3. North Umpqua River

Summary

The North Umpqua River Trail formerly travelled through beautiful examples of riparian old growth, highlighting huge Douglas-fir and scattered old sugar pine. Three trail segments (Tioga, Mott and Marsters) were profiled in my 2003 book (Old-Growth Forest Hikes: Washington and Oregon Cascades). Unfortunately, a series of fires burned over almost  the entirety of these trail segments since then, mostly at high severity. The most impactful was the Archie Creek Fire in 2020, which impacted the Tioga and Mott segments, but the Cable Crossing Fire in 2015 also affected a portion of the Tioga segment, and the Happy Dog Fire burned over the Marsters segment in 2012. None of these segments can be considered old growth at present, though scattered fire survivors remain.