Hardy Ridge via Kueffler Road: 11/17/13

[Webfoot]

I have the same question. Is this trailhead still accessible? I am fairly certain drove up Kueffler Road last summer and was met with a No Trespassing sign way before the marked point.

[Eric Peterson]

Disregard that no trespassing sign, Keuffler Rd is a county road.

I think that no trespassing sign is intended for the private residences near there...

[Webfoot]

I am glad to hear that. I would like to try at least part of this hike some time.

Do you have an authoritative reference for which roads are and are not public? I tend to shy away at the sight of any signs, often after chuckling at "POSTED."

Incidentally under my reading of Oregon law 105.700 a closed private road is supposed to be marked with fluorescent orange blazes and/or a sign:

(A) Must be no smaller than eight inches in height and 11 inches in width;

(B) Must contain the words Closed to Entry or words to that effect in letters no less than one inch in height; and

(C) Must display the name, business address and phone number, if any, of the landowner or agent of the landowner.

(At the moment I cannot locate the corresponding Washington law; do you happen to know it?)

Oddly I rarely see signs complying with this, with "NO TRESPASSING" and no contact information being far more common. The use of these signs also for land beside public roads makes it hard for me to guess which kind it is intended to signify. I have wondered if the apparently non-compliant signage is sometimes used where one does not actually have legal right to close a road but wants people to stay out anyway.

Here is a typical example in a photo from Aaron Litt, which he subtitled "HCRH Crossing into Private Property (2013)":



By my reading of Oregon law this technically means that land on both sides of the road is private and closed, but not the road itself, yet I imagine that the intent of the person who placed those signs is in fact to keep people off the road.

How do other people handle this?

[Eric Peterson]

Yeah that looks like a private drive to me and I wouldn't drive onto that either!

On Kueffler, you're talking about where the pavement ends and the gravel starts? There are a bunch of mail boxes there and several different private drives in there too. I've parked my truck around there and walked back down the road to the Hardy Equestrian TH without any problems.

[Webfoot]

My memory is poor but that sounds about right. So the signs were for the various driveways but there is a county road among them, correct?

[Chip Down]

1. Love the sense of humor here, especially the couch pic.

2. Agreed, do all you can to avoid paying the BS exploitative fees. I bet I haven't bought any sort of permit in over 10 years.

3. I'd hate to wade a stream in November, but better than risking wet boots.

[Eric Peterson]

If memory serves, there is a sign when the pavement ends that reads Keuffler road ends and county road 1400 begins with no other signs saying no trespassing other than what might be around some of those little side roads that lead to homes right there. I have pictures of the area on my back up drive but too lazy to dig them out...