60. Hells Half Acre

Summary 

Length –                            2 miles one way

Difficulty –                         Easy

Season –                           Summer to early autumn

Elevation range –            4,440 feet – 4,900 feet

Human imprint –              Low (off the beaten path)

Information -                    Willamette National Forest (Middle Fork Ranger District)

Primary old growth features

Huge noble fir; Douglas-fir and noble fir old growth.

Description

This quiet and secluded path up to a misnamed meadow bisects a surprising stand of impressive Douglas-fir and noble fir old growth. The noble fir in particular stand out, including one exceptional giant along the margin of a lower meadow. Hells Half Acre, a striking misnomer for a beautiful meadow, is destination-worthy, and views to the south over the Salt Creek valley are available for the adventurous willing to wander.

Head off gently upslope on the Verdun Trail (3686) through early-stage, Douglas-fir old growth (approximately 250 years old.) Older and larger Douglas-fir and western hemlock soon take over as the trail switchbacks up a steeper sidewall and levels off amid a cluster of giants. The trail then enters a small meadow rimmed by impressively large noble fir. One enormous and still healthy fir to the left of the trail is 7-8’ in diameter, depending on how you measure it. The trail becomes a little hard to follow in the meadow requiring a swerve to the right at one point, but is easily located where it reenters the forest.

The trail then contours across the slope to the northwest, mostly through notable old-growth noble fir, dropping briefly below a rock outcrop before climbing up to the bottom of Hells Half Acre. The trail once wound its way up to Verdun Rock, but now fades away in the meadow. Hikers can chart their own way up the meadow through a blooming paradise in July and August. With a little extra work, hikers can find a perch on the ridge with a view to the south where Diamond Peak rises above the valley. Twice-burned (Warner Creek Fire 1991, Cedar Creek Fire 2022) Bunchgrass Ridge is plainly visible to the north from the top of the meadow.

30 years of change

Very little change.

How to get there

Turn left (north) onto Eagle Creek Road (FR 5883) from Highway 58 just east of the railroad trestle, 14 miles southeast of Oakridge. The trail is on the right and parking on the left 5 ½ miles up the road.