Alvord Desert Adventure Trail (Oregon)

[OTG Ben]

Please post trail status for the Alvord Desert Adventure Trail here.

Include the Following for all Status Updates

Date:
Current Status:
Additional Details:


Example of a Trail Update for a Route

Date: 4/25/2021

Current Status: Open with some issues

Additional Details: Recent rains have caused the river levels to rise substantially. Buffalo River is approximately 3' deep. Lifted vehicles with larger tires (33" +) may find it difficult and/or dangerous to cross Buffalo River. There's another crossing that's about 30" deep 1/2 mile north of the main crossing. We recommend checking water levels first, but this is typically the alternative crossing point. Aside from water levels, the rest of the trail is running fantastic!

 

[g1_prome-7273]

Date: 10/01/2021
Current Status: Most of it good. Muddy some.
Additional Details: The Description and comments on the trail are pretty spot on. This was my first Overlanding of 4 nights (5 Days). The experience was awesome. We had my Toyota Tacoma and a Jeep Wrangler with 4 of us. Both vehicles had roof top tents, extra fuel, and extra water. The fuel was not needed if you fuel up in Rome. The trail was mostly dry between Burns to Highway 95. The trail and hot springs were cool. We stayed at the Alvord Hot Springs and stopped at Mickeys Hot Springs. Be careful at Mickeys. Not a safe place and the water coming out of the ground is scolding. No soaking at Mickeys. The trip was great until we were between Highway 95 and Rome. It rained quite a bit and turned the trail to mud. This isn't the mud you can sling off. This is the mud that sticks and eventually we were skating on a muddy road. Stopping doesn't work. Rocks and bumps throw you off course. We didn't get stuck, but it was a slow road of less than 5 MPH. If it rains, be very careful between Highway 95 and Rome. The rest of the route was good. Follow the trail. Keep the gates closed.

CAMPING: Camping was fairly easy. We camped at a campground the first night at the base of Steens Mountain not too far from Frenchglen. The second night, we camped at Alvord Hot Springs after a burger at Fields. The 3rd night, we camped between Highway 95 and Rome. Just picked a flat spot for both vehicles. Refueled and camped again between Rome and Burns following the GPSX and downloaded Google Maps route. We took a detour (mostly on accident), but found a beautiful canyon lookout at:

43.166055, -117.664559​

I highly recommend this route during a dry week. The views and landscapes are beautiful, desert, with beautiful night skies. Have fun!