Fuji Mountain Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Fuji Mountain Upper Trailhead
- End point: Fuji Mountain
- Hike type: In and out
- Distance: 3.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 965 feet
- High point: 7,144 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Summer into fall
- Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Description
There are two routes to the top of Fuji Mountain: one leads in from the Waldo Lake Road through viewless forest (but past a couple of pretty lakes) for an 11-mile round trip hike; the other (described here) is short and sweet, the main obstacle being the 10 ½ mile drive on FR 5883, which is heavily potholed for the first mile but gets much better after that. Once at the summit, you’ll enjoy views up and down Oregon’s Cascades, from the tip of Mount Hood to Mount Thielsen to the south.
Fuji Mountain’s name has no relation to the much revered peak in Japan. McArthur and McArthur of Oregon Geographic Names offer one suggestion for the origins of the name although it cannot be confirmed. An August 1995 issue of the Oakridge Dead Mountain Echo describes an outing to the top of the mountain by Cy Bingham and Charlie Tufti. The latter gave Cy some jerky and, upon questioning, averred it was genuine packrat. Cy spat it out, exclaiming “Phooey!” and “Jeez!”, the combination of which resulted in the mountain’s new name.
The trail begins across the road from the parking pullout. Hike up through a recovering clearcut and into old-growth mountain hemlock forest with some Engelmann spruce. There are huckleberry bushes and younger grand firs in the understory. Soon, you’ll come to a trail junction where the Fuji Mountain Trail #3674 comes in from the right.
Turn left, and traverse up along the side of Fuji Mountain’s south ridge. The understory becomes more open, with a carpet of lupine and woodrush and exposed outcrops of rocks. The trail switchbacks and winds up on a rocky tread, with aster, Jacob’s ladder, lupine, and bleeding heart blooming trailside in summer. After two more switchbacks, you’ll get a view along Bunchgrass Ridge to the west with tiny Deer Camp lake high on a plateau. At another switchback, there’s a view southest to Gold Lake and Maiden Peak as well as south to Diamond Peak. Subalpine firs now enter the conifer mix. You can also see rugged orange cliffs just below to the east on the ridge leading to Mount Ray.
At the top of Fuji Mountain, a former fire lookout site, views expand northwards up the entire expanse of Waldo Lake, with The Twins standing out to the lake’s east. Black Meadows and Bingo Lake, both in the Waldo Lake Wilderness, can be seen below. The Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Mount Bachelor are clear, with peaks leading north including Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson, and the snow-caped tip of Mount Hood just to the left of Mount Jefferson. Mount Thielsen can be viewed past Diamond Peak to the south.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Share trail with mountain bikers
- Mosquitoes into August, especially at trailhead
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Waldo Lake Wilderness
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Middle Fork Ranger District
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Willamette National Forest
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Willamette Cascades
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Central Oregon Cascades
- Adventure Maps: Oakridge, Oregon Trail Map
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Fuji Mountain Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Fuji Mountain Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- 100 Hikes: Central Oregon Cascades by William L. Sullivan
- Oregon’s Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner
- 50 Old-Growth Hikes in the Willamette National Forest by John & Diane Cissel
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon’s Southern Cascades: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
- Hiking Oregon’s Central Cascades by Bruce Grubbs
- Hiking Oregon’s Three Sisters Country by Bruce Grubbs
- 100 Oregon Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe
More Links
- Fuji Mountain Trail #3674 (USFS)
- Fuji Mountain (Just Peachy)
- Fuji Mountain (Richard Hikes)
- Fuji Mountain Trail (All Trails)
- Fuji Mountain (Oregon Adventures)
- Fuji Mountain (Summit Post)
- Fuji Mountain (Northwest Wildflowers)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)