Oregon trails · Illinois River
Illinois River
A 27.4-mile point-to-point in Oregon, with 3,606 ft of climbing. Reaches Polar Spring and other spring/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the middle third: 51% of the ascent falls between mile 9.1 and mile 18.3. It gives back about 8,389 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Polar Spring (spring)
- Buzzards Roost (summit)
- Bald Mountain (summit)
Getting there
ILLINOIS RIVER - GOLD BEACH — parking nearby. About 1 h 49 min drive (58 mi) from Brookings. 42.51900, -124.04100 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:59 a.m., the sun rises at 7:27 a.m. and sets at 6:35 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:04 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 08 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 27.4-mile route works out to roughly 11 h 57 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- ILLINOIS RIVER + Illinois River Trail — 13.9 mi loop, 3,357 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Silver Peak - Hobson Horn Trai — 12.8 mi
- Tincup — 16.8 mi
- Kalmiopsis Rim — 23.2 mi
- Rogue River National Rec Trail — 24.9 mi