WJ7WJ's blog

Cougar Mountain is an easy drive up near Seaside, OR. Or is it?

The conundrum comes because of two gates. Both were open when I went up, neither had signs, not even the seemingly mandatory warning about closing at any time. I rolled the dice this time, but now that I know what's up there I'll bring a bike if I come back.

Here are the directions which work regardless of your mode of transport. That includes the carefully driven passenger car, although this route had less than the normal amount of potholes, so not so carefully? Watch out for log trucks anyway.

 Update: I hauled my bicycle to the gate to do a biketavation of this summit. However, the gate was open and the sign restricting access was gone. This is as of 29-May-2021.  Not sure what has happened but I drove up without incident.  Missed the bike ride, but there will be others. Always a gamble driving past a gate.

Here is an easy drive up near Cole Mountain. Unpaved roads are good gravel with a few pot holes here and there. Should be alright in any vehicle as of this writing. My Garmin gps and google maps were worthless finding this summit. So here is my attempt to make it easier for the next activator.

My Automotive GPS did a pretty good job getting me to Bunker Hill. However, I did need to turn around once and do some reconnoitering. To help the next activator here are some specific directions.

Illahee Rock Lookout is a relatively easy hike, 1.9 miles and 590 ft. elevation gain, with good road access from the North Umpqua River (Highway 138). The trail and its access are well described on several web pages and William Sullivan's book “100 Hikes in Southern Oregon”, so I won't repeat that here.

South Fork Mountain can be a drive up. It is somewhat less than a mile from NF-4540 on an unmarked road. The fork off of NF-4540 is at approx. 45.101, -122.249. From here a high clearance vehicle that you don't mind getting scratched is required. The road is quite overgrown and has drainage ditches cut across it at various places. It opens up a bit before you get to the top, so you can park and make your final ascent by foot. I had to drive to the top after activation to turn around. A shorter wheel base vehicle might be able to avoid that.

This summit is a long ridge located between Vernonia, Oregon and Saddle Mountain. Here are the directions to get there.

Black Butte may be a drive up. It is a six point former lookout in Grant County. Don't get it confused with the Black Butte near Sisters. 

Nipple Butte is a peak in the Malheur National Forest.

Vinegar Hill is located in Oregon above the Middle Fork of the John Day River near Bates State Park. The veiws from the top are spectacular. It is easy to find as there is a sign from the Middle Fork road pointing to forest road 2010.  It reads 13 miles. The first six of those are good gravel accessible to any car. The next six are rutted and rocky and require a high clearance vehicle. The last mile is available to a 4x4 in late summer or early fall. When we were there on July 1st the road was blocked by snow, so we walked the last mile and 650ft of elevation.