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Mill Creek Wilderness Loop Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

The west side of Twin Pillars from the trail (Jerry Adams)
Twin Pillars from the Belknap Springs Trail (Jerry Adams)
The Wildcat Trail goes through a previously burned area (Jerry Adams)
Above Desolation Canyon, Twin Pillars Trail (bobcat)
Below Twin Pillars, the trail goes through overgrown snowbrush - wear pants (Jerry Adams)
The Twin Pillars Trail crosses Mill Creek several times (Jerry Adams)

Contents

Hike Description

The Mill Creek Wilderness is a fairly small, somewhat unknown wilderness area in eastern Oregon, about 15 miles northeast of Prineville. The "mountains" are more like hills, reaching 6000 feet in elevation. The Mill Creek Wilderness is mostly contained within the Wildcat Caldera. About 40 million years ago, the caldera was formed in a volcanic eruption. The north edge of the caldera is just north of Twin Pillars, where the Twin Pillars Trail reaches its high point. The east side of the caldera is along the Wildcat Trail. There are great views of the caldera from the northern section of the Wildcat Trail. Mill Creek runs through the middle of the wilderness. The trail goes up to summit ridges, from where you can see Mill Creek and glimpses of farther summits, including the Three Sisters in the Cascades. There are a number of interesting rock spires, including the Twin Pillars, which the trail passes close to. The area has sparse pine and fir forest. In general, there isn't too much undergrowth to impede your view or travel. Cattle do run into the wilderness, and you may see blacktail deer.

There isn't a lot of drinking water to be found on this loop. You can get water from Mill Creek for about three miles of trail. There's a well at the Twin Pillars South Trailhead and springs at each of the other three trailheads, but the water is not too appetizing. The trail crosses the headwaters of Mill Creek at one place, but these may dry up late in the year. This area gets a lot of snow in the winter and can get very cold. However, significant snowfall begins relatively late in the year because of the low elevation and rainfall. The snow melts off earlier than in the Cascades. One advantage of this area is the relatively low amount of rainfall, since it's east of the Cascades. If you want to do a trip and there's too much rain in Portland or on Mount Hood, this area will be much drier.

A large part of the wilderness was burned in the 2000 Hash Rock Fire. In places, entire trees were burned and died. In other places the fire didn't reach the canopy, and the trees have survived well. In addition, the 2017 Desolation Fire consumed parts of the northeast area of the wilderness. Some areas remain unburned. All the burned areas are recovering.

This hike involves all of the official trails in the wilderness. You have to walk 2.9 miles along a gravel road to get between two trailheads. You can camp at two trailhead campgrounds, both accessible by car via somewhat long gravel roads. You might prefer camping away from these trailheads. Most people hike in this wilderness as a day hike (see the Twin Pillars Hike). Since it takes at least four hours to get here from Portland, you could camp at any of the the trailheads and hike during the day.

The route described starts at the most popular trailhead, the Twin Pillars South Trailhead. The popular Wildcat Campground is right at the trailhead. In the off season, it's closed and you can't camp there. Another good hike would start at the Twin Pillars North Trailhead, where there is a small campground open year-round. Here you get a nice view of Bingham Prairie, where you might see wildlife.

Detailed Description

Start at the Twin Pillars South Trailhead at 3,750 feet elevation. The Twin Pillars Trail heads up the west side of Mill Creek. The trail has a good, well maintained tread. In the first 1.5 miles, the trail crosses Mill Creek seven times. There are no bridges. Mill Creek is not very big, but especially in the spring, it's a bit tricky crossing without getting your feet wet. You might want to wear sandals or water shoes. You can just stay on the east side of the creek and avoid the stream crossings, but the use trails are rather sketchy in places.

At 2.6 miles, 4,050 feet in elevation, you reach the Twin Pillars-Belknap Springs Trail Junction. Go right on the Belknap Springs Trail. This is your last chance to get drinking water for a while. The Belknap Springs Trail is easy to follow. It goes steeply up a canyon. You get some views of the Twin Pillars, and as you get higher up, the Three Sisters. At mile 4.8, you reach the end of the Belknap Springs Trail at 5,200 feet. Just before the junction, go through a gate in a barbed wire fence. Then turn right on the Wildcat Trail.

At mile 7.2, 5,400 feet, you reach the beginning of the Wildcat Trail, the Wildcat South Trailhead, at the White Rock Campground. Cars can get here on a gravel road, but it's some distance from the paved road and relatively little used. There are two picnic tables and a nice outhouse. There is a spring, with a trickle of water going into a watering trough used by cattle. When you're at the trailhead sign and facing the road, the spring is on your left behind a wire fence, about 30 yards downhill. There's algae in the trough, but if you use a water filter, it's probably okay. I did this, and the water didn't taste too bad.

