Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Indian Jack Slough Trailhead
- End point: Center Road-Steamboat Slough Road Junction
- Trail Log:
- Hike Type: Loop
- Distance: 6.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 10 feet
- High Point: 20 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: June - September only
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
The 6,000 acre+ Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer in Wahkiakum County protects a rare subspecies of this deer on the mainland and some Columbia River islands. There are only several hundred of these deer on the refuge and adjacent private lands (A second population near Roseburg, Oregon, is larger). The Center Road described in this hike is only open in the summer and it’s best to do the walk earlier in the morning or in the evening for optimal viewing of wildlife.
From the refuge headquarters, walk back to Steamboat Slough Road, go right, crossing Indian Jack Slough, and turn right into the shed/garage yard (If the vehicle gate is closed, use the pedestrian gate to the left of it). Walk through the yard and continue along the gravel Center Road that leads into the heart of a large pasture. Cattle may be grazing in a fenced field to the left, there are plantations of young cottonwoods, and copses of willow grow along the sloughs. Pass Ellison Slough on the left, where you might spot beaver or nutria. Nodding beggar ticks blooms in bright yellow clumps in late summer. Little ponds will be filled with northern red-legged frogs awaiting fall rains; great blue herons stalk the wetlands as vultures and red-tailed hawks float overhead, and little Pacific tree frogs hop through the grass. Look for the white-tailed deer grazing along the verges of the pastures. Reach a slough and pass along its western bank before heading northwest towards the river. The Center Road is 2 ¾ miles long and reaches the Center Road-Steamboat Slough Road Junction opposite Price Island.
From here, you can return the same way, or walk along little-traveled Steamboat Slough Road atop a levee and back to headquarters. This stretch covers about 3 ¾ miles. The latter option gives you the opportunity to view huge container ships motoring past in the Columbia River Channel. There may be a river dredge hard at work. Walk through the section of Steamboat Slough Road which is blocked to vehicle traffic because of subsidence. There are wetlands and pastures, with some grazing cattle, to the left. Pass a parking area mainly used by fishermen. Here, you can pause to pick blackberries in late summer or stroll along a Columbia River beach.
Cross Ellison Slough at a control gate before Steamboat Slough Road curves left to run along Elochoman Slough, with cottonwood-lined Hunting Island seen across the backwater. Watch for otters, cormorants, grebes, mergansers, and Canada geese on the water. Vegetation includes white alder, willow, red osier dogwood, black cottonwood, western red-cedar, and Sitka spruce, the latter a sign that you are close to the coast. In the wetlands to the left, you might see a few sandhill cranes, egrets, and herons. To the right, there is a wapato and cattail marsh. Keep walking past a house and the equipment yard to turn into refuge headquarters.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Center Road open June - September (exact dates vary); Steamboat Slough Road open all year
- Refuge headquarters open Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Dogs are not permitted anywhere in the refuge.
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Columbian White-tailed Deer Refuge Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula by Craig Romano
More Links
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)