The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats

The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats seriously has All. The. Things. Like roaring waterfalls, serene turquoise pools, lush mossy landscapes, mining equipment leftover from 1943, and a cool semi-ghost town. This area has different trails that cater to hikers of all skill sets. Wanna check out one of the coolest hikes in the PNW? Then the Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats hike MUST be on your adventure list!

Hey everyone! How was your Memorial Day weekend? Kieran and I usually have Monday off for Memorial Day, however, Kieran volunteered to work this year. He was given the Friday before the weekend off instead. Knowing the hiking trails would be a zoo on Saturday and Sunday, we took advantage of having Friday off and went for an epic hike on The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats.

The Opal Creek Trail to Jawbone Flats hike is roughly 6 miles with minimal elevation gain. This was our second attempt to finish the hike because we failed our first attempt. We had recently moved to the PNW and heard Opal Creek was a must-do. Being complete novices to hiking we didn’t bring enough food or water for a 6-mile hike. We didn’t even bother to eat lunch beforehand. We figured we’d find a place to get lunch before the trailhead, not knowing Opal Creek is located smack dab in the middle of nowhere. To add insult to injury the day we took a crack at the hike was 90-degrees.

We walked for a few miles, saw some cool stuff then turned around. At that time we were dumb enough to not research the essentials and gear needed for hiking yet smart enough to know when to call it quits. We hung our heads in defeat, turned around, and vowed to come back. When Kieran found out he had the Friday off before Memorial Day, we jumped at the chance to redeem ourselves. Our good buddy, Patrick, also had the day off so the 3 of us, and Homie, drove the 2 hours to reach the trailhead.

The Opal Creek trail and surrounding areas are protected by Opal Creek Wilderness from logging companies. This protection has turned the forest into an outdoor enthusiasts playground.  People travel to this area every year to swim, hike, and camp. The Opal Creek Trail is actually a road that follows the brilliantly turquoise Opal Creek to Jawbone Flats, a semi-ghost town. Well, Jawbone Flats isn’t really a ghost town anymore. I say semi-ghost town because even though a few cabins can be rented, the remaining structures in town have been converted into an outdoor museum and environmental education center.

Jawbone Flats used to be a gold mining town back in 1859 thru 1992. Merten Mill, which was constructed in 1943, was located approx 2 miles from the Opal Creek trailhead. Merten Mill operated for a short period of time because the access road (now Opal Creek Trail) was too difficult for large trucks to navigate. All that remains of the mill are industrial fragments of year’s past that nature has steadily reclaimed.

Watch The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats video to get a glimpse of a once booming mining operation:

I want to take a quick tangent before continuing with hike talk. You may have noticed I haven’t shared a recipe on Shock Munch in awhile. That’s because Kieran and I started the Keto Diet a month ago. If you’re unfamiliar the Keto Diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. I’ve had to say goodbye to carbs and sugar and adapt to a strict diet, which is difficult when you run a food blog.

The first week was spent getting familiar with what we can and can’t eat. The second week was recovering from the Keto Flu which is your body’s response to realizing you’ve stopped ingesting carbs and sugar. The third week was me trying other people’s recipes and now I’m finally getting creative in the kitchen and developing my own.

I’m pushing for my next post to be a Keto friendly recipe where I’ll go into greater detail about our experience on this diet. Spoiler alert, it’s been pretty damn good!

Alright, enough diet talk, let’s get back to The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats!

The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats Specs:
There are several trails in the area that link up with the main trail/road of Opal Creek to Jawbone Flats. I didn’t include the mileage, elevation gain, and difficulty of those trails in my list below. We hiked the Opal Creek Road to Jawbone Flats to Opal Pool. From there we hiked the Kopetski-Stoney Creek trail which followed Opal Creek looping back to Opal Creek Road.

