DESTINATION Peter Skene Ogden Trail 1 Photoset
2024-06-04 | |
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| Hiking | 5.79 Miles |
505 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.79 Miles | 1 Hour 36 Mns | | 3.62 mph |
| 505 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Belated post. Did a portion of this trail after visiting Paulina Falls. There was some confusion on my part regarding this trail. Friends had suggested McKay Crossing as a possible trail and I was thinking that I was looking for a trail called McKay Crossing. It was only through exploring the Paulina Lake area that I discovered that McKay Crossing was part of the Peter Skene Ogden Trail. McKay Crossing was actually McKay Crossing Campground and was a common turnaround point for hikers interested in doing a portion of the Peter Skene Ogden Trail. I’m not a big fan of doing partial hikes, but this was the trail suggested for me and time was limited.
The trailhead is 2.8 miles on Paulina Lake Rd/County Rd 21 and the turn off will be on the left hand side with about .4 mile drive up a dirt road. The turn off and TH is signed as the Peter Ogden Trail. There’s plenty of parking with room for maybe 20 cars with a couple of picnic tables and what I thought was a bathroom. The Deschutes National Forest website says there is no bathroom at this TH so I’m not sure what the purpose of the structure was. Besides the creek, there is no water at the TH. This trail is known as the Peter Skene Ogden trail and could easily be known as the Paulina Creek trail, as it parallels the creek up to Paulina Lake. It is a solid single track composed of soft dirt and pine needles. Ideal for hiking or running. The trail immediately crosses a bridge and then follows the creek for about 1 mile before reaching another bridge and crossing the creek. About .3 miles in there is a small bench providing a pleasant resting place to take in the surroundings. The views aren’t fantastic, but sitting by a babbling brook is never a bad thing. Once the trail crosses over to the other side, it continues to shadow the creek, though not quite as closely as it does on the south side. Around 1.75 the trail starts to gain elevation a little more steadily and will drift further away from the creek. You’ll actually lose sight of the creek for awhile, but it will always be audible in the distance. Around 2.7 the trail will return to the creek and at 2.8 you’ll be rewarded with a view of a small waterfall. At the same time you will start to see signs of McKay Crossing Campground. The trail runs along the southern edge of the campground and comes to a road around the 3 mile mark. This unfortunately was my turnaround and I headed back the way I came.
This turned out to be a nice hike. It was disappointing not to be able to see the whole trail, but what I did was a nice introduction to the area. It’s always pleasant to hike near a flowing stream. I only encountered one hiker and two joggers. No wildlife again. |
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