Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area: Backpacking and Camping the Coastal Sand Sea Between Florence and North Bend
The Oregon Dunes stretch 40 miles along the Pacific Coast — a shifting sand wilderness unlike anything else in the Pacific Northwest. Here's how to navigate, camp, and explore one of Oregon's most unusual backcountry destinations.
Timothy Lake Loop: A Weekend Backpacking Trip Near Portland in Mount Hood National Forest
Timothy Lake's 13-mile loop trail offers backpackers a manageable but rewarding overnight escape just 60 miles from Portland — lakeside camping, real trout fishing, old-growth forest, and Mount Hood reflections at sunset.
Cornucopia to Hawkins Pass: A 3-Day Wilderness Traverse Through Oregon's Southern Wallowas
The southern Wallowa Mountains remain one of Oregon's least-visited wilderness areas. This 3-day route from Cornucopia through Hawkins Pass delivers granite peaks, alpine lakes, and genuine solitude.
Ice Lake Loop in Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness: Backpacking to the Wallowas' Most Spectacular Alpine Basin
Ice Lake sits at 7,900 feet in the heart of Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness, ringed by granite peaks and home to mountain goats. Here's how to get there and what to expect on this spectacular alpine backpacking trip.
Minam River Canyon: Backpacking Into the Eagle Cap Wilderness Through Oregon's Deepest River Gorge
The Minam River drainage is lower, lusher, longer, and far less traveled than the Lakes Basin crowds. Old-growth ponderosa pine, wild cutthroat trout, Roosevelt elk, and a Wild and Scenic river corridor through Oregon's finest wilderness. A 3-4 day backpacking guide to the Minam Canyon.
Red Buttes Wilderness: Backpacking the Oregon-California Border's Most Remote Corner
Straddling the Oregon-California border in the Klamath Mountains, the Red Buttes Wilderness is one of the Pacific Northwest's least-visited and most botanically extraordinary backpacking destinations — serpentine rock, rare plants, and alpine lakes with virtually no crowds.
Pueblo Mountains: A 3-Day Backpacking Loop Through Southeast Oregon's Remote High Desert
The Pueblo Mountains rise nearly 5,000 feet above the Alvord Desert floor and remain one of Oregon's best-kept backpacking secrets. A 3-day Denio-to-Fields traverse covers alpine ridgeline, volcanic plateau, and sweeping Great Basin views — usually without another soul in sight.
Middle Santiam Wilderness: A Weekend Backpacking Loop Through Oregon's Ancient Lava Country
The Middle Santiam Wilderness is one of Oregon's least-visited wilderness areas—old-growth Douglas fir, volcanic geology, and genuine solitude just 90 minutes from the Willamette Valley.
Soda Mountain Wilderness: Backpacking Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
The Soda Mountain Wilderness sits at the crossroads of the Cascades, Siskiyous, and Great Basin — 24,100 acres of roadless Oregon backcountry with no permit required, extraordinary biodiversity, and almost nobody else on the trail.
Siskiyou Crest Trail: Backpacking Southern Oregon's Sky Island Wilderness from Pilot Rock to Grizzly Peak
Southern Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains offer one of the state's most botanically diverse and geologically wild backpacking routes—and almost nobody is out there.
Broken Top and Green Lakes Loop: A 3-Day Backpacking Adventure Through Oregon's Central Cascades
One of Oregon's most spectacular and accessible alpine loops combines the volcanic drama of Broken Top with the mirror-still waters of the Green Lakes basin. Here's how to do it right.
Mount Thielsen Wilderness: Backpacking Oregon's Lightning Rod on the Pacific Crest Trail
Mount Thielsen's volcanic summit pinnacle is the most dramatic peak in southern Oregon — and the PCT corridor running below it is one of the finest multi-day backpacking routes in the state. Here's a complete 3-day itinerary for July and August.