- Oregon County HP: #10
- Difficulty: ⭐️⭐️ (on a scale of 5)
- Summit Elevation: 5,932 feet
- Mountain Range: Blue Mountains
- Ancestral Lands: Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla
PLANNING DETAILS
Location: Black Mountain is located in the Umatilla National Forest approximately 70 miles southwest of Pendleton, Oregon.
When to Visit: Late spring to late Fall. Black Mountain is located in the Umatilla National Forest and requires a 25-mile drive on NF-53/Willow Creek Road. This road between Ukiah and Heppner is paved, but is not maintained by the USFS during the winter months.
Fees/Permits Required: None
Getting There: Black Mountain is most readily accessed from a 2.8-mile long forest service road (NF-030) on its south side. The road is located approximately 20 miles west of Ukiah, Oregon near Cutsforth Park.
Directions from Pendleton:
- From I-84 (exit 209), head south on US-395 for 47 miles until you reach the junction for OR-244 Ukiah-Hilgard Highway and NF-53.
- Turn right onto NF-53 and drive west on this paved road for 25.2 miles. The road changes names between NF-53, Western Raite Lane, and Willow Creek Road while you are on it.
- Approximately 1 mile past Cutsforth State Park and Campground, turn right onto NF-5326. This will be an improved gravel road.
- Drive east on NF-5326 for 2.2 miles until you reach the junction with NF-030 (a dirt road), which will be on your left. Park here then walk up NF-030 to the summit of Black Mountain.
Directions from John Day:
- From downtown John Day, head west on US-26 for 8.2 miles until you reach US-395.
- Turn right onto US-395 and drive north for 69 miles until you reach the junction for OR-244 Ukiah-Hilgard Highway and NF-53.
- Turn left onto NF-53 and drive west on this paved road for 25.2 miles. The road changes names between NF-53, Western Raite Lane, and Willow Creek Road while you are on it.
- Approximately 1 mile past Cutsforth State Park and Campground, turn right onto NF-5326. This will be an improved gravel road.
- Drive east on NF-5326 for 2.2 miles until you reach the junction with NF-030 (a dirt road), which will be on your left. Park here then walk up NF-030 to the summit of Black Mountain.
Parking: There is no dedicated parking or trailhead for this high point. Visitors need to hike the final 2.8 miles up NF-030 on foot. There is enough space for 2-4 vehicles to park on NF-5326 near the beginning of NF-030. There is also space for 1-2 vehicles to park/turn around about 1/3 miles up NF-030 just before the locked metal gate spanning the roadway. There are no services (no toilets, potable water, or trash cans) at either parking area.
Pets Allowed: Yes. This county high point sits within the Umatilla National Forest.
Kid Friendly: Yes. This hike follows a moderate grade on a dirt road the entire way to the summit.
Hiking Distance: 5.5 miles via NF-030 (dirt forest road)
The Summit: Black Mountain’s summit has several private radio towers and outbuildings atop its summit, with signs that warn visitors not to climb the towers. A rocky outcropping sits about 100 yards east at the peak’s gentle crest. There is no survey monument indicating the summit, but a small summit register is located inside a red coffee can at the base of the rocks.
TRIP SUMMARY
Date Visited: August 1, 2023
Hiking Route Used: NF-030 – 5.5 miles (roundtrip)
Black Mountain isn’t a scenic spot. There is no trailhead or even trail – just a lonely walk up a single lane dirt road. You’ll likely going to be the only person heading to Black Mountain that entire week (or month). And when you make it up to the summit, you’re greeted by a series of radio towers with less than idyllic views.
So, to make it worth my while, I decided I decided to lump Black Mountain into a road trip where I could hit a trifecta county high points over a two day period: Black Mountain (in Morrow Co.); Tower Mountain (in Umatilla Co.), and Strawberry Mountain (in Grant County).
After an evening spent camping in Bend, I headed east – with the early morning sun directly in my eyes and a fantastic cup of steaming hot coffee in hand. I was making my way toward the Blue Mountains with the teeny, tiny town of Ukiah plugged into Google Maps. It would be a 200+ mile drive past farms, ranches, the Ochoco National Forest, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument -and the iconic painted hills – and finally to the John Day River itself.
As I continued driving east through Oregon, I was impressed by its vastness and emptiness in this part of the state. Black Mountain sits in Morrow County, which is roughly 2,000 square miles in size. This puts it on the same scale the states of Rhode Island and Delaware. But where those states hold one million people each, there are barely 12,000 or so people calling Morrow County home!
I felt as if I was driving through tan-colored emptiness for hours on end, making me ever grateful for the audiobook I’d downloaded before this trip. It wasn’t until I neared the town of Ukiah (pop. 163), that I forced myself out of my entertainment and started to pay attention once again.
I left US-395, turning west onto NF-53, with the delightful discovery that I was still traveling on a paved road! Based on its forest road nomenclature, I’d come to anticipate a slow, bumpy 25-mile ride down a gravel or dirt once I departed the highway. But that wasn’t the case. It was smooth sailing, over several cattle guards and on asphalt as that road changed names several times – from NF-53 to Western Raite Lane, and eventually became Willow Creek Road.
