Mount Pisgah summit trail to close briefly for improvements
The upper half-mile of Mount Pisgah’s Summit Trail 1 will close June 17-19, but hikers can still reach the summit via Trail 6 while crews improve drainage and trail stability.
Hikers heading to Mount Pisgah will have to change plans next week when the upper portion of Summit Trail 1 closes from June 17 through June 19. The closure covers the final half-mile to the summit, and Trail 6 will be the alternate route for reaching the top while the work is underway.
Lane County Parks said Trail 2 will also be inaccessible because it connects to the closed upper section of Trail 1 near the summit. Closure signs will be posted at trail access points, and county officials are urging visitors to plan ahead before heading into Howard Buford Recreation Area.
The work is being done by Oregon Woods and is aimed at reducing erosion and making the summit trail easier to use. Crews will remove large rocks and other obstacles, build drainage features, and place new gravel to improve trail stability, accessibility and drainage. Laura Linn, Lane County Parks communications and volunteer coordinator, said, “We’re excited to make improvements that park users and accessibility advocates have been asking for.”
The June 17 to June 19 closure is part of a broader summit-trail upgrade project that began June 8 and is scheduled to continue through July 1, with access restricted periodically as the project moves along. Lane County says the improvements are intended to make one of its most popular destinations more accessible, including for all-terrain wheelchair users, and the work is being funded through the Parks Levy.
The short-term disruption will affect one of the county’s best-known trail systems. Howard Buford Recreation Area, just outside Eugene and Springfield, spans more than 2,200 acres and includes nearly 30 miles of trails, the 209-acre Mount Pisgah Arboretum and Mount Pisgah’s 1,518-foot summit. Trailkeepers of Oregon describes the Summit Trail as the park’s most-hiked route, a steady 1,000-foot ascent that draws heavy use year-round.
Friends of Buford Park and Mt. Pisgah says the park is open dawn to dusk throughout the year and charges a $5 daily parking fee. For regular hikers, the temporary closure means one more route check before a trip to the summit, but the county is betting the repairs will help preserve access on a trail that sees some of the heaviest use in Lane County.
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