Contact Information
Federal Building 211 East 7th Ave.
P.O. Box 10607
Eugene, OR 97440
541-465-6521
The Willamette National Forest is the size of New Jersey, but all comparisons between the two stop right there. The forest is a raw and glaciated landscape of volcanoes, cinder cones, lava fields, craters, mountain peaks, and rock pinnacles. It's also home to Oregon's largest glacier - - the Collier - - an awe-inspiring sheet of ice left behind by the last Ice Age. In this part of the High Cascades, all eyes turn to 10,497-foot Mt. Jefferson, which dominates the surrounding landscape. The dormant volcano's steep talus slopes and five glaciers can be seen from tens of miles around. On Jefferson's lower elevations, as throughout the western slopes of the forest, mountain hemlock, Douglas fir, western red cedar and ponderosa pine flourish. The elusive lynx, long thought to be extinct in Oregon, was recently discovered in the forest. And the endangered Northern spotted owl, subject of intense battles to permanently protect ancient forests, are known to nest in the forests old-growth trees. Hikers and horseback riders intent on getting away from it all can sample from the forests eight different wilderness areas: Mt. Jefferson, Menagerie, Middle Santiam, Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Waldo Lake, Bull of the Woods, and Diamond Peak.
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