Grassy Knob Wilderness
Dry Creek in Grassy Knob Wilderness
Grassy Knob Wilderness is a 17,200-acre property in southwestern Oregon. In one area along the eastern boundary, Grassy Knob is separated from Copper Salmon Wilderness by a road corridor. Located in the Coastal Ranges, Grassy Knob is heavily forested with western red cedar, Port Orford cedar, western hemlock and Douglas fir. Elevations range from just above sea level to 2,342 feet at the summit of Grassy Knob. The slopes are steep, the ridges sharp, the canyons deep... Winter brings an average of 130 inches of rain. Dry Creek also flows enough to support a strong population of spawning salmon come season. There are also plenty of steelhead and native cutthroat trout.
The northern boundary of the wilderness is along the Sixes River, the southern boundary along the Elk River. Other than Grassy Knob Trail #1241 there don't seem to be any maintained trails in the wilderness area. I'm told the off-trail hiking is extremely rugged. TLast time I looked, the official directions for accessing the wilderness read: "Go to the trailhead..." and nothing more.
Grassy Knob Wilderness is part of Rogue River-Sikiyou National Forest.
Upper photo courtesy of the US Forest Service