Page 53 - Copyright 2013 - Pamplin Media Group

Photos and Text by Tony Ahern
afternoon drive
calling your name?
If 15 miles outside of Madras
and back sounds doable, you
can’t beat a drive downTrout
Creek Road.
From Madras, head north on
U.S. Highway 97, then veer left
onto Clark Drive and cruise
the soothing farmland into the
Gateway valley. Just past the
railroad tracks, turn right onto
Clemens Drive. Irrigation ends
and the sage and bunch grass
take over on Clemens. An
abandoned homestead to the
left, a monument to the era a
century ago when this area was
settled, is eye and soul candy
for history buffs.
About a mile in, the
pavement gives way to dirt.
According to some maps,
Clemens becomes Cook Lane
and later Coleman Road, but
the commonly used name is
Trout Creek Road as it dips
down fast, into the Trout
Creek canyon. From there, it’s
a beautiful, albeit a bit bouncy,
three-mile drive to the
Deschutes River.
Early in the run down the
canyon, a tunnel cuts under
the railroad tracks. You emerge
from the tunnel to a drastically
different view: a small,
irrigated farm on the left, the
gates of the Trout Creek Ranch
to your right. And the creek
greets you. If it’s warm, the
sweet smell of a stream, and
the flora along its banks, wafts
through the window you best
have open.
The road flattens as it moves
along the farmland, then the
canyon tightens. You cross the
creek over a steel bridge. A few
hundred yards further, the
railroad trestle majestically
cuts across the canyon, like a
piece of art. The rugged,
manmade structure fits right in
with the impressive rock
surroundings, from the canyon
rims to the stand-alone The
Trout Creek cut soon gives way
to a wider canyon, the
Deschutes River’s. You’re at
the edge of Jefferson County.
The canyon face you see to the
north is Wasco. The road
bends to the west and enters a
large, flat bench. A generation
ago, this end game was what
the road was best-known for:
access to the great put-in/take-
out site for rafters and drift
boat fishermen. Largely, it still
is best known for that.
It’s popularity prompted the
BLM to improve the boat
launch area, and build and
maintain a nice, yet nicely high
desert-sparse campground. It’s
a perfect place to camp, picnic,
watch anglers and river crafts,
or just enjoy the river itself.
And it’s a great turnaround
for an afternoon drive. Head
back to town ... if you must.
An