The next day, go back the way you came on the Wildcat Trail. At mile 2.4 from the Wildcat South Trailhead, you reach the Belknap Springs Trail junction again, but this time stay straight on the Wildcat Trail. From here, the trail is less traveled. It follows generally along the top of a ridge with occasional views. There are lots of ups and downs: 1,430 feet elevation gain and 900 feet elevation loss from the Belknap junction. There are many trees and branches across the trail, but there aren't a lot of steep slopes or undergrowth, so you can fairly easily get over or around any obstacles. There are a couple of barbed wire fence gates. At about mile 6, the trail gets pretty faint but stays just west of the barbed wire fence. If you have a GPS with the standard USGS topo map, the actual trail follows the route outlined on the map pretty well.

There are many places along the ridge where you could camp, but you would have to bring water with you. There are several small summits that the trail goes around that might be nice perches for the night. On the USGS topo map, it says there are a number of springs. I located a couple of them. They were basically mud holes trampled by cattle. In an emergency, it would probably be possible to get drinking water at these. This area was affected by the 2017 Desolation Fire. At about mile 7.7 from the Wildcat South Trailhead, the trail crosses the headwaters of Mill Creek. This may dry up late in the summer/early in the fall. There are some places around here you could probably camp.

At mile 8.6, 5,730 feet elevation, you reach the Wildcat North Trailhead. At the Wildcat North Trailhead, there is another small campground - follow the rough road downhill about 0.1 mile. Car access is via a gravel road. The campground is little used, except by hunters in the fall. There are several picnic tables, a nice outhouse, and a spring like at White Rock. To get to the spring, take the rough road that goes just east of the outhouse. Camp here the second night.

The third day, hike up to the main gravel road, and go west (it begins more like northwest and gradually bends west). At 2.9 miles from the Wildcat North Trailhead, 5,500 feet in elevation, you reach the Twin Pillars North Trailhead. It's well signed and seems more popular than the Wildcat trailheads. The parking area is a short distance from the main road. There are a couple picnic tables and a nice outhouse. There is an algae covered spring which flows into a pool presumably used by cattle. Out of the pool flows a tiny stream, which in about 100 yards becomes clear and looks pretty drinkable, but I would use a filter. The pool is on the edge of Bingham Prairie. In the evening and early morning, you might see elk or deer here.

Go south on the Twin Pillars Trail. This is one of the more popular trails, so if you saw anyone, this is where you might see them. The trail is easily followed, with a few trees to step over. It crosses a few tiny streams which probably dry up late in the season. At about mile 0.5 from the North Twin Pillars Trailhead, the trail follows along the rim of Desolation Canyon, still in the burned area but rather scenic with cliffs and several viewpoints. At about mile 1.0 from the Twin Pillars North Trailhead, you reach a high point at 5,800 feet in elevation. At mile 2.8, 5,400 feet, you reach the north base of the Twin Pillars. There is a nice area to camp, but you would have to bring water from the trailhead (or Mill Creek if you were coming from that direction). You get a nice view of the Pillars and the Mill Creek Canyon below.

From here, the trail goes steeply downhill using a number of switchbacks. Obnoxious snowbrush, which has proliferated after the fire, encroaches on the trail in many places. These plants are woody and can incur long scratches on bare skin. You are advised to wear pants. At about mile 4.6, 4,250 feet elevation, the trail crosses a small stream which may dry up in late summer although there was water when I was there in mid-October. There are places to put up a tent. At about mile 4.8, the trail goes back up on a ridge. Follow the ridge a little up, and there's a nice camp spot looking over the Twin Pillars. At about mile 5.4, the trail reaches Mill Creek. Starting here, and the rest of the way down Mill Creek are many nice places to camp. You can get water from Mill Creek, but should probably treat it because there are cattle and other animals around. The trail crosses Mill Creek from west to east; this can be somewhat tricky without getting your feet wet. At mile 5.6, you reach the Belknap Springs junction again and the end of the loop. Follow the trail the way you came initially to the trailhead at mile 8.2 from the Twin Pillars North Trailhead.


Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • No fees
  • For current info call: Ochoco National Forest, Prineville (541) 416-6500
  • Trail sometimes indistinct in meadows; expect some downed trees

Maps

  • Maps: Hike Finder
  • Mill Creek Wilderness (USFS)
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mill Creek Wilderness, Bridge Creek Wilderness, Black Canyon Wilderness
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Prineville Ranger District, Ochoco National Forest
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Ochoco National Forest & Crooked River National Grassland


  • This map is from the Ochoco National Forest web site with elevations and mileages added by me:
Millcreekmap2.jpg


Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks

  • Eastern Oregon Wilderness Areas by Donna Ikenberry Aitkenhead
  • Hiking Central Oregon & Beyond by Virginia Meissner
  • 100 Hikes: Eastern Oregon by William L. Sullivan (Twin Pillars Trail only)
  • Oregon's Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner

More Links


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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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