metolius river trail

The Metolius River is one of Central Oregon's gems - a fly fisherman's paradise and a trail runner's dream. Undulating trails of wide singletrack follow the wild and beautiful river for miles and miles. Running this trail has been on my list for several years, and I finally finagled my chance to run a great section of it.

I took off from the Lower Creek Campground, where I was staying with the family. From there, it is a 2.5 mile section to Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, and then another 5.5 on to Candle Creek Campground. All told, the out and back trip was about 14 miles. My running was less than stellar, but since I have no goals and no aspirations at the moment, I didn't worry too much about it.

Fresh water springs flow right out of the hillside.

A lovely spot on the trail.

Without Julie's backside to photograph, I had to take a picture of myself.

The wildflowers were amazing.

Easy little bridges to cross.

Plenty of wildlife to see. Osprey, geese, squirrels, butterflies, lizards, chipmunks...

Part of the preserve along the river.

So many kinds of butterflies along the trail. Like running through the butterfly habitat at the zoo.

The amazing blue water at the fish hatchery.

Such an amazing trail and run along the river. Even with the heat (it was nearly 90º,  and I ran out of water) I felt like a kid in a candy store. We saw some folks running what looked to be a trial race the next day; if this is the case and there is a race through the Metolius River area, I just might have to sign up.