Lost Corral Trail Overnight
Trail Name: Lost Corral Trail
Enter/Exit: J.S. Burres Trailhead
Trip type: In-and-Out
Difficulty: Easy (just watch for ticks and snakes)
Distance: 10.1 miles
Elevation: 75 feet
Guide: https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Lost_Corral_Hike
Review: Years ago I drove by Cottonwood Canyon State Park in Oregon on my way hope from a work trip. The green oasis was full of old buildings and had lots of cabins and tent sites. A few months later I made my first trip to spend the night at one of the camp sites and hike down the John Day River along the western side of the river on the Pinnacles Trail. Years and years later I watched a video from The Hungry Hiker on YouTube where she took a group of first time backpackers along the Lost Corral Trail on the eastern side of the John Day. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for a nice June overnight trip to see just how lightweight I could get my backpack. After trimming down my gear as much as possible I took my sub 10lb pack the roughly 5 miles up the Lost Corral Trail with my good friend Dura.
The trail is along an old Jeep path and has the very occasional up and down but offered a nice variety of gravel, sand and dirt. Despite being along the John Day River there was not much in the way of water access until near the end of the trail. When we arrived at the Lost Corral near where we intended to set up camp, we took the Esau Loop trail to see if we could find camp near the shore. Sadly, the trail signs are easy to find but not the trail. After attempting to hike the loop clockwise we doubled back and hiked it counter clockwise which did allow us access to a very rocky and short shoreline. This made for an ok spot to soak our feet and heat our lunch but we were unable to find a spot flat enough to pitch camp. We backtracked the Esau loop yet again and pitched our camp in the Corral. Water access was less than a quarter mile away but the absence of most trees made the late afternoon heat nearly unbearable. Thankfully once the sun began to set over the canyon wall the temps began to fall and I settled into my spare cowboy camp. Thankfully the night was restful and the stars plentiful. In the morning we took our time making coffee and breakfast and hit the trail before 9am which allowed us to mostly beat the oppressive sun. Roughly 2 hours later we had made our way back to the trail head and across the bridge to Cottonwood Canyon State Park where we had paid to park overnight to ensure our vehicle was safe. Overall it was a nice easy trip and would make for a wonderful day hike just don’t expect to get in the water whenever you feel like it and be aware that despite being a canyon it has sun for most of the day. Cheers!
Rating: Bring a Friend
Rating Guide:
-Gram it: Check out the pictures on Instagram because this one is not worth seeing in person.
-Hike it: It’s short and sweet. Might as well knock it out in a day.
-Bag it: Pack a bag and spend the night.
-Bring a friend: Easy enough to bring a friend. Maybe this is where you can introduce someone to backpacking.
-Come Back: I will keep doing this trip it is so good!
