A Weekend in Westfir, Oregon

Too many people think that Oregon wilderness starts and ends with Mount Hood, Bend, and the Gorge.  If you're willing to drive a little further, a whole new world will open up to you.  I've spent three weekends now exploring the woods around Eugene, and every trip just gets better and better.  This past weekend for our third trip to this area, we stayed in a remote cabin in Westfir, Oregon.

North Fork of the Willamette River, from Westfir, Oregon

Westfir is a tiny town in the Willamette National Forest. Instead of our usual intense hiking, skiing, or biking, we chose to have a relaxed weekend. Sometimes you just need a chill vacation just spent wandering, with no big goals!

We considered skiing at the nearby Willamette Pass Resort, but decided to save that for another trip. It was snowy and cold this past weekend, so we also started making a list of future summertime fun in the area:

• Lots of nearby swimming holes in the North Fork of the Willamette

• Odell Lake and Waldo Lake

• Mountain biking and OHV trails

Here's our weekend itinerary:

Ruby's Cabin in Westfir, Oregon

This was our home base for the weekend.  It is a rustic log cabin on private property in Westfir with a wood stove for warmth.  There's a pit type outhouse, an outdoor kitchen, sinks with running water, multiple outdoor fire pits, and even a solar shower setup.

The cabin was cute, cozy, and warm despite sub-freezing temperatures outside.  There's 200 acres to explore, and we did walk a 1-mile loop through the woods around the property.  The best part was the giant herd of elk that grazes in the front yard.  It was magical to sit around the fire pit and just watch them exist.  There's no cell service here so prepare to unplug and enjoy being off the grid.

Link to HipCamp: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/oregon-ruby-s-cabin-y0zhwpn0?share_id=31rpkvzcee&utm_medium=share&utm_source=share_content

Willamette Fish Hatchery

Our first stop on Saturday was the fish hatchery. I didn't think it was possible for anything to surpass Bonneville Hatchery with Herman the Sturgeon, but Willamette comes close.  This is like Disneyland if you're interested in fish.

The first area you'll see after parking are the trout ponds.  Walk to the back of the trout area for a surprise - a mini zoo of upland game birds!  This past weekend, only the wild turkeys were home, but there's space for several groups of birds.  Behind the bird enclosures is an interpretive hiking trail.

The most unique part of the hatchery was a mini golf course.  It was closed this weekend (who wants to play mini golf in 29 degree weather), but I was impressed at their setup.

Past the mini golf area are salmon and giant sturgeon ponds.  Some of the sturgeon here are almost Herman sized, and they share a home with adult rainbow trout.

Next to the sturgeon is my favorite part of the hatchery - a completely free self-guided museum in a rustic log cabin.  There is an aquarium with catfish and rainbow trout, historic exhibits, and laughably bad taxidermy. 

The hatchery was totally free and we spent over an hour there.  It's only 5 minutes from Ruby's Cabin and a must-stop if you're at all into fish or wildlife.

More info here: https://myodfw.com/willamette-hatchery-visitors-guide

McCredie Hot Springs

There's a small day use parking area (that requires a National Park/Forest pass), and a very short walk down to the hot springs on the north side of Salt Creek.  Unfortunately clothing is optional here and we saw way more skin than we expected… The springs were surprisingly crowded, but they are only 50 miles south of Eugene, so I can see why they'd be heavily trafficked. I was able to strategically angle my camera to take some G-rated photos of the springs:

There are a few pools on the north side of the creek that are deep enough to soak in.  To reach the south side of the creek, you'll have to drive over Shady Gap Road, park in any spot you can find, and follow an unmarked trail.  There are more pools on this side of the creek (but equally as crowded).  Don't try crossing the creek - it might look shallow but the current is strong and the water is freezing.

Soak Oregon's write-up: https://soakoregon.com/mccredie-hot-springs/

Hills Creek Lake

After the hot springs, we took a quick fishing break at the Hills Creek Reservoir.  Water levels are kept low in the winter for maintenance, but should be higher in the summer.  We walked down to the shore and were surprised by the quicksand-like consistency of the mud.  Nothing we couldn't handle, but we were sliding around quite a bit.

We fished for a while but didn't catch anything, despite seeing several trout jump.  I'd love to come back here in the summer when the lake is full.  It's open to motorized boats, kayakers, wind surfers, water skiers, swimmers, etc.

A side note - we looked for Kitson Springs on our way to the lake.  We saw the location on Google Maps and wanted to check out the abandoned bath house.  Unfortunately it is now on private property and gated off.

More information on the reservoir: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recarea/?recid=4527

Office Covered Bridge

The little town of Westfir (population 263) is very charming and I wish we had time to explore it more.  Like most small towns, almost everything is closed on Sunday, so we just drove through and looked at the covered bridge.  In the summer, I'd love to come back and explore Westfir and the nearby larger town of Oakridge.

The bridge was built in 1944 and is the longest covered bridge in the state.  There is a pedestrian walkway which is unique for a covered bridge to have.  It crosses the North Fork of the Willamette River.  If you're a covered bridge nerd like I am, there's another one in nearby Lowell (but you can't drive/walk through it).  There are also several off the Row River Trail, which I'll write about in another article.

On the other side of the river is a parking lot for the North Fork Trail.  There are a lot of mountain bike trails here, as well as several bike shuttle and guide companies. This is number one on my list of things to do in the area once the snow melts.

Westfir city website: https://www.ci.westfir.or.us/

Dink's Market

This is the one place we did stop at in the city to buy some marshmallows to roast.  The owners were incredibly kind and told us that on weekends they cook authentic Indian food.  Unfortunately we had already packed dinner, but it smelled incredible.  It looks like just another convenience store, but don't underestimate it.  Next time we come down here, I'll definitely pick up homecooked Indian food to eat around the campfire - what a unique treat in a 260 person town in the middle of nowhere!

Elijah Bristow State Park

As you take Highway 58 from Westfir to Eugene, you'll pass Elijah Bristow State Park.  We took our dog here and went for a 2.5-ish mile walk and saw most of the park.  It felt like a cross between the Sandy River Delta and Champoeg State Park.  There is an off leash dog park, but dogs are required to be leashed on the trails because they are shared with equestrians.  My only complaints here were the horse poop everywhere, and narrow trails that are a little scary to share with horses (you'll have to stand in the bushes to let them pass).

Further information: https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=60

On the Way Back to Portland

One of my guiding principles is to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.  I never just drive somewhere - I find several places to stop and explore along the way.  Eugene is a treasure trove of fun stops, so I'll save that for another day.  Here's the three places we stopped at on the way back to Portland.

• Beekman Place Antique Mall in Corvallis - we love antiquing and stopped here mainly to stretch our legs and break up the trip. 

• In N Out Burger (duh) - this is a classic, and we can't drive north past Salem/Keizer without stopping

• Willamette Mission State Park - I was craving a run after the long drive, so I convinced Jorge to wait in the In N Out line while I ran here.  It's just 15 minutes north or so of Keizer and has miles of trail.  I just ran a quick 5-mile loop on a mix of bark chip trail and paved trail.  There's also a kayak launch, a disc golf course, picnic areas, and equestrian trails.

It was a great weekend spent in a rustic cabin, just exploring a part of Oregon we are less familiar with.  The Willamette and Santiam National Forests are so underrated and I am longing to come back here in the summer to see even more.  You can truly spend months here and still not see everything.  Thanks for reading, and let me know if I missed any of your favorite spots!