Brown Mountain Trail No. 1005 - Jackson County, OR
N 42° 20.111 W 122° 18.744
10T E 556645 N 4687220
The Brown Mountain Trail No. 1005 connects with a couple of other trails, most notably the renowned Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.
Waymark Code: WMM6CA
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 07/29/2014
Views: 1
The following verbiage comes from the USDA website to describe this trail:
The Brown Mountain Trail is 6.8 miles in length and runs from the junction with High Lakes Trail #6200 on the Fremont-Winema National Forests to Forest Service road 3705 on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. This guide describes only the 5.3 miles on Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
This section of the Brown Mountain Trail is a delightful hike, mountain bike, or horseback ride along the southern flanks of Brown Mountain. Passing through a shaded old growth forest, the trail offers opportunities for Morel mushroom hunting in the late spring; shade loving wildflowers such as orchids and trilliums, blanket the forest floor in early summer; good huckleberry picking in late summer; and brilliant fall colors.
Beginning on Forest Service road 3705, the trail follows the South Fork of Little Butte Creek. At 1.5 miles the trail crosses road 500 and continues through the forest along the creek, which now becomes swampy and abound with willows. At 2.5 miles you cross road 560 and at 2.9 miles you cross the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. Mountain bikes are prohibited on Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. While the trail skirts the massive lava flows of Brown Mountain, the mountain is almost hidden by the forest. Between 3.6 and 3.9 miles the mountain and lava flows can be viewed through the trees. At 5.2 miles the trail forks: the trail to the left continues to High Lakes Trail (1.5 miles). Follow the trail to the right 0.1 miles to road 3640. Water sources are untested and considered unsafe to drink.
Via Forest Road 3705: From Ashland Ranger District Office, take Highway 66 East for 0.5 mile to Dead Indian Memorial Highway. Turn left on Dead Indian Memorial Highway and travel 22 miles to Forest Service road 37 (Big Elk road). Turn left on to Forest Service road 37 and proceed 6 miles to Forest Service road 3705. Turn right onto 3705 road and continue 3.5 miles to the trailhead. NOTE: If you have two vehicles leave one vehicle here and shuttle the second vehicle to access via Forest Service road 3640. Park the second car there and hike a gentle downhill grade back to the first car. (Note that the trail description should now be read in reverse.)
Via Forest Road 3640: Follow directions to the trailhead in Access via Forest Service road 3705. From this trailhead, proceed southeast on road 3705 for 1 mile to the junction with Forest Service road 3720 and continue for 1.5 miles to the junction with 700 road and proceed 3 miles to 3640 road. Turn left again and continue 1.5 miles to the intermediate trailhead.
There is ample parking at this trailhead. The trail is split by Brown Mountain Rd. The trailhead heading west will go to Road 900 and Fish Lake. The trailhead heading east will connect with the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and Lake of the Woods.