Rogue River Hike Trail Status?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
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dunnman1981
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Joined: January 4th, 2018, 9:39 am

Rogue River Hike Trail Status?

Post by dunnman1981 » January 4th, 2018, 9:45 am

Hello, I was just wondering if any of the awesome people who frequent this forum has any current info on the Rogue River Trail. Also I've read somewhere that there is potentially a loop hike to get back to the Graves Creek Trailhead? Thanks so much for your time!

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retired jerry
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Re: Rogue River Hike Trail Status?

Post by retired jerry » January 4th, 2018, 10:14 am

There's a loop on the west end, not on the east (Graves Creek) end. Although you could hike up to a forest service road and walk back. Not a lot of cars in the winter so that's not a totally bad idea.

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VanMarmot
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Re: Rogue River Hike Trail Status?

Post by VanMarmot » January 4th, 2018, 10:16 am

There's the Rogue River Trail which runs from Grave Creek to Foster Bar. A shuttle is required to make this a one-way backpack, otherwise it's an 80 mile out-and-back. A lot of folks do shorter out-and-backs from Grave Creek. There are good campsites from there, past Rogue River Ranch, to Clay Hill Creek. Blossom Bar & Brushy Bar are very nice, as is Meadow Creek.

The only practical (in that the trails have been maintained) loop I know of is the Wild Rogue Loop to and from Tucker Flat Campground near the Rogue River Ranch. You can also do this loop starting from Grave Creek or Foster Bar (see: GHSmith post) but those are longer backpacks.

April to mid-June is the ideal time for hikes/backpacks here: wildflowers & moderate temperatures. We did the Wild Rogue Loop the third week in June and, while it was hot, it wasn't too hot. If you arrange your backpack to start early & camp early or take a mid-day siesta the heat is manageable. BUT I wouldn't do either the Rogue River Trail or the Wild Rogue Loop between July and mid-September - then it is too hot.

To follow-up on retired jerry's thought, you do junction with dirt roads at Rogue River Ranch that you could use to walk back to Grave Creek but you'd have to take the Mule Creek Trail up from there to connect with roads to take you to Foster Bar. This would be a lot of road-walking with few if any water sources. The Kelsey Pack Trail used to go from Winkle Bar up to one of the old roads on Bald Ridge but that trail has been abandoned for years (but the Siskiyou Mountain Club is thinking of restoring it).

If you have shuttle capabilities, you could leave a car at Rogue River Ranch and hike there from Grave Creek.

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