road.
The closed section of the trail that remains on the north side of the road.
The closed section of trail coming up on the right with the continuation of the trail ahead on the left.
The other end of the closed section.
This section was open so I waved Heather on and we headed down through the clearcut to the horse camp.
A lot more hikes may look like this if the current administration gets its way.
The horse camp in the trees.
Footbridge over Deyoe Creek.
Rough skinned newt.
In true Oregon fashion the weather was a mix of sprinkles and blue skies.
Violet enjoying some sunlight.
This stump looked suspiciously like Davey Jones from the Pirates of the Carribean movies to us.
Huckleberries
Devil’s Fork
1930 Caterpillar Model 30
Bridge over Cedar Creek.
Cedar Creek
North Scappoose Creek
Sun hitting the top a hill in the distance.
There was a lot of 
Forest along the trail.
One of several interpretive signboards along this segment.
While the Sun was out the trail remained mostly shaded and therefore cold. We both would have benefited from some slightly warmer layers.
Hair ice
More hair ice
Another interpretive sign ahead.
MP 13
The Nehalem Divide TH on the left and the Crown Z Trail continuing on the right.
I believe that is Silver Star Mountain (
North Scappoose Creek winding past a private home.
The Ruley Trailhead ahead.
From the saddle South Triangulation Point, the highpoint of the loop, is to the right.
Bleeding heart
Fairy lanterns
Solomonseal
Inside-out flower
Paintbrush
Lupine
Starflower
Salmonberry
Cardwell’s penstemon
Beargrass
Wallflower
Little-leaf montia
Fringecup
Salal
Rosy bird’s-foot trefoil
Band-tailed pigeons
Looking back at the saddle before heading into the trees.
Vetch
Leaving the clearcut.
Rock cliffs marking the location of Kilchis Falls.
Located on a tributary of the North Fork Kilchis River the falls reportedly seldom have much flow, but there was enough water today to make for a pretty sight.
The small pool below the falls.
Avens
Spider hiding on a columbine.
Scouler’s corydalis
Youth-on-age
Valerian
Hedgenettle
Waterfall on an unnamed creek. It was quite a way back in thick vegetation.
The above waterfall sans zoom.
Buttercup
Fick Creek joining the river.
Potholes on the North Fork Kilchis River.
Triangulation Creek flowing into the river.
Snail shadow on a iris.
Middle Road coming downhill on the right. This is the 
A very blurry picture of a doe that was way down the hillside in the forest.
Large rock and log in the middle of Middle Road.
Monkeyflower surrounded by candyflower
Paintbrush on some cliffs above Middle Road.
Thistle
The road at the 1.3-mile mark along Middle Road.
The saddle at the 1.6-mile mark.
Memorial at the saddle.
Middle Road continuing on from the saddle.
Beargrass
The road on the left at the 2.1-mile mark.
Iris
Stream flowing down the road.
Coming up to the 4-way junction.
Middle Road from the 4-way junction.
The two lefthand forks at the 4-way junction.
FB3
Monkeyflower
Beargrass, paintbrush and penstemon
More flowers on a rocky outcrop along FB3.
A bunch of monkeyflowers.
Springs along the road.
Snake cooling off in the mud.
The snake didn’t budge as we passed around it.
This fork is approximately 4.2 miles from the Middle Road Trailhead.
Snake number two on the day.
This one didn’t budge either.
Switchback below the saddle.
Approaching the saddle.
Gated road up Triangulation Point.
South Triangulation Point
Serviceberry, paintbrush, yarrow, and iris.
Paintbrush and Cardwell’s penstemon
Iris
Broadleaf arnica, paintbrush and penstemon
Columbine among others.
Broadleaf arnica
Final pitch to the summit.
We could see our car parked at the saddle below Cedar Butte from South Triangulation Point.
Motorcycle track heading down from the summit with Triangulation Point on the other side of the saddle.
Looking to the NW you can see out to the Pacific Ocean. The line of peaks furtherst back staring from left to right consists of Neahkahnie Mountain (
Closer look at Surgarloaf Mountain and Kidder Butte.
Wildflowers on South Triangulation Point.
Another nice clump of wild iris.
Lupine
Flowers lining the road.
More motorcycles at the 5-way junction.
Variable-leaf collomia
The road briefly followed a narrow ridge.
Anemones
Moth
Heather spotted this little one. Not sure if it’s a vole, pocket gopher, or something else.
Silverleaf phacelia and chickweed
A lomatium
Larkspur and monkeyflower
This pink larkspur really stood out on the cliffs.
Littleleaf miner’s-lettuce
Several types of yellow wildflowers.
Still dropping a little after the cliffs.
Bleeding heart and candyflower
Climbing the road at the edge of the clearcut.
The saddle where our car was parked across the clearcut.
South Triangulation Point from Cedar Butte Road.
South Triangulation Point
Looking down the North Fork Kilchis River valley from the saddle.
The trail information lists the hike as “difficult” due to the amount of elevation gained over just three quarters of a mile to the summit.
The start of the Cedar Butte Trail.
Star-flowered false solomonseal
Black-headed grosbeak
False lily of the valley
The trail was in good shape with just one small tree down over it.
Blue-eyed Mary
Small saddle below the summit.
Beargrass
Phlox
Final pitch to the summit.
Wild onion
Benches at the former lookout site.
View from the summit.
Wildflowers at the summit.
Kings Mountain is the high point to the right along the ridge.
Fairy bells and vanilla leaf
Almost back
The first signboard near the small parking area.
Elk Creek Road from the small parking area.
Bleeding heart
Salmonberry
Fairy lanterns
Largeleaf avens
Scouler’s corydalis
Coastal monkeyflower
Trillium
Star flower
The well graded trail uses a combination of switchbacks and long traverses to climb over 1000′.
