Riley Ranch Loop Hike - Hiking in Portland, Oregon and Washington (2024)

The Deschutes River from the Canyon Loop, Riley Ranch Nature Reserve (bobcat)

Mule deer, Juniper Loop, Riley Ranch (bobcat)

Description

Sitting on benches above and along the Deschutes River at what was once known as Gopher Gulch, this 184-acre park was opened to the public in 2017, thus preventing yet another multi-million dollar home development in balmy central Oregon. Two ADA-accessible trails loop around the upper plateau, which was once mostly a couple of irrigated fields now being restored to natural bunchgrass/wheatgrass meadows (some of the old irrigation equipment can still be seen). A short but rugged descent on Robin’s Run takes you down to the bottom of the canyon and ponderosa woodlands along the Deschutes, where you’ll find a couple of collapsed cabins. Some of the parkland once was owned by O.B. Riley, an early settler and lumber mill worker who homesteaded here.

At the trailhead, you can peruse a map of the property before setting out on a wide gravel trail that crosses an old irrigation ditch. At a junction, turn left to begin the Juniper Loop, which drops below a lava rim among western juniper, rabbitbrush, and sagebrush. After you pass through an old fence line, keep left at the junction with the Sage Flat Loop. The trail heads through an open area, now planted with Idaho fescue and bluebunch wheatgrass, but once a weed-infested agricultural field. A viewpoint on the left looks down into the Deschutes Canyon and across to expensive homes on Awbrey Butte. You’ll pass another basalt outcropping and take a spur trail up to the Sage Flat Overlook, where an interpretive sign explains the restoration of the landscape.

The next spur trail takes you to the Canyon Overlook, where signs explain how the Deschutes River had to change its course when dammed by lava flows from the Newberry Volcano 75,000 years ago. The viewing platform, shaded by tall ponderosa pines, offers another view down into the river canyon. After the viewpoint, you’ll come to the junction with Robin’s Run, which connects the two loops in the park. Go left here, and wind tightly down to connect with the Canyon Loop.

Make another left to hike in a ponderosa pine wood below the boulder edge of the Basalt of Bend lava flow. The trail turns and runs close to the river, with the homes of the affluent perched on the rim above. A spur left, the first of several, leads to a bench and the river itself. The Canyon Loop passes close to the water at a deep pool as you pass under an overhanging basalt bluff. Heading up, you can take a spur trail up to the top of a rocky knoll with a bench, switchbacking twice in the process.

Back on the main trail, continue along the river to a junction where the Deschutes River Trail leads left 1.8 miles to reach Tumalo State Park (see the Tumalo State Park Hike). Take this trail about 100 yards, passing an old rock wall, to reach a collapsed cabin, perhaps an outbuilding of some kind, probably erected at the end of the 19th century.

Return to the junction, and make a left to continue the Canyon Loop. You’ll immediately encounter another ruined cabin, this one a dwelling with the remains of a stone fireplace between two rooms. The trail then passes under a utility line and crosses a depression that harbors an old vehicle track. Gray squirrels and chipmunks dart and scurry under the pines. To your left is a rim of massive lava boulders. When you come to Robin’s Run again, turn left and head up the rim.

To finish the hike, turn left again when you reach the Sage Flat Loop. A pole-and-rail fence marks the park boundary to your left as you hike above the open flat that was once a farm field. Keep left at the next junction to join the Juniper Loop. A short spur right leads to the Ben Newkirk Mountain Overlook, from which you should be able to see the Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor. Return to the main trail, and turn left to close the loop and reach your car.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

Restrooms, picnic tables, interpretive signs
No dogs or bicycles permitted

Maps

Trip Reports

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Related Discussions / Q&A

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Guidebooks that cover this destination

100 Hikes: Central Oregon Cascades by William L. Sullivan

Page Contributors

bobcat (creator)