Seabury Blair Jr. Mr. Outdoors You won't find a whole lot of new trail miles being laid down in the national forests and parks of the Northwest, so it's always a surprise to find one. The Big Creek Trail starts with a plank bridge across the tumbling stream that gives the trail its name.
Budget constraints are likely the biggest reason for the lack of new paths in our national forests.
It starts on the Big Creek Loop Trail, but you'll find the surprise at the high point of the loop. Follow the traces of an old logging road at the trail junction, and you'll shortly find yourself climbing through the forest and crossing foaming tributaries to Big Creek on new log bridges. You'll get great peekaboo views of Mount Ellinor above and a terrific autumn workout climbing more than 2,000 feet to the Mount Ellinor Road 2419 and the Lower Ellinor Trailhead. Although footlogs and switchbacks along the trail are brand new, parts of the trail aren't yet completed. These sections are along old logging roads, however, and are well-marked with ribbons.