Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Deer Refuge Center Road Trailhead
- End point: Deer Refuge Center Road Trail End
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 5.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 10 feet
- High Point: 20 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: June - September only
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
The 6,000 acre+ Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer in Wahkiakum County protects a rare subspecies of this deer on the mainland and some Columbia River islands. There are only several hundred of these deer on the refuge and adjacent private lands (a second population near Roseburg, Oregon, is larger - see the North Bank Ranch Loop Hike). The Center Road Trail described in this hike is only open in the summer, and it’s best to do the walk earlier in the morning or in the evening for optimal viewing of wildlife.
Center Road is gated at the trailhead. Just to the west is Price Island the Columbia River. You may see a huge container ship slowly motoring past in the Columbia River Channel. As you walk the road, you'll see tree-lined Steamboat Slough across a marshy area. Look for white-tailed deer grazing along the verges of the pastures. Nodding beggar ticks blooms in bright yellow clumps in late summer. Young cottonwoods and willows crowd some of the ditches and sloughs. Little ponds will be filled with northern red-legged frogs awaiting fall rains; great blue herons and great egrets stalk the wetlands as vultures and red-tailed hawks float overhead; and little Pacific tree frogs hop through the grass. After you cross a ditch, you'll see Risk Creek meandering near the road on your left. Then you'll cross a winding backwater that connects with Ellison Slough. Any large dark rodent is probably a nutria. Beaver are also present here, but they are more active at night. Sleek otters are a rare sighting. After 2 1/2 miles, you'll reach some Area Closed signs stating "End of Center Road Trail". From here, you can see the refuge headquarters and the area around Indian Jack Slough. Turn around and retrace your steps.
If you want to add another level stroll to your day, walk 0.2 miles south of the trailhead to pick up the White-tail Trail (0.9 miles one-way), which runs along a levee through a restored riparian environment between Steamboat Slough and White-tail Slough on the Columbia River. It would be nice to make a loop here using Steamboat Slough Road, but this section of the road has been decommissioned and a bridge taken out. The White-tail Trail, which is open all year, can also be accessed from the south on Steamboat Slough Road.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Trail map: Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Adventure Maps: NW Coast Trail Map & Guide
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Center Road Trail open June - September (exact dates vary); White-tail Trail open all year
- Trails open sunrise to sunset
- Dogs are not permitted anywhere in the refuge.
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
- Columbian White-Tailed Deer Refuge Center Road Trail
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano
More Links
- Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Who was Julia Butler Hansen? (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer (Washington Trails Association)
- Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge (The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey)
- Steamboat Slough Road (The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey)
- Species Spotlight- Columbian White-tailed Deer (Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge)
- Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)