Otter Bench Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Otter Bench Trailhead
- End point: Pink Trail Viewpoint
- Hike type: Loops and spurs
- Distance: 9.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 1700 feet
- High point: 2,540 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate with easy options
- Seasons: Year round, but gets very hot in summer (one trail closed February through August)
- Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
Otter Bench is a long, relatively narrow desert flat wedged two-thirds of the way up in the Crooked River Canyon. The trails stay on the bench for the most part, and there is very little elevation change, but two side trails (the Lone Pine and Pink trails) go steeply down to the river bank. You will see a typical high desert landscape, with junipers and sagebrush as well as the basalt rimrock of the upper canyon edge most of the time. Occasionally, the trail gets close enough to the edge of a 370-foot vertical dropoff to the lower canyon, which is pretty impressive. When you go into the inner gorge (especially on the Pink Trail), you'll get an interesting perspective of being inside a deep and narrow chasm - it feels like a piece of Utah's Canyonlands taken to Oregon! There's almost no shade for summer hiking, but in fall through spring, it's often a good place to escape from the rain in the Portland area. This loop is open to hikers, horses, and bikes (except for the two steep trails which are for hikers only), but this area never gets crowded, and you're likely to have it mostly for yourself.
Begin hiking southeast on the Lone Pine Trail. If you go straight through the gate, take a right at the signed three-way junction; alternatively, there's a shortcut from the southeast side of the parking lot. The trail follows the bench plateau for about a quarter of a mile and then descends down into the inner gorge for 0.7 miles. There are a lot of views once you start descending into the canyon. With all the drop-offs, you'll wonder how this trail will get you down to the river bank, but while there are some steep and rocky spots, the trail is well graded overall.There are no pines on Lone Pine Trail (if you don't count a couple on the other side of the river). There are a number of old juniper trees, fragrant sagebrush, and rabbitbrush. Near the river, there are some huge boulders to rest on (and fish from, if that is your predilection), and large cottonwoods that will give good shade. The river is large enough for a quick dip, but probably too fast for a safe swim.
Once you get back up to the trailhead, go past the gate again and keep straight at a three-way junction to stay on the Horny Hollow Trail (if you get there between February 1 and August 31, this trail will be closed for wildlife protection, so turn left onto Otter Bench Trail). The Horny Hollow Trail is a decommissioned dirt road and still looks like it. There are no views for the first part of this trail, but then start looking for unmarked paths branching off to the right. They lead to the inner gorge viewpoints - be careful as the dropoff here is a vertical 350-400 feet. The canyon views are quite impressive. Especially good is a viewpoint at 1.5 miles from the trailhead, just before the next junction and some 50 yards off the Horny Hollow Trail.
At a four-trail junction (if you don't count a couple of unofficial trails - this maze is a result of the main trail bypassing the viewpoints!), take the primitive Pink Trail to the right. It's rough and steep, but it's definitely worth the effort. The trail begins switchbacking down, and then if that weren't steep enough, it descends straight down a dry wash on crude boulder stairs. Soon, the trail levels somewhat, goes through a section carved out of rock, and then makes a couple of switchbacks on the way down to the river. Here, you're in the very narrow section of a lower canyon, and if the wind is coming in the right direction, it may be increased to gale force by the narrow passage, as it was when I hiked there (you are protected from head-on wind until two-thirds of the way down). In the summer, this chasm may get brutally hot. If the weather cooperates, you will get a one of a kind view up and down the river of a deep, narrow slot canyon .
After you climb back to the four-trail junction, take the Opal Canyon Trail on your right. The trail rises and falls as it traverses a narrow passage between Otter Bench to the next flat desert bench. In the next half mile, there are good views of the lower canyon and of cliffs of the upper canyon rim just above you. As the trail gets down to the next bench (Opal Bench?), it gets away from the edge of the lower gorge. The trail then splits into a 2.3-mile loop and a sign directs you to keep right. There's only one fair viewpoint at the end of this small loop, so if you don't want more miles, you may skip this part and turn back here.
Once back at the familiar four-trail junction, take the 1.7-mile Otter Bench Trail back to your car. This gently rolling trail goes slightly higher than the Horny Hollow Trail it parallels and has a more open feel.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Otter Bench Trail System (Crooked River Ranch)
- Topographical map of the area (MyTopo)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Crooked River National Grassland
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Lower Deschutes & John Day Rivers
- Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Central Oregon Cascades
Regulations or restrictions, etc
- No pass required (managed by the BLM, Forest Service, and ODFW)
- Horny Hollow Trail closed February through August (wildlife protection); during these months use the Otter Bench Trail
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Otter Bench
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Otter Bench
Guidebooks
- Extraordinary Oregon! by Matt Reeder
- 52 Hikes for 52 Weeks by Franziska Weinheimer (Hike Oregon)
- Day Hiking: Bend and Central Oregon by Brittany Manwill (Lone Pine Trail)
- Trail Running: Bend and Central Oregon by Lucas Alberg
- Mountain Bike Bend by Katy Bryce
More Links
- Scout Camp and Otter Bench Trail Systems (Bureau of Land Management)
- Otter Bench Loop Hike (Outdoor Project)
- Otter Bench Trail System (wanderingyuncks)
- Otter Bench (Roaming Log)
- Otter Bench (Calipidder)
- Otter Bench hike near Crooked River Ranch, Oregon (Bend Branches)
- Crooked River via Otter Bench and Pink Trail (All Trails)
- Otter Bench Trail (MTB Project)
- "Fifty hike Otter Bench Trail with Sullivan" (Madras Pioneer)
- "Otter Bench Trails offer unique views of Crooked River" (The Nugget Newspaper)
- Otter Bench Trail System (Bend Bulletin)
- "Directions, map for BLM's new Otter Bench trailhead at Crooked River Ranch" (Oregon Live)