Trail Specs:
Pros: Swimming, waterfalls, mesmerizing turquoise river, and historic mine equipment dot the trail/road to Jawbone Flats (a semi-ghost town).
Cons: Crowded. 6 miles from the trailhead is a gravel road littered with potholes. Not great for those who get car sick.
Parking Pass: NW Forest Pass
Difficulty: Moderate
Total Distance: 6.6 miles
Hike Type: Out & Back OR you can loop back using the Kopetski-Stoney Creek trail like we did
Elevation Gain: 836 feet
Trail Condition: The trail from Opal Creek to Jawbone Flats is actually a gravel/rocky road. Kopetski-Stoney trail was rocky with exposed tree roots but otherwise well kept.
Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
Backpackable: Yes
Crowded: Yes, especially in the summer
Dogs allowed: Yes – on a leash

Gear List:
Daypack/backpack
Camelbacks which hold 3L of water
First aid kit
Map of area
*Emergency supplies: lighter, utility knife, back up cell phone, rope, duck tape, emergency poncho, headlamp, back up batteries

Clothing and Food List:
Top: Layers of non-cotton clothing: a t-shirt and a sweatshirt. I carried an extra sweatshirt in my pack.
Bottom: Noncotton workout pants
Hiking shoes
Wool socks (I layer a thin pair of ankle high socks over wool socks. That way, when I walk, the socks rub against each other instead of causing friction against my skin)
Baseball cap
**Food: chicken salad, cheese, nuts, and food for Homie.

*Even on easy hikes we always carry emergency supplies so we’re safe, not sorry.

**We try and bring 2 days of food with us in case we get caught in a situation that keeps us on the trail longer than expected (getting lost, avalanche, fire, bad weather ect)

I’m telling you, hiking The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats the Friday before Memorial Day was the way to go. We had the trail to ourselves the majority of the day which was weird because it’s usually crowded. Our buddy, Patrick, is a photographer so he was running around like a kid, soaking in the eye candy from nature’s visual candy store. We took our time filming, snapping pictures, laughing, and talking. It was a fun way to spend an entire day.

The Opal Creek Trail To Jawbone Flats is relatively flat with some little hills thrown in here and there. As I stated above, the trail is more of a rocky, gravel road. It’s an easy hike beside the fact you’ll be hiking 6 miles in total once you reach Jawbone Flats and come back. Once you hike the 3 miles to Jawbone Flats, the trail continues to the Opal Pool. You can either head back the way you came through Jawbone Flats or you can continue onto the Kopetski-Stoney Creek trail, which loops back to the Opal Creek Trail after 1.3 miles.

The Kopetski-Stoney Creek trail is the kind of trail I’m most accustomed too. It’s rocky, the roots are exposed, and you have to watch your step or you could trip and fall like I did in the intro of the video. The trail follows along Opal Creek. The majority of the time the trail is easy to navigate but a few sections were narrow, running parallel with steep drop-offs. You definitely have to watch where you’re going or you could trip and fall. However, this section of the hike was new to us and outstandingly beautiful. OMG, the trail featured some of the cutest little bridges I’ve ever seen. This trail is tougher but I highly recommend hiking it.

After 1.3 miles the KSC trail meets back up with The Opal Creek Trail and you hoof the remaining mile or so back to the trailhead. Towards the end of the hike Patrick, Kieran, and I were all spent. Patrick slipped and fell into the river while taking photos so his feet were cold and wet. I can’t imagine hiking 2+ miles with wet feet, that must have been uncomfortable. Patrick soldered on and we finally made it back to the car. We made plans to grab some grub and a beer. Overall it was a cool ass day.

I’m so proud we accomplished The Opal Creek Trail to Jawbone Flats. Kieran and I could barely hike 2 miles before moving to Portland but now we’re clobbering 6+ miles on a regular basis. It’s fun to see how much we’ve improved. We’ll be tackling 12-mile hikes before you know it! Hahahaha, I just said that to Kieran and he replied, “Umm, easy now honey.” Either way, the hiking season is just getting started and I’m excited to get out in the wilderness to explore!

Alright, folks, that’s a wrap on The Opal Creek Trail to Jawbone Flats. Wanna escape the sweltering heat in the summer? Opal Creek has you covered. Want a hike that’s good for hikers of all skill levels? Opal Creek has you covered. Want to come across nature captured relics of the mining era? Yup, once again Opal Creek and Jawbone Flats has you covered. I’m hoping to film and share another recipe next week so stay tuned for that! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thank you for being apart of the Shock Munch community, I appreciate you!

Sincerely,
Christina

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