Rock Creek Wilderness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rock Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area comprising 7486 acres (3029.5 ha) within the Siuslaw National Forest of Oregon. It was created in 1984 at the same time as the Drift Creek Wilderness and Cummins Creek Wilderness. It is located in the Oregon Coast Range south of Waldport and north of Florence, Oregon.
Rock Creek Wilderness contains two creeks (Rock Creek and Big Creek) separated by a broad ridge. It is primarily coniferous rainforest with dense ground cover. Bigleaf Maple and Red Alder trees line both creeks as they flow westward to the Pacific Ocean. Old-growth Douglas-fir can be found in the eastern portion of this area, giving away to old-growth Sitka Spruce closer to the ocean.
One unique inhabitant of this area is the Oregon silverspot butterfly. These endangered orange-and-brown butterflies can be found on the ridge between the creeks.
Other vegetation include Salal, Salmonberry, Western Swordfern, and beautiful pink rhododendron which bloom each May. Salmon, Steelhead, and Cutthroat trout migrate upstream along both creeks each year to spawn. Fog keeps the area cool in summer, and winters are snowless.
Rock Creek Wilderness is a true wilderness because there are no developed or maintained trails. There are several use trails which start at the parking area and follow the creek upstream, but as of this writing these trails were heavily overgrown with no plans for future maintenance.
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[edit] External links
- National Wilderness Preservation System entry for Rock Creek
