Where is opal creek

All of these are essential components of an old-growth forest. Beargrass in bloom. Photo credit: Mark Cornwell. Growing in its shade are the Western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla and the Western red cedar Thuja plicata. Below these giants you will find our fourth conifer, the Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia. The Pacific yew is an extremely slow-growing shade-tolerant tree; a tree that may appear to be 50 years old could be well over !

Many plants thrive in our moist temperate rainforest, with 9 months of precipitation and a short 3-month summer drought. The understory is rich with many species of shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, and berries. The forest floor is blanketed with bryophytes non-vascular plants like mosses, liverworts, and hornworts , making a lush green carpet that cradles the giant old trees. Bryophytes make up a large percentage of old-growth canopy by growing on tree branches, where they are known as epiphytes plants that take in nutrients from the air, rain, and debris around them rather than the soil.

The moisture is released later as occult precipitation. After a rain, you may notice fog lifting from the mountain ridges; this is occult precipitation in action! The rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are ideal habitat for fungi, and they play an integral part in the rainforest ecosystem. Many fungi are saprophytic, decomposing dead plant matter and returning valuable nutrients to the soil. Others are parasitic, taking nutrients from living trees and other plant hosts.

Still others are mycorrhizal, forming a symbiotic relationship with trees by attaching their thread-like filaments, called hyphae, to tree roots. This creates a large underground network in which the hyphae transfer nutrients and water to the tree roots in exchange for food in the form of glucose. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the fungi; when you see a mushroom in the forest, you are seeing the equivalent of an apple on a tree.

The most prolific season for mushrooms is the rainy autumn. Common fall mushrooms at Opal Creek are: chicken of the woods, chanterelle, bolete, russula, milk cap, cauliflower, coral, honey mushroom, lobster, and puffball. A few species of mushrooms continue to fruit throughout the winter, such as winter chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms.

Springtime morels round out the mushroom fruiting season. Fungi are an entire kingdom of organisms that includes mushrooms, lichens, and molds.

Scientists estimate that there are approximately 1. At Opal Creek we have identified over species of fungi, but there are many more to discover.

Lichens are a fascinating and unique organism that are actually composed of multiple organisms interacting to help each other survive. This is known as a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. Lichens consist of algae and fungus, and sometimes cyanobacteria also known as blue-green algae and yeast.

The algae perform photosynthesis in which it captures light energy from the sun and converts it to chemical energy in the form of sugar glucose. The associated fungus uses the glucose to grow more of its body. In exchange, the fungus is able to provide a protective home in which the algae lives. The fungus also uses its body like a sponge, absorbing nutrients and water from the atmosphere and precipitation, some of which is taken up by the algae in exchange for more glucose.

Cladonia bellidiflora lichen. Photo credit: Martin Hutten. I would love to visit opal creek again when it is obviously, not so dangerous. A lot of cars already had tickets on them. Second, I arrived so late that parking was backed up am. It was a fun trail though, plenty to see, the creek is gorgeous, clear, energetic, perfect for a picnic and a dip!

Brave souls were out there swimming. Plenty of little nooks if you want solitude. Have fun!! PS the roads out there are gravel and have a lot of potholes so be gentle! Great hike- beautiful views with a few places to stop and have a picnic right by the water. There are also quite a few areas to stop for a quick dip, although the water is VERY cold! At this time Jawbone Flats is closed but normally it is a pretty cool sight. I would encourage folks to get there fairly early to get a good parking spot and not have to turn around and leave, you can pack some food and a blanket and hangout for the day!

We got there around am and there was still some spots left. This becomes a real problem when you have ten cars coming downhill and ten cars coming uphill at the same time - which is quite literally what happened to me. Opal creek does not disappoint, the entire trail is gorgeous and there is so much to look at on your hike from old mining equipment to actually mines an ancient forest to enjoy to swimming holes and natural slides.

