Deschutes River trail best in April

CELILO, Ore. — It’s just an abandoned railroad grade for much of the year.
But from late March to mid-May, the former railroad route along the east shore of the lower Deschutes River is a great place to ride mountain bikes, or horses, or to hike.
The sight and sound of the Deschutes River is a constant companion. The hills are verdant, and dotted with the cheery yellow of arrowleaf balsamroot and desert parsley, punctuated by the purples of prairie lupine.
Add the slightly sweet smell of sagebrush, sunshine and an abundance of solitude and it adds up to a great spring outing.
“This is one of my favorite winter, or early-spring, early-season hikes,’’ said Rick McClure of Trout Lake, Wash., who was taking a 16-mile day hike in preparation for walking the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Canada this year.
“It’s pretty close to my home,’’ he said. “All the Gifford Pinchot (National Forest) trails are still under snow. In the Gorge, the December storms resulted in a lot of slides and down timber and won’t be all cleared into well into summer.’’
Winter and early spring is the best season along the lower Deschutes, he added.
“It’s too hot by May,’’ said McClure.
Shawn McCloud of Portland also was hiking the lower Deschutes trail in preparation for an April start on the Pacific Crest Trail at the Mexican border.
“It’s such a little treasure,’’ McCloud said about the abandoned railroad grade up the Deschutes. “Someone mentioned it to me as good PCT training. It’s beautiful and there’s nobody out here. This canyon is spectacular.’’
The railroad grade starts in the Deschutes River State Recreation Area. It’s about 100 miles from Vancouver. There’s not even a parking fee for day use.
Most spring cyclists and horsemen turn around at the Harris homestead site, 11.4 miles up from the park. The site includes a dilapidated house and farm buildings.
Along the way, there’s a cable across the river at mile 0.93, an old, wooden railroad car at mile 6.09 and a former bridge site at mile 7.1.
There also are a couple of small seasonal stream crossings in spring, but hikers, cyclists and horsemen need to bring water.
Horse use on the trail is allowed only in the spring by reservation.
Use of the trail really ramps up beginning in July when summer steelhead return to the Deschutes River, said David Slaght, district manager for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Cyclist-fisherman use peaks in September and October, he said.
“It gets hot — 100, 105, 110 degrees,’’ Slaght said. “They’ll go in in the morning, then head under shade in the heat of the day. There will be a lot of activity in the morning and evening.’’
Conflicts for the limited camping sites along the lower Deschutes River are growing between the cyclist-fishermen and rafters,’’ he said.
“The rafters are trying to find a site and the bikers are there,’’ Slaght said. “The boaters can’t go back up.’’
An interagency team that co-manages the lower Deschutes is discussing the conflict, but has not come up with a solution yet, he added.