Covid-19

[drm]

That makes it fairly clear. Note that developed includes all trailheads. Note that it says Mt Hood and the scenic area have similar rules. I doubt there will be a lot of enforcement, but in this case, enforcement is not hard. You're just not supposed to be out there unless you live there or have other special reasons. And recreation is not a valid reason. So if you are driving any forest roads to go hiking, you have no excuse if you do get asked/stopped.

[jessbee]

...Aaaaand now all of Central Oregon is pretty locked down:

https://ktvz.com/news/coronavirus/2020/ ... day-rivers

the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Crooked River National Grassland have temporarily closed all developed recreation sites, to include campgrounds, day-use sites, boat ramps, trailheads, Sno-Parks, fire lookouts, and OHV areas.

BLM has preserved some access:

Visitors may continue to enjoy their BLM managed trails and open spaces in Oregon while following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Local and State public health authorities. Social distancing recommendations are extremely important to reducing the transmission of COVID-19 and may require that visitors avoid public lands during high-use times, such as weekends. Please limit any group activities to members of your household, and keep your total party to 10 or fewer participants. At all times, maintain a distance of six feet or more from other people.

[justpeachy]

Not just central Oregon. The entire PNW: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/ ... 923554001/

In the quest to contain COVID-19, and follow state-issued orders for people to stay home, the U.S. Forest Service will close all developed recreation sites across both Oregon and Washington in coming days, the agency announced Friday.

The closures cover around 24 million acres of forest, mountains and coast spread across 17 national forests, two National Scenic Areas, a national grassland, and two National Volcanic Monuments.

The shutdown includes all hiking trails, campgrounds, sno-parks, boat ramps and OHV riding areas — any place that is considered a "developed recreation site," officials said.

[Chip Down]

Not just central Oregon. The entire PNW: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/ ... 923554001/

"In other forests, including Mount Hood and Deschutes national forests, dispersed use will be open but not encouraged.
Dispersed use generally means driving on a Forest Service road to a remote location to camp or fish or bushwhack. "

I predict a sudden interest in our offtrail forum. Of course, some offtrail routes can still get a bit crowded sometimes, especially if they converge at a notable high point, so that's something to consider.

[Chip Down]

Take a look at my secret list of places to hike at dusk to night or early morning where you will not encounter anybody: https://www.oregonhikers.org/secret-list

That would have been a perfect opportunity for a rickroll.

[Bosterson]

Not just central Oregon. The entire PNW: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/ ... 923554001/

"In other forests, including Mount Hood and Deschutes national forests, dispersed use will be open but not encouraged.
Dispersed use generally means driving on a Forest Service road to a remote location to camp or fish or bushwhack. "

I predict a sudden interest in our offtrail forum.

Which is surely not likely to result in more SARs as goobers suddenly try to OT without knowing what they're doing.

[Webfoot]

The current trajectory of fatalities in the United States puts us around 50,000 dead early in the second week of April. I desperately hope the existing measures will prevent that but many people are still not taking this seriously.

The trajectory is unchanged. We are still on course to pass 50,000 cumulative dead in the United States on the 9th of April.

[romann]

Can someone clarify Skamania County closure - they seem to only restrict hiking and access to "hiking destinations", and not recreational activity or access in general (as opposed to USFS blanket ban in the Scenic Area).

Is it still legal to drive around in GPNF? What about car camping? Cycling/"bikepacking"? Fishing? I don't think they have answers figured out just yet.. The primary motivation for the order seems to be city people stopping at local businesses and spreading infection, and hikers are by far more numerous group. We'll wait and see.

[Bosterson]

Can someone clarify Skamania County closure - they seem to only restrict hiking and access to "hiking destinations", and not recreational activity or access in general (as opposed to USFS blanket ban in the Scenic Area).

Skamania County restricted all "recreational hiking." Anyone parked for non-emergency purposes would be in violation. I called them about this and it extends to the whole county - you're not allowed to hike anywhere, regardless of whether or not it's on a trail or from a trailhead. So no access to the GPNF at this time.

[romann]

Makes sense. I was hoping for a loophole but with no parking rule it looks like they wanted to close everything, just haven't worded it well. In the coming months we'll see more people coming there and how it works (or doesn't work out)