North Umpqua Trail
July 2020
Southern Oregon
– Westbound from Maidu Lake to Swiftwater Park –
Miles
Days
Miles / Day
About the North Umpqua Trail
The North Umpqua Trail (or NUT) is a 79-mile trek along one of Oregon’s most beautiful rivers and a mainstay of my childhood. The North Umpqua River flows westward from the Cascade Mountains toward the Pacific Ocean, and was designated an Oregon State Scenic Waterway in 1988.
Construction of this relatively new trail began in 1978 and was completed nearly 20 years later. The NUT weaves its way through the Umpqua National Forest, past old-growth forests of Douglas fir, hemlock, sugar pines, and big-leaf maples. It also detours past epic waterfalls, alongside chinook salmon spawning grounds, and by a natural hot spring – all while paralleling the impressive North Umpqua River.
Sadly, my July 2020 thru-hike of this National Recreation Trail was one of the last complete hikes that may occur on the NUT for a very long time. Two months later, the Archie Creek fire consumed more than 130,000 acres of land along the North Umpqua River, destroying the western 1/3 of this trail.
the North Umpqua Trail
PLANNING RESOURCES
- North Umpqua Trail (official BLM trial brochure)
- Oregon Dept. of Forestry (current fire restrictions)
- North Umpqua Trail #1414 (USDA website)
