Tillamook State Forest Welcome Guide

Tillamook
Are you ready...
STATE FOREST
...to explore a unique state forest located just
35 miles west of Portland in the lush, northern
Oregon Coast Range? The Oregon Department
of Forestry invites you to discover the Tillamook
State Forest.
Here you will find 364,000 acres of rugged
mountains rising above clear rivers where
salmon and steelhead return to spawn.
Majestic elk roam the forest while busy birds
and scurrying squirrels dart through shrubs
and treetops. Delicate spring wildflowers
emerge across the hillsides and valleys only
to surrender their colors to yellow-tinted
broadleaf trees in the fall.
For More Information
If you’re looking for more specific information on the
Tillamook State Forest, pick up additional brochures at
one of our district offices or click through our web site:
www.oregon.gov/ODF/TSF/tsf.shtml
To get travel information in Oregon by phone, dial 511
or 1-800-977-6368 or check Oregon Department of
Transportation’s Trip Check web site: www.tripcheck.com
Tillamook Forest Center
45500 Wilson River Highway
Tillamook OR 97141
(866) 930 - 4646
www.tillamookforestcenter.org
Tillamook District Office
5005 3rd Street, Tillamook, OR 97141
(503) 842 - 2545
the inferno raged across a 15 mile
flame front. The power of the fire
created a hurricane force wind that
uprooted trees and snapped them
like matchsticks. Nearby coastal
cities were plunged into darkness at
mid-day due to the thick, blinding
smoke. Ashes and cinders fell on
ships 500 miles at sea.
Whether you’re looking for a
scenic drive on the way to the
beach, a place to pitch your
tent, or a trail adventure, you’ll
find something special in the
Tillamook State Forest. Many
visitors also enjoy
the forest and its streams for
fishing, hunting, kayaking,
swimming and wildlife
viewing.
3/08
University Falls
By the 1930s the timber industry owned large areas of prime
forestland in the northern Coast Range.
The magnificent early coast range forest included scattered
openings and young stands created when trees died from insects,
disease, wind and fire. Some trees grew to ten feet thick and 300
feet tall!
Oregon’s Most Infamous Forest Fire
On August 14th, 1933 one spark changed the landscape forever.
The day dawned hot and dry in a forest ripe for fire. A logging
company working in Gales Creek canyon planned to shut down
Many local and Portland-area
schools participated in the
replanting effort in the 1950s
and 60s. Here, a group of
Tillamook schoolchildren
gather to plant seedlings near
Muesial Creek.
Tillamook Fire rose to 40,000 feet as
Plan Your Visit
Forest Grove District Office
801 Gales Creek Road
Forest Grove OR 97116
(503) 357 - 2191
Recorded Recreation Hot Line (503) 359-7402
History
The smoke plume from the 1933
Buckets of rain from late fall through spring
nourish a green world of mosses, ferns and
trees. The summer and early
fall are generally warm
and dry—a time when
visitors need to be cautious
with fire and comply with fire
restrictions.
Forest Contact Information
Printed on recycled paper
1933 Tillamook Fire
early due to the extreme fire danger. As loggers dragged in the last
log it was pulled over the top of another, creating enough friction
to ignite a fire.
The Tillamook Fire burned a total of 240,000 acres including the
day it “blew up” destroying 200,000 acres of forest in 24 hours.
Additional fires scorched the area again in 1939, 1945, and 1951,
creating the Tillamook Burn and the legend of the six-year jinx.
All the fires were caused by careless logging and spurred the state
to strengthen fire prevention regulations. In the end, the series of
The Burn Becomes the
Burden of the Counties
Managed for a Wide
Range of Values
Many landowners walked away from their
“worthless” lands in the Tillamook Burn.
Ownership of these lands transferred
to the counties, creating a financial and
environmental burden. The Forest Acquisition
Act, passed in 1939, encouraged counties
to deed the foreclosed lands to the Oregon
Department of Forestry in exchange for a
share of future timber harvest revenues, giving
rise to the state forest system we have today.
