Starting Tuesday, you can take home a piece of one of the Columbia Gorge’s most popular, and beleaguered, hiking trails—and eventually burn it.
The U.S. Forest Service is making large pieces of firewood from Eagle Creek available for personal use. The wood is left over from the cleanup following a landslide that struck the area in February.
Heavy winter rains closed Eagle Creek three weeks after it reopened for the first time following the 2017 wildfire that began on the trail and burned 49,000 acres. The recreation area remains closed, but the parking lot will open for those with firewood permits to chop chunks off at some large log decks.
The agency calls it “a win-win for the public, providing valid permit-holders with free personal use firewood while removing flammable woody materials from the base of the Eagle Creek picnic area and trailhead parking lot.”
The wood is free with the proper permit, and is available while it lasts from 8 am to 6 pm starting June 7. Guests can apply for a permit here.