Ochoco National Forest OHV Trails

Ochoco National Forest encompasses approximately 847,000 acres of high-desert ponderosa pine forest and sagebrush rangeland in Crook, Grant, and Wheeler counties in central Oregon, the transition zone between the wet Cascades to the west and the Great Basin desert to the east, where ponderosa pine and western juniper replace the Douglas fir and hemlock of the Coast Range and Cascades. The OHV trail network in the Ochoco runs on existing forest roads and designated motorized single-track through this mid-elevation ponderosa park country, with elevations ranging from 4,000 feet in the valley corridors to the 6,000-foot ridgelines of the Ochoco Mountains. The terrain is quintessential interior Oregon: open ponderosa parkland where the trees are widely spaced and the understory is bunchgrass and sage, with rocky volcanic outcroppings characteristic of the Ochoco's John Day Formation geology, and the creek drainages of Ochoco Creek, Crooked River headwaters, and their tributaries cutting through the forest. The central Oregon location and the high-desert climate give the Ochoco a riding season longer than the west-side national forests, the lower-elevation ponderosa terrain is typically rideable from late April through November, when the coastal and Cascade forests are still wet. ATVs, UTVs, and motorcycles are all permitted on designated motorized routes. An Oregon OHV registration sticker is required; no per-day fee on national forest land. Dispersed camping is available throughout the forest. The Ochoco National Forest headquarters in Prineville (541-416-6500) provides current route designations and seasonal access conditions.