Revision as of 17:29, 22 March 2018

Looking up a mossy defile, Little South Fork Kilchis River (bobcat)

View over the Little South Fork Kilchis River (bobcat)

Turkeytails, Little South Fork Kilchis River (bobcat)

Waterfall above the Little South Fork Kilchis River (bobcat)

The route along Purcell Creek Road above the Kilchis River (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo

• Start point: Purcell Creek Road Trailhead
• End point: Tilden Bluffs Falls
• Trail log:
• Hike Type: In and out
• Distance: 4.8 miles
• Elevation gain: 1030 feet
• High Point: 1,235 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

Old logging roads in the Tillamook State Forest can offer a peaceful outing at the right season. This short foray takes you on a gravel road that deteriorates as it heads up the Kilchis River and becomes undriveable. When the road rises above the river, it becomes a narrow track that plunges through salmonberries and traverses a lush slope to arrive at a waterfall. This is the country of deer and elk (and hunters in the fall). You can add more miles to your day by also trying the Little South Fork Kilchis River Hike.

Walk back to the bridge to look over the Kilchis River as it twists through a defile and forms a deep pool, a good swimming hole in the summer. To protect the salmon fishery in the Kilchis, no fishing for chinook and chum is permitted on the river above this bridge (However, you can fish for cutthroat trout as far up as the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Kilchis). Turning back, hike up the road past your vehicle. This is the Purcell Creek Road although Purcell Creek itself is a few miles farther east and actually flows into the North Fork Kilchis. The road is decent gravel at first, but it is prone to washouts: You will notice washout debris at the first creek crossing. Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western red-cedar, and red alder form the tree canopy here, with salmonberry and sword fern predominating in the understory. Cross a revegetating landslide slope. Looking right, you’ll see the broad Kilchis through the trees. The road crosses a larger creek and rises a little, but then drops to cross a third creek. Past this creek, the road is washed out (as of Fall 2017) for all but the highest clearance vehicles. Now the road is mostly shaded by alders.

Take a road spur that leads right. You’ll reach a campsite and a short steep path that reaches a gravel bench on a bend in the river. The Kilchis here sweeps around large mossy boulders and a rocky bank. Back on Purcell Creek Road, continue up the track as it curves uphill and crosses another creek. Cross a creek over which a large Sitka spruce stands sentinel. Hike very steeply up on a rough, rubbly track until you reach the end of the current road.

To the left is a berm, past which the former road bed continues up through a tunnel of salmonberry. The tread here, a vermilion-colored clay, can be slippery when wet. Exit the salmonberries to proceed on a grassy track on an alder slope where sword ferns droop over the trail. There may be sign of both deer and elk here. Cross a trickling creek, drop slightly, and then make an undulating traverse. Through the alders, you can see the outline of the Mutt Peak Ridge across the valley of the Kilchis. Pass a rock face dripping with moss, and hike around a small rockslide. The path narrows as you ascend under a cliff face to a small waterfall on a creek that plunges through a ferny defile. This is the end of the trail.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Oregon Department of Forestry: Tillamook State Forest Map & Guide (Route not shown)

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Wear orange in hunting season

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Kilchis River Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Kilchis River Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• 50 Hikes in the Tillamook State Forest by the Tillamook State Forest Committee, Columbia Group Sierra Club

More Links

• Kilchis River (Wikipedia)
• Kilchis River Fishing for Salmon, Steelhead and Trout (Best Fishing in America)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)