Oregon trails · Western Rim National Recreation Trail
Western Rim National Recreation Trail
A 48.8-mile point-to-point in Oregon, with 5,792 ft of climbing. Reaches Freezeout Saddle and other pass/spring/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 59% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 16.3. It gives back about 5,940 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Freezeout Saddle (pass)
- Grassy Knoll (summit)
- Jensen Spring (spring)
- Lookout Mountain (summit)
- Sluice Creek Saddle (pass)
- Coyote Spring (spring)
- Winters Spring (spring)
- Ninemile Saddle (pass)
Heads up
Getting there
Western Rim National Recreation Trail access. About 3 h 24 min drive (98 mi, 13 of them unpaved) from Baker City. 45.25989, -116.75626 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:31 a.m., the sun rises at 7:01 a.m. and sets at 6:03 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:33 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 02 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 48.8-mile route works out to roughly 20 h 59 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Cow Creek + West Fork + Western Rim National Recreation Trail — 7.1 mi loop, 3,667 ft gain
- Western Rim National Recreation Trail + Palace + Deep Creek Bench — 15.2 mi loop, 3,590 ft gain
- Upper Cow + Winters Gulch + Western Rim National Recreation Trail — 15.6 mi loop, 5,233 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Lakes Basin — 24.2 mi