The Hardest Cuts: Opal Creek

2023 Notes: The Opal Creek Trail was one of the most beautiful places anywhere. I grew up hiking here as a kid and returned many times as an adult. The Beachie Creek Fire in September 2020 burned through the Opal Creek and Little North Santiam River canyons, incinerating the forest and rendering them unrecognizable. The impact is not unlike the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980. If you ever got to hike Opal Creek, you know how special this place was. It will take a very long time, but it will be so again. The description below comes from my book 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region. Matt, Summer 2023

Distance: 11.2 mile semi-loop

Elevation Gain: 700 feet

Trailhead elevation: 1,944 feet

Trail high point:

Season: April – November 

Best: July – October

Pass: NW Forest Pass

Map: Opal Creek Wilderness Area (USFS)

Directions:

• From Salem, drive OR 22 east for 23 miles to the second flashing light in Mehama.

• At a sign for the Little North Fork Recreation Area (and directly across from the Swiss Village restaurant), turn left.

• Follow the paved two-lane road up the Little North Fork for 15 miles to the end of pavement at the entrance to the Willamette National Forest.

• Continue another 1.5 miles of gravel road to a junction with FR 2207.

• Following signs for Opal Creek, keep straight (left) on FR2209 and continue 4.2 miles to the trailhead at a large metal gate on the road. There is room for several dozen cars to park – and yet the trailhead will be full on many nice weekends.

Hike: With its ancient forests and emerald pools, Opal Creek is justifiably famous. In the 1980s, this was the site of one of Oregon’s fiercest battles over the fate of the area’s magnificent groves of old-growth timber. Years of citizen activism saved the grove, and today you can enjoy one of Oregon’s special places in peace and quiet. Though the hike is extremely popular, the area holds people well and feels solitary even when there are dozens of cars at the trailhead. 

The trail to Jawbone Flats is actually a road, one that only the handful of Jawbone Flats residents are permitted to drive. Pass the gate and set off on a slight downhill course. After 0.4 miles cross Gold Creek on a high and rustic bridge. Look down to your left at the waterfall on Gold Creek and the emerald-green pool below; it is the first of many such pools you will see on this hike. Continue to a junction with the Whetstone Mountain Trail and keep straight. The road skirts a cliff on a series of half-bridges at 1.2 miles and enters gorgeous cathedral forest of Douglas firs. This is one of the most photogenic groves of ancient forest you will ever see; mosses drape down off the understory while giants frame the old road on each side. At 2.1 miles pass the remnants of Mertin Mill and take a short side trail down to Sawmill Falls (also known as Cascadia de los Niños), a 20-foot plunge on the Little North Santiam River. Be careful around the rocks as they can be slippery and the pools are deep on each side of the rock.

After returning to the main trail, ignore the Kopetski Trail junction 0.2 mile later (this is your return route) and continue down the old road another 1.2 miles to the rustic village of Jawbone Flats. Built on the site of the Santiam Indians’ winter retreat, Jawbone Flats is a former mining town that has been converted into an educational retreat. You can rent restored cabins and bunkhouses and munch on delicious vegetarian cuisine at reasonable rates should you decide against roughing it on an overnight into the area. Be sure to reserve your room well in advance!

If you aren’t staying the night in Jawbone Flats, head straight through town and turn right, crossing Battle Axe Creek and following signs for Opal Pool. Please stay on the main road and respect the privacy of the residents and guests. After leaving town, the road becomes narrow and rocky and you come to a junction with the trail down to Opal Pool. Turn right and hike down a short switchback to a bridge over Opal Creek just above the pool. Cross the bridge and hike up to a junction with the Kopetski Trail. If you are tired you can turn back here and make it a nice 7.2 mile loop, but in truth the best scenery yet is upstream, so it’s better to keep on going.

If you plan on continuing upstream to Cedar Flats, return to the rocky road and continue another few hundred yards with the Kopetski Trail on your right. Turn right and switchback into the ancient forest above Opal Creek. Continuing upstream alongside magnificent Opal Creek, you will pass more giant trees while the creek tumbles over ledges into deep green pools, each more beautiful than the last. It is almost impossible to avoid stopping over and over again to take pictures. The Opal Creek trail winds uphill a bit and then descends quickly into Cedar Flats at 5.1 miles from the trailhead. A collection of 1,000-year-old cedars that lord over a campground beside Opal Creek, Cedar Flats is where most hikers and backpackers turn around – and this is where you should turn around. Though the trail does continue beyond the flats, it becomes rough, faint and difficult to follow as it navigates through ancient forest. It does not really go anywhere; don’t bother unless you love climbing around on huge fallen trees, clawing through rhododendrons and searching for elusive waterfalls hidden down in Opal Creek’s canyon.

On your return you can and should make a loop by turning left at the sign for Opal Pool just before you enter Jawbone Flats. You will descend a switchback to a bridge over Opal Pool, where you can follow user trails to the base of Opal Pool. Hiking downstream, you’ll pass through spectacular old-growth forest and stellar vistas of the Little North Santiam River to your right. At 1.5 miles from Opal Pool, the trail forks right to cross the bridge over the river. Across the river, turn left on the road to return to your car.

Other Hiking Options:

Just before the bridge you are presented with a fun side trip to Stony Creek. This trail turns left and climbs through a towering collection of Douglas firs for a half-mile until it drops steeply into Stony Creek’s narrow canyon.  If you have the time, this is a worthy detour. The trail once continued up onto the ridge towards Opal Lake but is now impossible to follow past Stony Creek.

Return the way you came.