City Facilities

Description

Spencer Butte is a regional landmark, and its summit, at 2,058 feet, is the highest point along Eugene’s 2,100-acre Ridgeline Park system. It has been a popular destination for generations of hikers. In recent years, as many as 300 visitors per day make the trek to the summit to enjoy unobstructed views of the city and valleys below.

The Main Summit Trail is the most popular route to the summit. Gradually climbing to the top, highlights include an artful dry-stone masonry causeway, mature Douglas-fir forest, and wildflower meadows. As hikers climb above the tree line, the approach to the summit includes a series of stone stairways that provide panoramic views of the Cascade Mountains, Coast Range, and the Willamette Valley.

The award-winning 2015 project to install the stone stairways, along with other trail improvements, helped to increase accessibility and protect the ecosystem.

The West Trail, perhaps the most challenging hike on the Ridgeline Trail, offers an alternative route to the summit. This less-traveled route begins with rock-lined paths built by volunteers nearly 40 years ago. As you ascend, you’ll come to an area of exposed bedrock that may require scrambling and can be slippery in wet weather. At the steep scramble just below the summit, watch for tree tags which mark the official trail. Please stay on the trail to protect the unique wildflowers in this area.

Visitors to the top of Spencer Butte are asked to use the two designated trails to help preserve the unique habitat at the summit, which consists of about ten acres of exposed basalt outcroppings with few trees. This rocky habitat contains a diverse mixed community of grasses and forbs, ferns, lichens, and bryophytes, some of which are rare to the region.

Read about the history of Spencer Butte Park

• 385.9 acres
• South region
• Southeast Neighbors

Volunteer

Help activate the power of parks by getting involved with our Volunteer Program. Learn new skills, meet great people, and improve the quality of life in Eugene by helping to care for our parks and open spaces.

Contact

• Parks and Open Space Email or 541-682-4800
• Parks and Natural Resource Planning: Philip Richardson, Landscape Architect
• Natural Area Operations: Jesse Cary-Hobbs, Supervisor

Documents

Ridgeline Trail Map