Smith Rock State Park. Hiking the Misery Ridge and River Trail Loop

I took a seven hour drive to the high desert country of central Oregon to spend a couple of nights and explore. On my way to Bend, I stopped at Smith Rock State Park.

This wonderful park is located a couple of miles east of US 97 near the town of Terrebonne about twenty miles north of Bend. I paid the five dollar admission and started walking.

The Misery Ridge Trail is across the river the Crooked River from the parking areas and visitor center. This part of the park is crowded with sightseers.

I walked the loop counter clockwise and would highly recommend that direction. The hike begins with a series of steep switchbacks that soon get you away from most of the crowd. To your left are some shear rock walls that are a Mecca for rock climbers.

And to your right and soon way below you is the river that almost encircles the rocks. The switchbacks are challenging and wooden steps help you in s0me of the steepest sections.

It only takes six tenths of a mile to gain the little over seven hundred feet of elevation to the top. The vegetation on the summit consists of sparse desert shrubs and large juniper trees.

The views from the top are outstanding. You can see the distant Cascade Mountains to the west and appreciate the stunning rock formations below you.

I stayed up here a while to enjoy the view. It was sunny and for the time of year, reasonably cool. Signs at the trailhead warn hikers to bring plenty of water and I did. You can get dehydrated here in a hurry.

A short walk further and you begin the descent on the other side of the ridge next to a prominent rock pillar called Monkey Face.

Here’s the view of this rock from below. It’s pretty clear how it came to acquire such an unusual name. There are rock climbing routes up this feature as well.

Soon you find yourself next to the Crooked River on the far side of Misery Ridge from the trailhead. It is a photogenic stream.

You get to follow the river for a couple of miles back to the starting point which is a great way to wind down after getting your heart pumping crossing over the ridge. Here you can still see Monkey Face just left of center.

The River Trail has a new view around every bend.

At one point you can hear a decent size waterfall across the river but can only get a fleeting view of it through the trees covering the far cliff side. What you can see is awfully nice too.

About half way back to the trailhead I saw a couple of raptors circling overhead. It took me a minute to realize that they were a pair of Golden Eagles. They’re bigger than Bald Eagles.

The rocks are fascinating. The park has dozens of rock wall climbing routes.

And here are a couple of folks trying out one of them.

It took me almost three hours to complete the 3.6 mile loop with a total elevation gain of 908 feet. A lot of that time was spent just stopping to enjoy the views. There are other trails in the park that I would have loved to had time to check out.

I even got to see a couple of lizards. We don’t get them much in the Idaho Panhandle.

I made one last short walk to an overlook on the east side of the canyon to get another perspective.

I enjoyed hiking in Smith Rock State Park. The State of Oregon does a nice job of maintaining this beautiful site. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it out this way again but if I do I’d gladly hike this route again.

Smith Rock State Park turned out to be the highlight of my three day Oregon Road trip and the only adventure along the way worthy of it’s own post. You can check out the rest of the trip here.