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Charlton Lemish Loop Trail
Trail Snapshot:
Trail Description
E-bikes NOT allowed on Charlton Lemish Loop
The Charlton Lemish Loop is actually a ride and not a trail per se. It uses the Charlton Lake Trail in conjunction with the Metolious Windigo trail for a loop which take you by both Charlton and Lemish Lakes. Riders can also mix up their loop options by including the Clover Meadow Trail which bisects the loop.
Mosquitoes are fierce so keep the momentum!
CONNECT WITH BEND TRAILS
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Any news on trees down on Tr19 south of Charlton to MW?
logged from Charlton to Clover Meadow jct, Clover Meadow to MW, MW to Twins Tr on 8/3/23.
Not on USFS website yet, but according to a press release given to local news outlets, the Charlton and Lemish THs are now closed, as is the rest of the Waldo area.
Loop logged out on 8/30/22 by Don Leet, John, Kirin, Lev, & Nola of Cog Wild and Dan Sharp of OTTA. Trail is riding really well now!
Thank you! [Loop logged out on 8/30/22 by Don Leet, John, Kirin, Lev, & Nola of Cog Wild and Dan Sharp of OTTA. Trail is riding really well now!]
As of August 16th there are around 25 (maybe more) trees down between the Clover Meadow cut-off and the top of Lemish Lake on the northwest side of the loop with seven or so trees down on the south east leg. This loop is a great alternative to riding around Waldo while the west side of that trail is closed for the Cedar Creek fire, but hauling your bike over that many trees is a chore. Edit: I meant the north east side of the loop for the other seven trees.
13 trees remain between Charlton and 1/2 mile east of Cultus jct. Scheduled for 7/21/22
Rode loop counterclockwise from Lemish TH. 26 trees down riding up to Charleton Lake. 6 trees down coming down from Charlton on the Metolious Windigo.
We rode from Little Cultus as a loop, and trail conditions were great! There were 25 or so trees down, most of them on the west side of the loop before Charlton Lake. All of them were easy to get over off our bikes.
Effective immediately, Deschutes and Willamette National Forest officials have placed an area closure for the Lily Lake Fire burning northeast of Lily Lake within the Charlton Roadless Area west of the Cascade Lakes Highway. The Lily Lake Fire, which started August 17 and is now estimated at 30 acres, is burning within the 1996 Charlton Fire Scar and adjacent heavy timber. The heel of the fire is located within 100 feet of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The fire is 10% contained and continues to grow to the north and east prompting area and trail closures.
We rode from Little Cultus: Charlton > E-side Waldo > Twins > Charlton and there were about 12 trees down on Charlton. We did not ride the Lemish side, thinking that it was likely it had even more trees down … but who knows?
Thanks, David, for the info. Were the trees pretty easy to huck a bike over? Looking at this as part of a possible family bikepacking loop and trying to stack the odds in our favor.
Most were pretty easy to get over or around. One spot had a couple that were a few feet off the ground and took a little more effort. I hope you have a great family trip.
Anyone know how much blowdown is still on the loop?
Mosquitoes if you stop for long. Cooler and breezy day made them not much of a nuisance.
The trail is ridable, but has not been cleared. There were 30+ log overs. We rolled as much as we could but it needs a saw. Mosquitoes were fierce. I would hold off riding until mid august
The loop and Clover Meadow connector are clear! Woot, thanks Rob, Todd, Skyler and Lev.
Are you stating the trails are clear of tree fall and snow?
Another post had a lot of snow still on the Charlton Lake trail dated after yours.
It is clear now. When we did the loop on June 10th there was snow but only a couple spots you needed to get off.
Rode the loop on Thursday 10/11/2018 and there were ~15 places we needed to dismount to get over large trees. Some spots had more than one tree down which made it a bit harder to get over, under, or around, but nothing impossible. Dirt was in good shape, though, so it wasn’t a death march.
Dang that was fast!
You could still see tire tracks going under the trees. Those trees all fell in the last few days.
Beautiful ride today. Dirt is PERFECT, no down trees, and excellent temps. Get it before the snow hits.
Loop now clear per OTTA campout
Great ride today. Only 8 down trees on the Northwest side going up, no branches, an easy lift over the bare trunk . . . no big deal. Totally clear coming down the Southeast side. Nowhere was usual jumble of trees anywhere along the route. No standing water or snow. The trail was frozen early morning but thawed. Slippery roots. Perfect conditions for this ride. Someone’s done a great job of clearing the trail. Thanks!
Rode Western side. 10-12 big trees still down. Snow on top half : fun when riding downhill, but not much traction going up
Thanks for the input, I was wondering!
New report from Chris Marney: Was out there last Sunday, June 25. Mosquitoes are ferocious nearly the entire way. DEET 35% worked well, as I had no bites.
Trees down in most areas, with east side section from NF-4290 to Lemish Lake riding flow disturbed by countless sub-half-foot sized leaning trees. Otherwise lost trail just up from jct to Lily Lake (1/4 mile to it). My “first tracks” ought to give fellow bikers a path to follow. Section is 100-200′ long, if that.
Pond near Charlton Lake has over axle-deep water on trail. Most trees down on westside are about a foot in diameter. There were less than a handful of 2′ to 2.5′ trees down.
Riding nicely! With the long term forecast looking wet and cold, figured I better try riding this again. Thanks to the crew that cleared downfall! One down tree on west side near Clover Meadow junction.
This loop cleared today by Jade, Johnny, Rick and Joe
I experienced the same thing as what Bill said below. Started at Little Cultus boat ramp…took the west side on Charlton…made it just before the Clover Meadow junction before lots of blowdown. Talked with a couple others on the way back…they tried the MW side from the north and made it about 1 mile before blowdown.
Someone has been clearing out here but there’s still a ways to go. If you come in on the north side you can out & back both arms down but won’t quite make it to clover meadow on either route.