Baskett Slough Refuge

  • Easy (to Baskett Butte)
  • 1.5-mile loop
  • 200 feet elevation gain
  • Open all year


  • Moderate (to Morgan Lake)
  • 4.9-mile loop
  • 260 feet elevation gain
  • Open April 1 to September 30

Each fall 22,000 dusky Canada geese fly from Alaska’s Copper River delta to winter in the Willamette Valley. This refuge west of Salem welcomes them with diked ponds and unharvested fields of corn, rye grass, and wheat. Not surprisingly, the area has become a hit with other bird species, too. A short loop hike here visits a viewpoint and an oak forest. A longer loop to Morgan Lake is open May through September. Pets and flower picking are banned. From Salem, take Highway …

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range.