{"id":5479,"date":"2025-05-24T21:40:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T21:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/?p=5479"},"modified":"2026-01-03T22:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T22:02:42","slug":"gray-butte-trail-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2025\/05\/24\/gray-butte-trail-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Butte Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday, May 24, 2025<\/p>\n<p>On our way to Bend for the holiday weekend we hiked the Gray Butte Trail.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Normally we take Friday off for a four-day Memorial Day Weekend, but my vacation time is allocated for other things and I didn&#8217;t have any to spare. We didn&#8217;t relish the thought of trying to find a campsite mid-day on Saturday, so instead we decided to stay in a hotel in Bend. On our way there we stopped and hiked the Gray Butte Trail.<\/p>\n<p>It was an absolutely gorgeous day and pretty soon we had a smashing view of the Cascades to the west:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018270334_dc7073aa4f_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Greg admiring the view of Broken Top and the Three Sisters:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018183768_2bc3809c56_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking back the way we came, with Gray Butte itself at center (the Gray Butte Trail doesn&#8217;t actually go up Gray Butte):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018327155_9fb3a11648_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More views:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017133932_b05940c428_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Soon we reached a gate that marks the boundary of the Crooked River National Grasslands, which we were about to leave behind:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018011791_d0ed8d7515_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So many mountains! Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, the Three Sisters, Black Crater, Belknap Crater, Mt. Washington, and snowless Black Butte:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018199973_bddef9ebc1_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The balsamroot had already come and gone:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018199853_37cc654412_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But we saw other wildflowers. Royal beardtongue:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017140672_ffdfe3c019_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Fleabane<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018286724_e9a6e60f52_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At 1.4 miles we reached a lovely spot where lots of bitterroot were blooming, and lots more still to come:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017140657_36b3440de8_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017140622_2bdd9b00da_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018333650_79628c08b5_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Buckwheat:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018333645_fcc7ab319e_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Phacelia:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018207323_6228c3f9ac_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Paintbrush:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018341290_da4a966315_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking southeast at Pilot Butte:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018286819_31b825979c_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The trail climbed, reached a four-way junction, then began descending:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018341625_fcff59daea_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mt. Jefferson came into view:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018294424_e933f73445_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018341390_338f46d6f4_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Close-up for the Three Sisters:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017147862_bba2b53660_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking up towards Eagle&#8217;s Nest. From this side the trail is short and steep. From the other side it&#8217;s more gradual. We did neither of these today:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018294349_e2838889a1_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We reached Burma Road:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018031731_4fe21bc5b8_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then crossed the road to follow the first part of the Summit Trail:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018212773_55a3d5ae61_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Which would take us out to the rocky prominence at center:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017166122_a5a7fa907e_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More flowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018299489_351151f88a_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017153172_24a3e9694c_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017153462_3d47e0e897_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking down onto Smith Rock State Park, with the Cascades beyond:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018346645_2f54814ffc_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A difference part of Smith Rock State Park, Mesa Verde Wall and Monkey Face:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018031491_acf4646fc8_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking back the way we came, with Gray Butte at center:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018346335_03d7384259_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018346375_ba07bac2a1_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking up at Eagle&#8217;s Nest:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55017153162_4ba2d4899e_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55018354180_dc901ff502_b.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Butte Trail\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This was a nice way to stretch our legs before finishing the drive to Bend. Such a gorgeous day!<\/p>\n<p>Gaia stats: 5.1 miles, 400&#8242; elevation gain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday, May 24, 2025 On our way to Bend for the holiday weekend we hiked the Gray Butte Trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5479"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5492,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479\/revisions\/5492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}