A one-night, solo trip, in between storms…
I have backpacked through Jefferson Park while doing a section hike of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), but I’ve never backpacked specifically to Jefferson Park. I wasn’t sure if it would be as cool as I remembered, or if it would be as beautiful hiking through miles of burned forest to get to the pristine wilderness. Turns out… Jefferson park was even more beautiful than I remembered, and the hike into the park was also incredible!
September is a great time to sneak in a few more backpacking trips. Kids are back in school, bugs are mostly gone, and you can have a little more wilderness to yourself. You also need to be more prepared for cooler temperatures at night, and wet or wintery weather rolling in. I had originally planned for a two night trip, but I modified it to one night as the weather forecast indicated a high chance of rain of the front and back end of my planned trip. I ended up hiking in as the fog burned off, and having a full 24 hours of beautiful, sunny weather!
Keep in mind, a Central Cascades permit is required to day hike or backpack into Jefferson Park. Woodpecker Ridge, South Breitenbush, and Whitewater Trail are the more common trailheads to access the park, and I was lucky enough to secure an overnight permit for the weekend I wanted started at Whitewater Trail. Whitewater Trail had been closed for a few years following the 2020 Lionshead fire, but it is back open an in great shape! It also has a well maintained road up to the trailhead, which is always a bonus.
The hike up into Jefferson park along the Whitewater Trail was way more scenic than I had anticipated, considering the previous fire damage. There were amazing views along the ridges, the huckleberries were sweet and plentiful, and the swaths of burned forest presented their own mythical atmosphere. There is one water crossing over the milky Whitewater Creek, where I was able to rock/log hop and not get my feet wet before meeting up with the Pacific Crest Trail for the final approach into Jefferson Park. Because you are hiking through a large, burn area – the views are actually quite awe inspiring. It’s amazing how far you can see, and how incredibly the topography is as you climb higher before dipping back down into Jefferson Park and being immersed in the lushness of the park.
Once you get into Jefferson Park, there are many lakes to explore. I decided to go to a known camp near Russell Lake to set up our base came. After that, my dog Charlie and I continued to explore along Scout Lake, Bays Lake, Rock Lake, Park Lake, and we also went up along the PCT to get some great views of Mount Jefferson with Russell Lake in the foreground. We heard some loud, crashing noises… and discovered that a bear had meandered down the PCT eating huckleberries along the way… luckily, he wasn’t too concerned with any of the backpackers, day hikers, or fisherman…
Charlie and I made it back to our lakeside camp, and I had enough daylight left to take a dip in the lake and dry off before it got too chilly. It’s one of my favorite backpacking and hiking activities, lake swimming! After drying off, we enjoyed dinner with a view of Mount Jefferson.
I have been using a Durston X-mid trekking pole tent all summer and this was the first time I feel like I got the “perfect” pitch. It was also the most picturesque campsite I could have hoped for! Honestly, you can’t go wrong in Jefferson Park… if you are lucky enough to score an overnight backpacking permit, every dedicated campsite has a view of a lake, Mount Jefferson, or some other cool peak. Just make sure to camp in the dedicated campsites and pack out what you pack in!
The lakes and views were amazing, and anyone interested in fishing would really enjoy this area as well, I’m told the lakes are stocked! As a novice forager, I really enjoyed all the huckleberries and identifying fun mushrooms.
I hiked a total of 18 miles on this trip – which included hiking up to the viewpoint at Park Butte, and circumnavigating all of the primary lakes. I wanted to make sure I knew where all the campsites are for my next trip! It was an amazing weekend, and only required a two-hour drive from Portland to the trailhead. Well worth the drive, and I even made it home in time for all my kids’ soccer games! That’s a win in my book… Even better, we somehow missed the rainshowers on on the front and back end of our trip!
Resources to plan your trip to Jefferson Park! If you are interested in checking out any part of Jefferson Park yourself, make sure to check some resources, trip reports, and get your permit! It’s well worth any initial frustration, go check out Jefferson Park!
https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Jefferson_Park_from_Whitewater_Trailhead_Hike
https://www.hikeoregon.net/jefferson-park-via-whitewater-trail.html
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/russell-lake-via-whitewater-trail-and-pacific-crest-trail
A different route…. https://cherylhill.net/blog/2022/10/20/jefferson-park-via-woodpecker-ridge/
An Adventureful Life 
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