This year, the summer of 2019, a magnificent spectacle occurred on the slopes of Coffin Mountain, a formerly obscure area west of Mt. Jefferson in the Cascade Mountains. All across the open slope of the mountain, beargrass exploded into bloom. The fluffy, large white flower heads form on the end of tall stalks emitting out of the grasses that are common throughout the area. They are not annually blooming flowers however, and the blooms on Coffin mountain seemed to all align to produce an overwhelming explosion of flowers this summer. After showing up on social media the trail blew up in popularity, and with good reason- the short trail is a straightforward hike only 1.5 miles up a thousand feet to a fire lookout, but most of the way is on the open slope on the backside of the mountain, absolutely covered in the magical flower.
The trailhead is located 3.8 miles up Parkett Loop Road, which is 4.2 miles east of OR-22 on National Forest Road 11 (Straight Creek Rd).
