Black Butte Trail

From the trailhead, the trail climbs steeply for two miles along a symmetrical volcano. The trail passes through a rich diversity of forest settings. Large "yellow-belly" ponderosa pines give way to mixed conifer and then subalpine vegetation. In the second mile of the hike, trees thin and unsurpassed mountain views emerge.

At a Glance

Fees:	Recreation Fee Area: $5/vehicle/day
Restrictions:	Mountain bikes & motorized use prohibited.
Passes:	Recreation Fee Site: Parking at this site requires a recreation pass. Please check here for more information about recreation passes and where they can be purchased. Acceptable passes include: Northwest Forest Passes (Oregon & Washington) Day ePass ($5) National Forest Day Pass ($5) Annual Pass ($30) Local Pass Digital Recreation Day Pass ($5) (Day Pass for Forest Service fee sites ONLY in Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Deschutes National Forest, Mt. Hood National Forest, and Siuslaw National Forest) Interagency Passes 4th Grade Interagency Pass (free for current fourth graders) Interagency Annual Pass ($80) Interagency Senior Lifetime Pass ($80) Interagency Annual Senior Pass ($20) Interagency Access Pass (free) Interagency Annual Military Pass (free) Gold Star Family Voucher (free)
Information Center:	Sisters Ranger District 201 N. Pine Street PO Box 249 Sisters, OR 97759 (541) 549-7700

General Information

Directions:

From Sisters,OR: 6.3 miles northwest on Hwy. 20, then 3.9 miles north on F.S. Rd. 11, then 5.5 miles west on F.S. Rd. 1110 to Black Butte Trailhead.

Activities

Day Hiking

Recreation areas with activity Day Hiking:

Black Butte Trailhead

The openness of the upper portion of the trail can make for a very hot climb in the summer. Black Butte is the site of several generations of Forest Service fire lookouts and has, therefore, played an important role in protecting Central Oregon forests for over 80 years. In 1910, lookouts worked from a platform perched in a pair of trees. The Cupola was built in 1922 and served as the primary lookout facility until 1934, when the 83 foot tower was completed. Builders estimated it would require 300 pack loads of material to construct the tower - it actually took over 1000 loads. In 1995, a new lookout and tower were constructed off site and then lifted by helicopter to the summit.