Ancient Juniper Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Flatiron Rock Trailhead
- End Point: Flatiron Rock-Ancient Juniper Trail Junction
- Trail Log:
- Hike Type: Loop
- Distance: 3.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 120 feet
- High Point: 3,780 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Spring through Fall
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Description
This introductory loop to the Oregon Badlands Wilderness takes you on a somewhat meandering route through a rugged lava landscape that resulted from a major “leak” in a lava tube known as the Badlands Volcano, a “rootless” shield volcano about 80,000 years old (The small crater is about 3/4 mile west of the loop; the actual source of the lava flow is much farther to the south near the Newberry Volcano). The lava formations along this loop include cracks, small pressure ridges (tumuli), and ropy blocks (pahoehoe). The sandy soils are the remains of ash deposits from the eruption of Mount Mazama 7,700 years ago. A key feature of this desert hike are the many old-growth western juniper trees (Juniperus occidentalis), some over 1,000 years in age: junipers with a beautiful reddish bark will probably be at least 250 years old.
From the information kiosk, take the wide sandy Ancient Juniper Trail leading left. The trail undulates through a landscape of lava outcroppings vegetated with sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and bitterbrush with clumps of fescue and wheatgrass. The gnarly ancient junipers stand in various shapes and forms, some perfectly pyramidal, some rounded or irregular, and others, perhaps the most ancient, with only one or two living limbs. There are also large stumps here as well as the bright green wolf lichen-draped skeletons of those which have passed from this world (Wolf lichen was used in Europe to poison foxes and wolves, but high desert Native Americans used it as a poultice and hemostatic agent). The trail wanders through this desert landscape and eventually drops to the Flatiron Rock-Ancient Juniper Trail Junction.
Going left will take you towards Flatiron Rock (See the Flatiron Rock Loop Hike). If you're returning to the trailhead, make a right, and continue south on the Flatiron Rock Trail facing Horse Ridge. The landscape is flatter and a little more open here as it follows a wide sandy track. In about a mile, the trail veers right to parallel Highway 20 and reach the Flatiron Rock Trailhead.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- No bicycles
- Dogs on leash within 500’ of trailhead
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Oregon Badlands Wilderness (BLM)
- Adventure Maps: Bend, Oregon, Trail Map
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Ancient Juniper Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Ancient Juniper Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Central Oregon Cascades by William L. Sullivan
- Best Hikes Near Bend by Lizann Dunegan
More Links
- Oregon Badlands Wilderness Area (BLM)
- Oregon Badlands Wilderness (BLM)
- Oregon Badlands Wilderness (Oregon Natural Desert Association)
- Ancient Juniper Loop Trail (100 Hikes)
- Flatiron Trail (Hiking Central Oregon)
- Bend, OR: Flatiron Rock (Backpacker)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)