2.1 hr
Overview
NOTICE: Trails in this area were affected by the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire. Please check current closures in the Willamette National Forest before planning an outing. Mount Beachie is a high point at the east end of French Creek Ridge, which divides the Little North Santiam and North Santiam drainages. The southern section of the French Creek Ridge Trail is not often hiked, and the trailheads here are reached via winding, brushy forest roads: some clearance on your vehicle would help. The route itself, which also includes the Beachie Trail, is fairly obvious for its entire length, but very brushy in places and with a significant amount of windfall. Minor maintainance is conducted on the trail by users, but a major effort has not been made in some time (as of 2016). This is a very worthwhile venture, however, especially early in the summer, when the rhododendrons are blooming, and there are expansive views from the trailheads, spectacular viewpoints on the French Creek Ridge Trail, and more expansive views from Mount Beachie itself. A difficult scramble out to the volcanic formations on the Mount Beachie East Ridge is for the adventurous only. Take along loppers and/or a folding pruning saw, and be prepared to clear some debris from the trail. Prune just above the nodes, and toss all branches and prunings downslope. Hike up past the trail sign for the French Creek Ridge Trail #3349, and get a splendid view south to Mount Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and Coffin Mountain. The trail then turns up the broad ridge crest and enters a beautiful woodland of mountain hemlock and rhododendron (blooming the end of June). Keep hiking up through this montane forest for about half a mile, passing above a talus slope on your left, and reach the Byars Peak Trailhead on FR 2225-461. There’s a wilderness permit box to sign in here and also splendid views across the French Creek valley to Dome Rock, Sardine Mountain, and the Marten Buttes on French Creek Ridge. Hike up through a regenerating clearcut overgrown now with rho
Trail Stats
0.0 km
635 m
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Photos
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400px-FrenchCreekRidgeByarsPeakMap
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