This article was originally published in The Bend Bulletin on September 19, 2024

September 3 of this year marked the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. On that day 60 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act of 1964 into law, officially creating the National Wilderness Preservation System. With the stroke of a pen, nine Wilderness areas in Oregon were designated–and many more across the U.S.

I was fortunate enough to be hiking in Northeast Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness–one of those first nine, and still Oregon’s largest Wilderness area–to commemorate this big anniversary. Our hike started at the busy Wallowa Lake–its cabins, lodges, and campgrounds full of families enjoying the holiday weekend and last bit of summer. A couple of miles and a few switchbacks later, we were high above the lake and crossing into the Eagle Cap Wilderness. We came across several other hikers and backpackers on the trail, but the quietness was noticeable. As we caught our breath, we marveled at the immense walls of granite towering above us. Songbirds called out and darted between the firs and hemlocks. The sudden snap of a downed branch quickly drew our attention; a moment later, a deer walked out into a lush meadow, framed by stands of lodgepole and the peaks above. 

Wilderness areas are some of the last remaining places to find true quietness and solitude like this. They also represent our most intact ecosystems–these places are free from roads and other development and activities that can degrade habitat and isolate wildlife populations. For many species, protected Wilderness is one of the last remaining refuges.

Since the Wilderness Act of 1964, two other major expansions of wilderness in Oregon has been passed. The biggest, the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), added 21 new wilderness areas to Oregon and expanded eight others, totaling 878,000 acres of ecologically important forests and watersheds. The next significant protections came 25 years later when the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 protected new Wilderness around Mt. Hood and in the Oregon desert–including the Oregon Badlands Wilderness, just outside Bend. 

While Oregonians are fortunate to have numerous incredible Wilderness areas in the state, only 4% of Oregon’s land mass is currently designated as protected Wilderness. This lags far behind our neighboring states of Washington (10%), California (15%), and Idaho (10%). Since the 1984 bill, only 350,000 acres of additional Wilderness have been designated in the state. Over five million acres of wild, forested, roadless lands in Oregon are still unprotected, and even more can be found in our desert landscapes.

There are many ways to enjoy Wilderness, but the most common, and perhaps best, way is to simply go on a hike. And what better time to explore a new Wilderness area by foot than this big 60th anniversary year? Many Central Oregonians are likely familiar with our ‘backyard’ Wilderness areas–the Three Sisters and the Oregon Badlands; others may venture farther to the Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson Wilderness areas. Here are three hikes in Oregon Wilderness areas that require a bit more travel or effort to get to, but are well worth it for the solitude, views, and sense of wildness.

Eagle Cap Wilderness: Aneroid Lake (East Fork Wallowa River Trail)

The Eagle Cap, nestled in Northeast Oregon’s grand Wallowa mountains, is Oregon’s largest Wilderness and one of the state’s first designated areas. Towering granite peaks, picturesque high alpine lakes, meadows full of wildflowers and edible berries, and deep, glaciated valleys are abound here. 

The Eagle Cap is also home to a variety of wildlife including deer, Rocky Mountain elk, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and wolves that naturally repopulated the area in the early-2000s after being exterminated in the first half of the 20th Century. Large areas of protected wilderness, like the Eagle Cap, allow these species to move around and find suitable habitat away from the pressures of humans. 

For a longer day hike, the East Fork Wallowa River Trail to Aneroid Lake provides all of the best the Eagle Cap has to offer. This 12.5-mile roundtrip hike begins near Wallowa Lake State Park and climbs over 3000 feet to the scenic Aneroid Lake. The lake offers beautiful views of the surrounding Wallowas, plentiful spots to enjoy a scenic lunch or camp overnight, and an abundant population of hungry and willing brook trout for those who carry a rod up with them.

Mill Creek Wilderness: Twin Pillars Trail

Only a little over an hour from Bend, the Mill Creek Wilderness area in the Ochocos is often overlooked. But this gem is worth the visit for its stands of huge old-growth ponderosa pine, wild streams, and striking rock formations. 

This 11.5-mile roundtrip hike offers all of that–and more, culminating at the base of the 200-foot-tall rock spires known as the Twin Pillars. 

A portion of the trail travels through a burned area from a wildfire that occurred 24 years ago. This forest (and all Central Oregon forests) evolved with fire and depend on fire to stay healthy. This hike provides expansive views of past burn areas and an excellent example of a forest that is naturally recovering from fire. Snags (standing dead trees) and pockets of trees that survived the blaze scatter the landscape, creating important habitat for all kinds of species, from insects to birds to deer and elk. When we set aside natural landscapes as designated Wilderness, we allow natural processes, like wildfire, to play out in areas where it poses little risk to human communities and presents great value to forest ecosystems. 

Mount Hood Wilderness: Barlow Pass

While the Mount Hood Wilderness was originally designated in 1964, the forests around Barlow Butte, on the southeast flank of Mount Hood, were not protected until 2009. This 4.6-mile round-trip hike connects to the Pacific Crest Trail and gradually climbs through an ancient subalpine forest of Douglas-fir, noble fir, hemlock, and Engelmann spruce. 

Despite having several designated Wilderness areas, much of the Mount Hood region is still unprotected. There are currently 178,000 acres on the Mount Hood National Forest that qualify for Wilderness protections, including treasured destinations like Boulder Lake, Still Creek, the Salmon River, and Tamanawas Falls. This hike passes through both designated Wilderness and roadless areas that qualify for Wilderness, but are not yet protected.