US Northwest ORBDR Points of Interest?

[MrWilsonWJ]

Me and a few friends plan to run the OR BDR this fall and I've started the mapping process and making changes to the route. At this point it's still about 75% the "official" bdr route but I'm sure more will change since there are months before we go. I'm fully aware of the wildfire risk in that area at that time of year so I already have some ideas for alt routes and activities that I will add to the map before we go. What I'm looking for are suggestions for points of interest, awesome places to camp or anything cool to check out along the way. We're not dead set on sticking to the official route so if there is something cool worth the detour we'll go for it. Right now what I have mapped still has the beginning and end of each section the same as the official route but some (maybe all) of the routes to get there have been modified. Most people in the group are more of wheelers than overlanders so some of our detours are to mix in harder trails. We will have a couple full size rigs with us that will keep us from hitting the tighter "Most difficult" rated trails but we should still get a good mix of wheeling and forest roads. Below I'll list off the sections and our current POI's so you can get an idea of what we like so please post up any suggestions you have if they are in the general area of the route. Thanks.

Section 1- Denio Junction to Plush
Beatys Butte
Hike into Petroglyph lake near Hart mountain
Camp at Hart Mtn hot springs
Section 2- Plush to Christmas Valley
Pretty much skip the majority of the official route
A-6 airplane crash site
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes
Camp at Dunes or Green Mountain in section 3 depending on time
Section 3- Christmas Valley to Sun River
Crack in the Ground/ Four Craters Lava Bed
Detour off route to go through Squaw Ridge lava bed
Derrick Cave and surrounding lava beds
Trails and detour up to Hog Back OHV rockcrawl play area
Trails and camp somewhere near Newberry Volcanic monument
Section 4- Sun River to Sisters
Again skip most of the original route for trails and end up closer to Mount Bachelor
End up on FR 4600 possible hike up to Broken Hand
Hotel in Sisters
Section 5- Sisters to Detroit
Jump off official route just outside Sisters to run trails through the black sand area just east of HooDoo
More trails to the west of HooDoo
Camp somewhere before Detroit
Section 6- Detroit to Gov. Camp
Don't have much for this section, stick to the route try to make it to Badger Lake on the other side of Gov. Camp for the night
Section 7- Gov. Camp the Hood River
Not much for this one either, push to the end
Hotel and breweries in Hood River

That's the plan at the moment, I haven't looked much into sections 5-7 for POI's so suggestions for those would be great. With this much time before the trip I'm sure the plan will change a few more times.

 

[reaver]

Me and a few friends plan to run the OR BDR this fall and I've started the mapping process and making changes to the route. At this point it's still about 75% the "official" bdr route but I'm sure more will change since there are months before we go. I'm fully aware of the wildfire risk in that area at that time of year so I already have some ideas for alt routes and activities that I will add to the map before we go. What I'm looking for are suggestions for points of interest, awesome places to camp or anything cool to check out along the way. We're not dead set on sticking to the official route so if there is something cool worth the detour we'll go for it. Right now what I have mapped still has the beginning and end of each section the same as the official route but some (maybe all) of the routes to get there have been modified. Most people in the group are more of wheelers than overlanders so some of our detours are to mix in harder trails. We will have a couple full size rigs with us that will keep us from hitting the tighter "Most difficult" rated trails but we should still get a good mix of wheeling and forest roads. Below I'll list off the sections and our current POI's so you can get an idea of what we like so please post up any suggestions you have if they are in the general area of the route. Thanks.

Section 1- Denio Junction to Plush
Beatys Butte
Hike into Petroglyph lake near Hart mountain
Camp at Hart Mtn hot springs
Section 2- Plush to Christmas Valley
Pretty much skip the majority of the official route
A-6 airplane crash site
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes
Camp at Dunes or Green Mountain in section 3 depending on time
Section 3- Christmas Valley to Sun River
Crack in the Ground/ Four Craters Lava Bed
Detour off route to go through Squaw Ridge lava bed
Derrick Cave and surrounding lava beds
Trails and detour up to Hog Back OHV rockcrawl play area
Trails and camp somewhere near Newberry Volcanic monument
Section 4- Sun River to Sisters
Again skip most of the original route for trails and end up closer to Mount Bachelor
End up on FR 4600 possible hike up to Broken Hand
Hotel in Sisters
Section 5- Sisters to Detroit
Jump off official route just outside Sisters to run trails through the black sand area just east of HooDoo
More trails to the west of HooDoo
Camp somewhere before Detroit
Section 6- Detroit to Gov. Camp
Don't have much for this section, stick to the route try to make it to Badger Lake on the other side of Gov. Camp for the night
Section 7- Gov. Camp the Hood River
Not much for this one either, push to the end
Hotel and breweries in Hood River

That's the plan at the moment, I haven't looked much into sections 5-7 for POI's so suggestions for those would be great. With this much time before the trip I'm sure the plan will change a few more times.

@GHCOE may have some ideas for points of interest in ALOT of these areas.

 

[Luinil Explorations]

Derrick cave can only be reached from the north. The road to the south goes through private land and the last in knew the gate was locked.

You may want to add Hole in the Ground to your list.

 

[shortbus4x4]

In Christmas Valley I'd not miss Fort Rock or the museum. Also in Bend is the High Desert Museum which we visit at least once a year during our vacation.

High Desert Museum | Things to do in Bend Oregon

Wildlife and art engage you in the cultural and natural history of Central Oregon’s High Desert. One of the best things to do in Bend Oregon!

highdesertmuseum.org

Fort Rock Valley Historical Society

fortrockoregon.com

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

Derrick cave can only be reached from the north. The road to the south goes through private land and the last in knew the gate was locked.

You may want to add Hole in the Ground to your list.

I saw somewhere about Derrick cave only being accessible from the north. My current route has us going around Squaw ridge lava bed on the east side then skirting the north edge, we would then make our way over to FR 2325 and head south to Derrick cave. I've never been, only seen pictures. Is it worth stopping to check out?

I saw Hole in the Ground and thought about heading over there but it's a little further out of the way, not really a big deal but we have some trails I was going to try to run that day. If you think it's worth the trip maybe I'll turn that section into 2 days to check out more in that area. I currently have it mapped to take 7 days start to finish but we are all planning for up to 10 days.

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

In Christmas Valley I'd not miss Fort Rock or the museum. Also in Bend is the High Desert Museum which we visit at least once a year during our vacation.

High Desert Museum | Things to do in Bend Oregon

Wildlife and art engage you in the cultural and natural history of Central Oregon’s High Desert. One of the best things to do in Bend Oregon!

highdesertmuseum.org

Fort Rock Valley Historical Society

fortrockoregon.com

Thanks for the ideas. I know I looked into Fort Rock a little bit but hadn't seen the museum in Bend. Fort Rock was a little like Hole in the Ground in being further off the route but if they are both worth checking out that's another vote for adding an additional day to that area.