Elk Creek Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Swimming · Wildflowers · Wildlife

There are vault toilets at the northern and southern trailheads.

Elk Creek is a tributary of Oregon's Rogue River whose confluence with the Rogue is just northeast of Shady Cove, Oregon. In 1986, about three miles upstream of the confluence, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on what was expected to be the Elk Creek Dam.

In 1988, when the dam was only one third its designed height, construction was stopped by litigation and additional studies that demonstrated it did not make economic sense and would also significantly impact salmon. In 2008, the dam project was finally abandoned.

In anticipation of the dam being built, the old Elk Creek Road, which ran along the creek, had been replaced by a new Elk Creek Road well above the creek. In 2014, after replacement of bridges and the installation of trailheads with amenities, the Corps officially opened the old Elk Creek Road and surrounding lands to the public as a new park for hiking and biking.

This trail is that old road. Parking lots have been installed at the northern (Homesteader's) and southern (Yellow Rock) trailheads. The old road is no longer maintained but is easy walking in all weathers, even when the surrounding terrain is muddy. There are wildflowers in the Spring and colored leaves in the Fall. It's just a good place for a nice hike.

The road approaches the creek in only a few spots. About 1 mile south of the northern trailhead you can leave the paved road on a dirt road that closely follows the creek to a small, part sand, part cobble beach. This is a popular location (7-Mile Swimhole) in the heat of summer. Continuing south on the dirt road will bring you back to the paved road.