East Oakridge Trails Development
The Oakridge Flume Trail, also known as the “Canal Trail” was a project started a decade ago with the intent to connect Salmon Creek trails to Salt Creek. In 2010, the south half of the trail was constructed but stalled with juridictional access issues across railroad property. This necessitated a change in route over a creek crossing along City of Oakridge property, parallel to an historic flume remnant. Without the resources or the expertise to complete this bridge, the trail was abandoned for completion, and recommendations from the Forest Service to build an interpretive kiosk over the historic flume were put on hold.
Since then, the City of Oakridge has continued plans for improving in-town trails. The recent Mill Park Plan, includes a link to the south entrance of the Flume Trail, reviving its purpose as a key “town to trail” segment, and connecting across the Fish Hatchery Road a series of flat, wide trails around the former Pope and Talbot mill ponds of the Oakridge Industrial Park. In 2022, the Flume Trail was revived with Forest Service funding granted to South Willamette Solutions (SWS) as an accessible trail development, including interpretive resources to help highlight its historic features. Future trail plans will eventually link Uptown Oakridge, the main street business area, to the Mill Park, with the Flume Trail potentially serving residents and tourists alike, as the last trail segment needed to connect the township to the Salt Creek and eventually, the existing Eugene to Crest route, which also serves as part of the Oregon Timber Trail and connects to the Pacific Crest Trail.
Oakridge Trails Alliance has partnered with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative to manage Phase I of the Flume Trail project, including restoration and widening of the existing tread to accessible standards, and build a kiosk at the Dunning Road entrance, dedicated to interpretive education featuring the industrial mill history and the surrounding Indigenous cultural heritage. Additional interpretive signage will be installed on the north side of the bridge site, and wayfinding signage installed from Fish Hatchery Rd. at both north and south entrances. This project also includes hiring local Indigenous consultation, with graphic design and construction supported in part, by the Oakridge High School CTE program. Students will also be engaged in elements of trail design and construction, with additional opportunities to volunteer during public trail work parties.
Our vision for the future includes completing the bridge across the creek, bypassing the need to cross Union Pacific Property, in order to maintain the Flume Trail as an accessible option. At this time, Oakridge Trails Alliance has applied for a National Parks Technical Assistance Grant to help facilitate public engage in the design process and develop a conceptual plan that would eventually be used to inform a final blueprint, developed and certified by a professional engineer, in partnership with the City of Oakridge.
The Mill Park and trails surrounding the old fill ponds and disc golf course are also managed by Oakridge Ttails Alliance volunteers, and with support from OTA board members, the City of Oakridge Parks, Trails, and Community Services Committee and Travel Lane County are working toward funding a geothermal ground study to support a feasibility study in the Industrial Park for an asphalt pump track. Additionally, there is another feasibility study underway at the Trestle Bridge in the Industrial Park, that if appropriate, will be refurbished along with the abandoned rail line, to connect the Oakridge “Uptown” business district to the Industrial Park.
Oakridge Trails Alliance will also be working with the City of Oakridge and the Forest Service to tackle safe passage to Greenwaters Park from the OIP via the Salmon Creek Levy, and have already submitted a grant to fund plank replacements and installation on the Tharp Memorial Bridge over the Middle Fork Willamette River.