Today, the Oregon Department of Forestry
manages the Tillamook State Forest for a
range of social, environmental and economic
benefits. The health of the forest, from wildlife
habitat to water quality, is a driving force
behind a forest management plan adopted in
2001. The plan calls for a sustainable level of
timber harvesting that is designed to improve
the forest’s health and contribute revenue to
local schools and counties.
The World’s Largest
Reforestation Project
Fun in the Forest
The department began a huge reforestation
project in 1949 that resulted in the planting
of 72 million tree seedlings. Governor Tom
McCall dedicated the Tillamook State Forest
in 1973. It remains an amazing living tribute
to the resiliency of the land and the dedication
of a generation of Oregonians.
Today
Pack up the family and your camping gear and
A forester measures the
head out to the Tillamook State Forest to one
diameter of a tree in
of eight developed campgrounds that offer a
preparation for a timber sale.
range of features. Most
campgrounds operate from May
Gales Creek Campground
through October and charge a
small fee. A few campgrounds
include facilities for horses and
off-highway vehicles.
four wildfires burned 355,000 acres of forest land—an area four
times the size of Portland.
The children worked in pairs.
Typically, a boy would excavate
the soil and then a girl would
plant a bare-root seedling.
Selective thinning of
crowded tree stands allow
the remaining trees to grow
larger more quickly.
Seaside
14 miles
CLATSOP COUNTY
53
Oswald West
State Park
Coal
Creek
Neahkahnie Mountain 1631'
Fo
r
Nehalem
Roy Creek
Tilden Bluffs
2,589’
ve r
River Roa
d
rask
kT
North Fork T
Trask
Park
Barney Reservoir
ad
So
ork
Wh
isk
ey C
r
T
kR
ras
101
Tillamook R
iver
Munson
Cr. Falls
State Park
iver
Gobblers Knob
3,051’
Edwards Creek
Learners’ Loop
Hollywood
R
rask
Henry
Hagg
Lake
i v er
WASHINGTON COUNTY
47
Camping
Trailhead
OHV Staging Area
Horse Camp
Boat Launch
Trask
Mountain
3,424’
Grindstone
Mountain
3,012’
Gaston
YAM HILL COUNTY
YAMHILL COUNTY
Kilc
his
R
Riv
er
NF
o
r
Forest Grove
Windy Point
2,881’
TILLAMOOK COUNTY
e
8
F
Cape Lookout
State Park
South
Saddle Mtn
3,464’
Jordan
Creek
uth
e
Gales Creek
Woods Point
3,196’
Wilson
Stones
Road
Netarts Bay
o
kR
University Falls
Sou
th F
er
ork
Riv
W ilson
Lyda
Camp
Hembre Ridge
2,947’
Peninsula
iver
Trask R
Long Prairie Rd.
6
Browns
Camp
Tillamook Forest Center
Siskeyville
Trask River Ro
ad
131
Deyoe
Creek
ad
Netarts
Banks
Ro
ad
Tillamook
Stagecoach
Horse Camp
Charles Sprague
Memorial Wayside
Vanderzanden
Wilson River
Oceanside
Summit
k
Mapes Creek
Ro
Portland
20 miles
ee
ean
26
Glenwood
Rogers Camp
Keenig
Creek
r Road
ive
reek
Cr
y
Ba
Oc
sC
Gale
les
Tillamook Bay
6
Kings
Mtn.
