A must-stop for huckleberry ice cream since its inception in 1967, Juniper Junction at Smith Rock has created fond memories for many generations. And now thanks to its current owners, David, and Pam Potter, the tradition continues.
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A Swedish jogger one day made it a mission to combine his fitness run while picking up trash, or “plogging.” The term has since expanded to hiking with picking up trash. As an outdoor clothing and equipment company “committed to making nature more accessible,” Fjällräven of Sweden, and its store in Bend and stores worldwide believe it is each of our responsibility to “Leave basecamp in better condition than we found it.” When Fjällräven wanted to bring a “plogging” crew to Smith Rock State Park as part of a larger Earth Day initiative in Central Oregon, Smith Rock rangers were happy to turn them on to the overgrown Native Plant Garden by the Welcome Center.
The Smith Rock Group is back after a COVID hiatus with its annual Smith Rock Spring Thing, a volunteer park maintenance event that has attracted about 200 people per year. Since 1993, this non-profit organization organizes projects with the park staff that has replaced wooden steps, rebuilt rock walls, repaired fences, pulled weeds, and much more. Each year volunteers show up bright and early, eager to repair the well-worn trails from such heavy visitation to Smith Rock.
Normally the Winter Solstice kicks off storytelling across the Northern Hemisphere for Native American tribes. Here at Smith Rock, the stories got kicked off earlier, thanks to an event sponsored by The Bend Environmental Center.
Early raptor nesting area closures at Smith Rock State Park are in effect starting Monday, January 10 to August 1, 2021, PARK WIDE for drones for the season, selected for climbing, and later for camping when the Bivy reopens. We’ll keep you posted on Facebook as well as the Seasonal Closures page as the restrictions lift in different areas over the summer for climbing.