After 10 miles of driving an on this Scenic Byway through the Blue Mountains, I passed the invisible boundary between Umatilla County (to the east) and Morrow County (to the west). No county signs appeared beside the rural road to mark this changeover, so I had to settle for this Blue Mountains scenic byway sign instead.
A few miles further west, I passed signs for some USFS campgrounds. And then Cutsforth Park, a county campground with its wooden sign boasting, “Full Hook-Ups, Tent Sites, Fishing, Hiking.”
This local park was my last waypoint on this curvy paved road before I needed to turn into the Umatilla National Forest on a NF-5326. The road leading east toward Black Mountain appeared without any fanfare or signage, but my GPS confirmed I was in the correct spot, so I turned off the pavement and headed down the dirt and gravel road.
After a 2.2 miles on NF-5326, I reached the junction with NF-030, the final dirt road that led to the summit of Black Mountain. This junction definitely wasn’t a designated trailhead, and there was no dedicated parking for handful of visitors making their pilgrimage to this county high point. Nevertheless, I left my RAV4 parked on the side of the gravel road there because NF-030 looked just a little too rugged for my taste.
After hiking about 0.3 miles up NF-030, I encountered a locked barrier spanning the width of the road. There was spot here for maybe one or two cars to park and turn around in this “upper” parking area. I suspect someone with 4×4 could have made it up to the gate, but it hardly seemed worth the effort just to save five minutes of walking up from the well-maintained forest road where I’d parked.
As I made my way around the edge of the gate, the road continued its ascent. My calves were burning, but not because the road leading up Black Mountain was unforgiving. These were just the lingering pains from yesterday’s steep climb up South Sister, followed by too many hours of sitting in the car during my ride out here. The price we county highpointers pay for our hobby…
It was past noon now, and the day was warm. Luckily, I had the shade of 40-foot trees lining the road to provide me with a respite from the early August sunshine.
This was one of the easier county highpoints I’d tick off this year, for sure. Less than an hour after leaving my car, I could see the buildings atop the summit emerging. There were several ugly cell and radio towers up there, further cementing Black Mountain’s mediocre reputation in my mind.
I made my way past the various outbuildings and towers – all of which had some sort warning for trespassers to leave them alone – before gazing upon the gentle crest of the summit. It was impossible to tell which spot was the actual high point, so I set about wandering around the football field-sized area in search of a survey marker or some other sort of hint.
I never did find a survey marker though. One cluster of rocks seemed promising, but then it looked exactly like the next cluster of rocks 25 yards away. Eventually I discovered on pile of rocks that seemed be hiding something worthwhile. A small red can poked out from the shadows. This was either trash or a the item I was looking for.
It turned out the be the latter, with a small glass jar secreted away inside two cans painted a brick red color. A tiny summit log sat inside the jar, and it contained several names I immediately recognized as fellow county highpointers.
After adding my name to the small notebook, I spun around the flat expanse to take in the views. But much to my disappointment, tall trees blocked most of my surroundings. The best view was to the north, where the tan desert landscape seemed to stretch through Morrow County up to the Columbia River Gorge (not that I could actually see that far from this altitude).
And so, Oregon CoHP # 10 was officially in the books. It was time to return to my car so I could head back toward Ukiah before driving further into the Umatilla National Forest. It was early enough that I could still turn today into a highpointing double header. Tower Mountain (Umatilla County’s high point) was only about 60 miles to my east, and its name hinted at much more satisfying views to come.
Bonus Material
Camping Nearby:
- Cutsforth Park is county campground located on NF-53 (Willow Creek Road) approximately 3 miles from the parking area for this high point and offers 40 tent/trailer campsites, 2 cabins, potable water, electricity, toilets, showers, horse pens, and a fishing pond. The campground is open seasonally from late-May to late-November. Cost: $19-25 for campsites, $49 for cabins. Reservations can be made online.
- Coalmine Hill Campground is rustic USFS campground located on NF-53 (Willow Creek Road) approximately 5 miles from the high point and offers 5 tent/trailer campsites and 5 tent only campsites, picnic tables, and and vault toilets. This free campground is maintained seasonally from Memorial Day to late November, and all campsites are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Cost: $0
- The Clyde Holliday Recreation Area is state campground located on US-26 near Mt. Vernon, OR, and offers 31 electric sites, a hiker biker camp, 2 tepees, potable water, showers, flush toilets, picnic tables, and sits along the John Day River. This campground is open from March 1 to November 30. Cost: $26 per campsite; $46-56 for tepees. Non-guests can also shower at the campground for a $2 fee. Reservations are available online through Oregon State Parks. This campground is a good centrally-located spot for visiting the county high points in Morrow Co., Umatilla Co., and Grant Co.
Resources:
- Highpointing Black Mountain (Peakbagger)
- Black Mountain (Summit Post)
- Oregon’s Blue Mountains (Oregon Encylopedia)