Smith
Homestead
Footbridge
Kilchis Park
Buxton
Ga
Bay City
Storey
Burn
Elk
Creek
3,226’
Jones
Creek
Cedar
Butte
Kilchis River
Garibaldi
Cape Meares
State Park and
National
Wildlife
Refuge
Ri
Elk Mountain
il
2,788’
k WKings Mountain
Diamond
Mill
47
d
Gales Creek Overlook
k
r
i Rive
r
on River
West Fork Wils
Triangulation
Point
3,294’
Cedar Butte
2,907’
Barview
oa
nR
a
r
h
Coc
Gales Creek
d
Roa
est
r
o
F
El
kC
ree
Miam
Reehers Camp
Larch Mountain
3,449’
Rive
ver
mi Ri
L.L. “Stub” Stewart
State Park
Roundtop Mountain
2,885’
Rogers Peak
3,681’
so n
Mia
Tophill
Timber
TILLAMOOK COUNTY
WASHINGTON COUNTY
TILLAMOOK
STATE FOREST
Roa
d
Rockaway
COLUMBIA COUNTY
WASHINGTON COUNTY
erry
Riv
er
Foss Road
Miami-F
ole
y
Lake Lytle
Salmonb
Beaver Slide
Wheeler
Beaver Creek
26
Morrison
Eddy
North For
Nehalem Bay
Four
County
Point
TILLAMOOK COUNTY
Nehalem
Falls
Nehalem Bay
State Park
Henry
Rierson
Spruce Run
Sunset
Rest Area
alem River
Neh
No
rth
Manzanita
lem
eha
Timber Road
d
oa
kR
101
y
wa
Nec
anicum H
i
gh
rN
Nehalem
N
CLATSOP
STATE
FOREST
e
Nor
th F
o
rk Nehalem River
Lo
w
Onion Peak
3,057’
Ro
ad
Soapstone
Lake
Hug Pt.
State Park
Pacific
Ocean
Vernonia
Seaside
24 miles
Hand Boat Launch
Yamhill
Picnic Site
Scenic Viewpoint
Visitor Center
ODF Managed Facilities
Maintained By Other Agencies
Dovre
ke
Ro
ad
Beaver
dla
Sand Lake
ODF District Headquarters
S an
Sand
Beach
Blaine Road
Nestucca River
Blaine
Ne
ca
stuc
Road
ccess
er A
Ri v
Fan Creek
Tillamook State Forest
McGuire Reservoir
Clatsop State Forest
Carlton
Paved Road
Gravel Road
Alder Glen
Scale
0
Rocky Bend
Trail
Adventures
You’ll find a trail for every type of
use and challenge, with separate areas for
motorized and non-motorized activities. Make
your way on foot, mountain bike or horseback on
trails of varying difficulty. The Tillamook State Forest
also offers one of the most
popular off-highway vehicle
trail systems in the Pacific
Hikers enjoy exploring miles of woodland trails like this
Northwest with several
area on the Gales Creek Trail.
staging areas available for
four-wheel-drive, motorcycle and quad riders.
Visitors to the Tillamook State Forest find an
extensive network of off-highway vehicle trails.
Look for viewpoints, waysides, and picnicking opportunities along Highway
6 and Highway 26. The Gales Creek Overlook provides a view across the
area that burned in 1933. The Smith Homestead Day Use Area and Jones
Creek Day Use Area overlook the Wilson River and provide a great place for
a picnic. The Forest Learning Shelter at the Smith Homestead offers a large
rustic shelter that can be rented for private events.
There are hundreds of miles of maintained forest roads
to explore, but drivers should be aware that gravel roads
require more caution and slower speeds. Carry a forest
map, water, check your spare tire and be alert for log
trucks and other vehicles. Stay to the right and expect a
vehicle around every corner.
A Cool Escape from the Heat
and Great Fishing Too
With five rivers—Nehalem, Miami, Kilchis, Wilson and
Trask—draining the west side of the forest, you will find
many opportunities for water play and a chance to fish a
world-class salmon or steelhead stream. Nehalem Falls was a
Native American fishing site and is a great place to view fall
Chinook salmon jumping the falls.
1
2
3
4
5 miles
McMinnville
3 miles
The Tillamook
Forest Center is
a must-see for visitors
looking for a fun place
to visit. Experience
indoor exhibits, outdoor
trails and family
programs covering the
early forest, the fires,
human interactions, and
the forest today.
Coho salmon return to
spawn in a side channel
of the Wilson River.
Tillamook Forest Center