The trail is kid friendly, we accomplished it with a 3 year old who had a blast the whole time. There was some confusion about the lay out of the trail with jaw bone flats closed right now it makes it and out and back trail. The trail to opal pools gets a little more cliffy and slightly more washed out but going slow I made it with a toddler on my back but totally worth it.

Now at the pools is another bridge that will continue the loop to jaw bone flats and then loop you back to the cross roads and back to the parking lot gate.

Gorgeous hike, beautiful crystal clear water. Lots of people, some were very good at given you 6ft, others not do much. Parking was sparse. The trail is very rooted and rocky in places once you leave the gravel road. Not recommended for folks with mobility issues. Beautiful trail. Along the water it was busy but easy to spread out.

Honestly getting in the water felt great with the warm weather. Cold but worth it. If you are concerned about social distancing this may not be the trail for you. Super packed with most people not bothering with masks. As far as the drive up goes- drove a Honda Fit at a normal speed and had zero issues.

Reading other reviews I was concerned that we needed an suv but it was fine. My favorite spot in Oregon! The water is cold, clear and the prettiest shade of emerald. Expect to drive 20mph Bumps and potholes are hidden everywhere It takes a good hour once you turn onto the road The dust is unmanageable and can cause the path to be unclear at times if their are cars o front of you. I drove an SUV yet smaller cars could pose a challenge I did see some parked, but bless up that must have sucked for the suspension.

Great hike! The trail was very wide for the majority of the hike and towards the end gets narrow! Definitely kid friendly, did the trail with three kids under 5 just fine. Water areas were a little crowded but no problems of crowding on the trails.

Beautiful places to stop throughout. Had to park pretty far away and the last few miles to the trail is gravel and bumpy. But totally worth it to make it to the trail. May want to bring bug spray, especially if there towards the evening. Great trail with some great views! Can get a little crowded but most of the trail is wide enough that you can space out. We did the whole thing but stopped at some different spots along the way.

The last bit of the drive up to the trailhead is unpaved and rocky. Please be careful jumping off the falls! Somebody had to go in an ambulance when we were there because they hit there head. Be safe and enjoy the hike! Just did this trail on Monday, the roads and paths are nicely paved. The trail was a bit busy, but had enough space to maintain distancing. The water was very cold but swimmable and we jumped off the falls 3 times. Overall, nice and safe hike, will do this again on a hot day.

We had amazing time at the Opal pool. It was a very dusty ride to the trailhead. There were bunch of folks jumping into the pool. Water was definitely cold. No bugs. Great day overall. Warning: Gates hill road to the trail from Gates is currently closed. Google map does not show the closure. We took North fork rd instead. Left super early on a Saturday. Started the trail by am. There were maybe cars there. Only passed one family and one couple on the trail to opal pool.

Awesome swimming spot and backpacking trip! Definitely want to bring a mask because it can get crowded. And after sunset the bugs are out! Beautiful swimming pools, definitely returning.

Most of the trail is shaded making it a pleasant temp. Beautiful water at the end with rocks to jump off of. Moderately crowded on the weekend, so arriving earlier is best.

Awesome spot in general. If coming from Portland area, last 5. All unpaved and gravel. We did okay but had I known we would have brought a different car. Not too busy on a Wednesday. The route forks 0. Turn right across the river on a foot bridge above a lovely gravel beach. The hike then follows the somewhat rough Opal Creek Trail left along the Little North Santiam River through woods where twinflower blooms and huckleberries ripen in July.

After a mile, a sign points left 50 feet to Opal Pool's scenic gorge. To return on a loop, turn left, cross a footbridge at the head of Opal Pool, climb to an old mining road and keep left through Jawbone Flats, a well-preserved collection of 27 buildings dating from Respect the residents' privacy by staying on the road. Dogs must be leashed here. On summer weekends, a tiny store in the settlement sells snacks, drinks and T-shirts.

An optional side trip for those who would to see more of Opal Creek begins at Opal Pool. When you reach the trail junction beside Opal Pool continue upstream 0. Along the way you'll pass several small waterfalls. If you like, continue 0.