A unique aspect of living in Eugene, Oregon is that you're literally just minutes from a hiking trail system cresting a forested ridgeline so dense with Douglas fir and white oak overstory-- and groundcover laden with sword ferns and Oregon grape -- you would hardly know that a major metropolitan area resides at its base.
With unseasonably warm weather of late, we celebrated solstice with a trip up Spencer Butte, the most prominent point on the ridgeline trail, featuring a bald summit with compelling 360-degree views including the Three Sisters and Diamond Peak, Fern Ridge Reservoir, the Coast Range and the Southern Willamette Valley.
Dr. Elijah White, the first white man to scale Spencer Butte, hoped to scout an easy wagon train route through the Cascades to the east of the Eugene-Springfield area. He named the butte for John Canfield Spencer, an American lawyer, judge and politician, and the Secretary of War in the administration of President James K. Polk.
Spencer Butte is Eugene’s highest point at 2,058 feet above sea level. The Ridgeline Trail rings the southern edge of the city with a series of connected parklands along a network of more than 12 miles of trail starting at seven main trailheads. It’s a great place for wintertime training for hikes to come in spring and summer.
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