All state-run camping, hiking and other recreation areas in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon are officially open, five years after wildfires burned through much of the area east of Salem.
The Oregon Department of Forestry reopened the High Lakes recreation area this month, including Rhody Lake and the Butte Lakes area.
Related: Burdoin Fire shuts down popular recreation sites along the Columbia River Gorge
Although hikers can now take to the trails, they’re no longer allowed to camp overnight in the Rhody Lake area.
“We made the change for two main reasons: lack of infrastructure and fire safety,” ODF program manager Joe Offer said in an agency press release. “The area still has many dead standing trees and piles of dead trees, so the fire risks are much higher than before the 2020 fires.”
Shellburg Falls re-opened in 2023 and Butte Creeks Falls re-opened last year. Offer said the department focused on reopening highly visited areas first.
While the state’s recreation areas may be open, the same can’t be said for areas managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Multiple federal sites remain closed, or roads accessing them are closed. They’re listed on the U.S. Forest Service website.
FILE - In the Santiam Canyon, pictured here in a photo from 2024, vast stretches of burned trees cover the hillsides. The Beachie Creek fire devastated this area in 2020, destroying large areas of forest, as well as homes and local businesses.
Bryce Dole / OPB
Since the 2020 Labor Day Weekend fires, the Oregon Department of Forestry has logged and removed dead trees in state-protected areas in the Santiam Canyon. It also planted 2 million seedlings, including 658 acres of Noble fir and Douglas-fir trees around Rhody Lake.
Although ODF has removed a large number of dead trees, hikers should remain alert in the area, staff said, since strong winds or heavy rains could bring more trees and branches down onto trails.
“We also considered delaying the opening until after the fire season but wanted folks to have access as soon as possible,” said Chelsey Peters, acting district forester for ODF’s North Cascade District.
The 2020 Labor Day Weekend fires burned in a patchwork pattern, leaving some areas green or lightly touched.
ODF had the Santiam Canyon area listed in high fire danger on Tuesday, meaning recreationists need to follow a long list of restrictions. People can’t do any spark-emitting activities between 1 and 8 p.m., including chainsawing, mowing, grinding or driving off-road vehicles.
All vehicles traveling on ODF-managed forest roads also need to carry a shovel and gallon of water, or a working fire extinguisher.
People can still have camp fires on state lands that are under high fire hazard, but they need to have a shovel, as well as water or a fire extinguisher.
Forest visitors can check fire danger levels for any ODF-protected lands on the agency’s website.