53. North Fork – Buffalo Rock

Summary 

Length – 3 to 5 miles one way

Difficulty – Moderate to difficult

Season – Spring to autumn

Elevation range –2,040 feet – 2,280 feet

Human imprint – Low (adjacent older plantations)

Information - Willamette National Forest, Middle Fork Ranger District

Primary old growth features

Secluded stretch of low-elevation old growth.

Description

This readily accessible yet seldom-visited section of the North Fork Trail (3666) near Buffalo Rock travels through fine old forest most of the way. It receives very little use because it doesn’t really connect to other trails nor visit any unique feature. And it is infrequently maintained, meaning that there are numerous logs of various dimensions across the trail requiring scrambling over, under and around the obstructions. Nevertheless, if you’re up for the challenge and enjoy having the forest to yourself, this may be the place for you.

The trail quickly heads down to the river and follows the right bank downstream with occasional upslope detours. It dead-ends approximately 5 miles later in the middle of nowhere. When I visited in the summer of 2023 there was a difficult slab of western redcedar across the trail at a steep location about three miles in that will effectively end the hike for most people until it is removed.

The forest is predominantly a Douglas-fir and western hemlock old forest, with a few clusters of western redcedar. Scattered individual western white pine, sugar pine, incense cedar and grand fir also mix in. The forest becomes more open in places, especially near the river, and contacts a couple of plantations where it veers away from the river. Occasional riverside glades of moss-blanketed big leaf maple add diversity and beauty to the hike.

There are occasional accessible streambanks and gravel bars along the river for more varied views, although you never get a good look at Buffalo Rock even though you pass just below it. You can get a decent view of an adjacent rock outcrop immediately to the west, however. During our visit I spotted a rare and reclusive wolverine between the trail and river.

25 years of change

Not included in the original guides.

How to get there

Turn left onto the Westfir Highway off of Highway 58, approximately 37 miles southeast of Eugene. Turn left onto the Westfir-Oakridge Road after ½ mile. Continue straight through the Westfir junction becoming FR 19 where it enters the national forest. Turn left onto FR 1939 approximately 20 ½ miles from the Westfir junction (just over a mile past Kiahanie Campground.) The trail takes off to the left 1 ¼ miles later.