Wilson River Trail Update (04.16.2021)

OPEN:  The portion of the Wilson River Trail east of Footbridge Trailhead is now open.

OPEN:  The portion of the Wilson River Trail running west from Footbridge Trailhead to Keening Creek Trailhead is now open.

News Release - Know Before You Go: Recreation Facility Status

Oregon’s Recreation Site Status Map shows recreation closures in wildfire impacted areas.

Check before visiting recreation sites to find alternatives to areas that are closed due to impacts from the 2020 wildfire season.

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon’s Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery Task Force released an interagency status map today to help the public navigate the status of popular recreation areas impacted by the 2020 wildfire season.

The September 2020 wildfires swept through approximately 1.3 million acres of land in Oregon across multiple jurisdictions. Many of these areas contain favorite public recreation areas still closed due to the severity of impacts and continued recovery operations. To help minimize impacts on recovery efforts, prioritize safe recreation and reduce risk, natural resource management agencies released Oregon’s Recreation Site Status Map today. This map provides a centralized hub to help inform the public as they plan to take advantage of Oregon’s many outdoor recreation opportunities.

Federal and state land management agencies, along with tourism and outdoor recreation partners, collaborated on this interagency status map that shows open, closed and reduced service areas on a single map, regardless of reason for closure and across multiple jurisdictions.

Coordinated by the State’s Wildfire Recovery efforts, this project was widely led by the Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation with technical help from the USDA Forest Service and other partners

including Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Bureau of Land Management, US Army Corps of Engineers, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Travel Oregon.

To ensure safe recreation and reduce risk, the public is strongly encouraged to check whether an area is open before visiting and to respect closures. Some areas are unsafe to enter due to the danger of slides or damaged trails. Fire impacted areas may be undergoing recovery and restoration efforts such as road repairs, ecological surveys, reseeding, or hazardous tree removal.

Popular recreation areas will open as safety and recovery statuses improve. For more information on specific sites, please contact the responsible land management agency. For general information on the state’s recovery efforts, please reach out to fire.info@state.or.us or visit https://wildfire.oregon.gov/

Primary Contact:

Jo Niehaus, Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery Task Force PIO, jo.niehaus@oregon.gov, 503-580-9210

Agency Contacts:

Morgan Rubanow, BLM Public Affairs Specialist, mrubanow@blm.gov
Thomas Ibsen, USFS Region 6 Developed Recreation Manager, thomas.ibsen@usda.gov

Jason Cox, ODF State Forest Public Affairs Specialist, Jason.R.Cox@oregon.gov
Jaime Eder, Travel Oregon, jaime@traveloregon.gov

Ashley Massey, Oregon State Marine Board PIO, Ashley.MASSEY@oregon.gov

Trail Closures from the Valentines Day Storm (updated 03.09.2021)

ODF staff are busy assessing damage from the Valentine's Day weekend snow and ice storms.  Forest roads, recreation trails and recreation facilities sustained the various levels of damage due significant snow pack, heavy ice accumulation and the resulting falling limbs and down trees.  

Folks planning a forest visit should use extreme caution and are encouraged to consider postponing a few weeks until there is more snow melt and further assessments have been made.

Here are some closure notices:

• Bridge Creek Falls Trail is closed until further notice due to damage caused by the Valentine's Day weekend storm.

• 
  Wilson River Trail is closed west of Foot Bridge Trailhead until further notice due to significant damage to the trail tread and multiple down trees.  The closure extends all the way to the end of the Wilson River Trail at Keenig Creek Trailhead.

These pictures are a sample of the kinds of damage to the Wilson River Trail trail.  

The map below the pictures shows the closure area.

Please respect this public safety closure.

Keenig Campground and Lake Tahoe Reopen

Winter storm damage clean-up and repair at Keenig Creek Campground and project work at Lake Tahoe are complete. Both sites are open and the public is welcome to once again enjoy these areas. 

Please remember to check road and weather conditions before heading into the forest for your next adventure. 

• Check the weather forecast.  National Weather Service 
• Check road conditions. Oregon TripCheck
• Check the forest road and trail report. Oregon Department of Forestry