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Black Crater is More About the Destination Than the Journey
Black Crater Trailhead is Located off McKenzie Hwy 242
For those wanting a relatively short hike which provides for a lot of elevation gain, Black Crater is one of the best. Located off McKenzie Hwy 242, the hike is limited to the summer season when McKenzie Hwy opens each year. Unfortunately, the 2017 Milli fire burned a lot of the forest on McKenzie Hwy, and the lower slopes of Black Crater were impacted. In the seven years since the Milli fire, manzanita, certain grasses, some wildflowers, and young trees have begun to grow in the dead landscape, but it will take decades until the cinder cone is entirely forested again. The one advantage of the burned forest is the views toward Mt. Washington are far more visible in the lower elevations than they would have been eight years ago.
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Roughly two and a half miles into the hike, the burned forest is left and the steep path zigzags through mixed forest and cinder fields. And at three and a half miles, hikers reach the top. The views on a clear day towards The Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, and all the hills in McKenzie Pass are fabulous. Plus hikers have the satisfaction of having climbed over 2300 feet to reach the top. The hike down goes faster than the up and many can complete the entire hike, without really pushing, in a little over three hours.
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