Looking down at the trail below.
Anemone
Western buttercup
Paintbrush, parsley, and blue-eyed Mary
Fairy lanterns and paintbrush
Lupine was just beginning to bloom along the road.
On the way back down.
West Fork Elk Creek to the left and Elk Creek to the right from the bridge.
The junction with the Elk Creek Trail.
We missed a section of leafy mitrewort on our earlier pass.
The small parking area from the trail.
Thimbleberry
Coming up on the start of the boardwalk.
Scouler’s corydalis at the base of the boardwalk.
The boardwalk junction.
The base of Cathedral Tree.
One of two benches near the 300+ year old stika spruce.
Cathedral Tree
Beyond the boardwalk the trail was a bit rougher.
Trail markers were present at times to help identify the correct route.
Pacific waterleaf
The Astoria Columnn.
Megler Bridge
Young’s River on the left and the Lewis & Clark River on the right
The early bird.
The spiral staircase.
Young’s River
Traffic on the Columbia River.
Looking out toward the Pacific beyond Astoria.
Deer in the grass below the Astoria Column.
Heather below the column.
This was a spur trail 0.2-miles from the column (0.6-mile from the trailhead) that also leads down to Irving Street and could be used for a loop if you don’t mind some street walking. We opted to pass and did the hike as an out-and-back.
False lily-of-the valley
The last trillium?
Fringecup
The start of the short trail to the falls.
Interpretive signs near the start of the trail.
The falls were noted during Lewis and Clark’s stay at nearby Fort Clatsop (
This was a tough one to photograph due to the amount of spray being blown straight at us by the force of the water.
We pulled over onto the shoulder of Hwy 202 to snap a picture of these bulls.
Bleeding heart
Fairybells
Scouler’s corydalis
I was joined by a pair of ouzels at the falls.
Looking back at Heather on the other side of Fishhawk Creek.
Me through the trees below the falls.
Please note that you need a permit to park at the refuge.
Sunrise from the trailhead.
Clear cut at the trailhead.
This was the view through the forest from Maple Creek Road around the 80-yard mark.
We could hear the Tualatin River in the valley below and I managed to get far enough down the hill to get a glimpse of the water. I had descended from a pullout with a fire ring about 50-75′ looking for the old roadbed, but I still couldn’t make out where it actually was and had been slipping a lot on wet wood.
Map and information at the trailhead.
Starling
Lenticular clouds over Mt. Hood in the distance.
Our first wildflower of the year is Indian plum in 2024.
Egret
Path at Fernhill Wetlands.
Gazebo overlooking Cattail Marsh.
Great blue heron on a post above Cattail Marsh.
American coot
Another great blue heron.
Red-winged blackbird
Hawk flying over Eagles Perch Marsh.
Ring-necked ducks
Buffleheads
This one might be a hooded merganser?
Fernhill Lake
This is where the trail turned east (for obvious reasons).
Barney wetlands
Double-crested cormorant on a post in Barney Wetlands.
Double-crested cormorant
Drying off in the sun.
Nurtia at a bench near Dabblers Marsh
Nutria
Dabblers Marsh
Green-winged teal
Great blue heron
Pie-billed grebe
Robin
The start of the loop at the edge of the farmland. We stayed left opting to hike the loop clockwise.
Anna’s hummingbrid
A gaggle of geese in the field.
American kestrels manning their posts.
Purple dead-nettle
More geese coming in for a landing.
Near the end of the loop the trail left the field along Dabblers Marsh.
Spotted towhee
Rabbit
Geese on Fernhill Lake
Mallard drake
Mallard female
Water Gardens
Northern shovelers, a mallard, and a coot.
Oregon grape beginning to bloom.
Northern shoveler
Green-winged teal pair
Path along the Research Wetlands.
Egret near the parking lot at Fernhill Marsh
Looking back at the Research Wetlands from the near the trailhead.
Just before the bridge over Shot Pouch Creek is a spur trail for water which is reportedly scarce along the entire 60-mile route.
A swollen Shot Pouch Creek.
Following the trail/road up to the 4-way.
This was one of a handful of similar structures in the area. So far we haven’t found any information on their history.
Nearing “The 4-way”. Just ahead is where the Subaru bottomed out slightly.
The 4-way
Trail marker with the kiosk and part of the gate in the distance.
Cloudy and wet morning as expected.
The rocks on the first stretch were not a pleasant surface to walk on but it wasn’t too long before we left the rocks behind.
Small cascade along a side creek.
The first of the newts we spotted. They blend well with the leaves so we tried to really keep our eyes open to avoid accidently stepping on any. Over the course of the hike we saw several dozen and who knows how many we didn’t see.
C2C Trail marker along the left-hand (downhill) fork.
This was the only significant blowdown we encountered on the hike and the tree here was a fairly easy duck under.
The Sugar Bowl Creek Trail segment leaving the old road. This was the only portion that was true singletrack along the Sugar Bowl segment. Here the trail passes through a portion of the Siuslaw National Forest.
The Sugar Bowl Creek Trail switchbacked downhill to the East before turning back to the SW in the Sugar Bowl.
The trail eventually rejoined the old roadbed.
Actual blue sky.
Arriving at Mary’s Peak Road.
Signage along Mary’s Peak Road for the C2C.
This particular newt was not about to move out of Heather’s way.
A side creek flowing toward Sugar Bowl Creek.
Sugar Bowl Creek was never visible from the C2C but it was out there somewhere.
The Harlan Road Gate and kiosk.
Coral fungus
Unnamed creek
Back on the rocky roadbed below the 4-way.
Back at the gate and kiosk.
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