Otter Bench Trails offer unique views of Crooked River

With access to high country trails still limited, it's a challenge to find hiking trails that aren't buried in snow. The Otter Bench Trail System at the north end of Crooked River Ranch is one such find and is accessible pretty much all year. Although the general area has been accessible for years, significant stretches of trail are new.

Otter Bench occupies an area on the west rim of the Crooked River Gorge, just upstream of the river's mouth. This stretch of the river has been designated by Congress as Wild and Scenic, and this trail system offers some of the best access. Most of the trail network is on the upper rim, but access to the river itself is possible via the Lone Pine Trail and the Pink Trail.

In an effort to stabilize and consolidate existing trails, enhance wildlife habitat and improve recreational opportunities, the Bureau of Land Management recently created this interesting network of trails. The entire system consists of about 11 miles of trails, which can be broken down into hiking segments of as little as 1.8 miles.

For this hike, we parked at the trailhead and headed north, taking the left fork to the Otter Bench Trail. The right fork, the Horny Hollow Trail, is closed from February 1 to August 31 to minimize impact on nesting raptors. The Horny Hollow Trail follows the route of an old dirt road that has been permanently closed.

The Otter Bench fork is one of the new trails in this system and is mostly flat. After 1.7 miles, the trail reaches a four-way junction, where it rejoins the Horny Hollow Trail and meets the Pink and Opal Springs Trails. We continued north for a half-mile to where the Opal Springs Loop forks. Those who suffer from acrophobia - fear of heights - should be warned that there are some exposed sections along this stretch of trail.

We elected to take the right fork and travel the loop counterclockwise. Near the turnaround point of the loop, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Crooked River Gorge where the river flows into Lake Billy Chinook.

The last stretch of river is outside the Wild and Scenic boundary, as evidenced by significant commercial activity on the east side of the river.

Also visible in this area are magnificent canyon walls with textbook examples of columnar basalt. These formations are caused during the cooling and contraction of thick lava flows. The cooling process results in vertical fractures that cause the solidifying basalt to take on the shape of vertical columns, typically in a hexagonal cross section. These formations are also seen in such places as Yellowstone National Park and Northern Ireland, where a horizontal cross-section of the phenomenon is known as the Giant's Causeway.

The return route bends away from the canyon rim and works its way uphill; this is another of the newer sections of trail. In this area, we spotted bobcat tracks, which are much smaller than cougar tracks and significantly larger than those of a house cat. Quite a few wildflowers were blooming in this area, most notably oceans of arrowleaf balsamroot.

After a time, we closed the loop in the trail by returning to the Opal Springs fork. From there, it's another half-mile back to the four-way trail junction. Returning to the trailhead from this point makes for a very pleasant 6.8-mile hike, but we decided to add on a round-trip down to the river via the Pink Trail.

Named for the pinkish colored rock in the vicinity, this trail descends VERY steeply over some difficult ground. Acrophobes are doubly advised against this trail. The trail sign at the junction warns that this trail is classified as "most difficult," only fit and experienced hikers should attempt this.

Given the desert-like quality of the canyon rim, the lush vegetation at the river's edge is quite a contrast. A large, exposed rock surface near the bottom of the canyon makes an excellent, and cool, lunching spot. Always remember when descending a canyon trail like this, that it's all uphill on the way back.

Once back atop the rim, we retraced our original route, avoiding the Horny Hollow wildlife closure.

Driving to the Otter Bench Trailhead is a very easy matter: simply drive onto Crooked River Ranch and go until the road ends. The road changes names from 43rd to Chinook and, finally, to Horny Hollow Road; but, basically, just stay on the main road past the golf course and keep on going. Access to the ranch is off N.W. Lower Bridge Road just north of Terrebonne, or via Holmes Road east of Sisters.