Camp Polk Meadow Preserve protects more than two miles of Whychus Creek, wetlands, meadows, aspen groves, and ponderosa pine stands that provide habitat for a wide range of wildlife from salmon and steelhead, to deer and Rocky Mountain elk, songbirds and beavers. Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is one of a handful of important, biologically rich meadows on Whychus Creek where the creek slows down, spills its banks, and provides diverse habitats for fish and wildlife. The Preserve’s creek restoration project is helping restore the creek to a healthy, biologically diverse condition.

Camp Polk Meadow Preserve also provides low-impact accessible recreation opportunities that allow the local community to enjoy and connect with the natural world, gain physical and mental health benefits, while also ensuring that our meadows and streams remain protected and available for generations to come. Other community values include helping maintain the scenic character of the region and protecting cultural and historic resources for the communities of Central Oregon. Finally, Camp Polk Meadow Preserve helps mitigate the impacts of climate change by helping store CO2 and by growing native vegetation that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Land conservation is climate action!

 

 

The Land Trust manages Camp Polk Meadow Preserve to protect and, where necessary, restore fish and wildlife habitat. Since acquiring the Preserve in 2000, the Land Trust has completed a variety of restoration projects including:

Stream restoration. In 2012, we completed a major, multi-year restoration of Whychus Creek and its surrounding meadow at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. Visit our Whychus Creek restoration page for more information.

Managing weeds. Noxious weeds are a reality at all Land Trust protected lands. If they are not actively managed they compromise healthy native plant communities. Weed management at the Preserve is currently focused in the stream restoration project area.

Hindman Springs restoration. In 2002, we planted more than 2,000 willow and dogwoods in the Hindman Springs portion of the Preserve. Now robust vegetation protects the banks of the springs keeping the water cool and clean. In 2021, we completed a multi-year, native plant restoration of nearly three acres of the Hindman Springs portion of the Preserve. In the process, more than 13,500 new native plants were added. Learn more about the project.
 

 

 

Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is divided into two parts: the Hindman Springs Area and the rest of the meadow. The Hindman Springs Area is open to the public during daylight hours year-round. The rest of the meadow is closed unless on an authorized Land Trust visit.

The Hindman Springs Area offers the following amenities:

• Trailhead with informational kiosk.
• Small packed gravel parking lot for six cars.
• ~½ mile loop trail: mostly flat, wide (4-5’), packed gravel with interpretive signs. Learn more about trails and routes at the Preserve.
• Trailside wooden benches.
• ADA accessible portable restroom.

No drinking water or trash removal services and limited shade. Cell phone reception can be limited. Snow may block access to the Preserve in the winter.

Preserve guidelines

Use of Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is conditional upon following these and any other posted rules:

• Dogs are not allowed at the Preserve (except trained service animals).
• Pedestrian travel only; no bike, horse, or motorized vehicle use.
• Stay on trails and respect restrictions as posted.
• Removal or disturbance of plants, wildlife, and historical artifacts is prohibited.
• No hunting, fishing, camping, campfires, smoking, or unmanned aircraft use.
• Commercial use and private events are prohibited.

Please note: Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is private property owned by Deschutes Land Trust. Your use of the property is conditional upon these and any other posted rules. Preserve users failing to observe posted rules are trespassing and subject to applicable laws and penalties. Visitors to the Preserve may encounter risks associated with terrain, wildlife, and weather. Please exercise appropriate caution: the Deschutes Land Trust is not liable for injuries to Preserve visitors.

 

Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is located northeast of Sisters, Oregon. The map below shows the location of the Preserve along with other Land Trust conserved lands. Detailed driving directions, including downloadable PDFs, can be found below.

Driving Directions to Camp Polk Meadow Preserve:
Camp Polk Meadow Preserve Trailhead Coordinates (UTM NAD83): 618002, 4908855
Download the driving directions in English and en Español.

From Sisters:
Turn north onto N. Locust Road (Camp Polk Road). Drive 2.9 miles to the Camp Polk Road/Wilt Road intersection, then take a right on Camp Polk Road. Drive 0.4 miles and take a left at the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve entrance sign. Continue on a gravel road to the right until you see a kiosk and parking area.

From Hwy 126 (Redmond, Madras, Prineville):
Turn onto Camp Polk Road (toward Aspen Lakes Golf Course). Drive 3 miles and take a right at the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve entrance sign. Continue on a gravel road to the right until you see a kiosk and parking area.

From Hwy 20 (Bend, La Pine, Sunriver):
Take Hwy 20 towards Sisters. Turn right on Cloverdale Lane (between mile markers 5 and 4). Continue driving until Hwy 126 intersection. Take a left onto Hwy 126, drive .25 miles and turn right onto Camp Polk Road. Drive 3 miles and take a right at the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve entrance sign. Continue on a gravel road to the right until you see a kiosk and parking area.

From time immemorial, Native Americans, including the Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute tribes, lived in this region or visited it to hunt, fish, gather foods, and trade. Whychus Canyon Preserve is within the lands ceded to the United States in the Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon in 1855. The bands that signed the 1855 Treaty moved onto to the Warm Springs Reservation and are known as the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes. Paiute people began settling on the Warm Springs Reservation in 1879 and, along with the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes, now comprise the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, by virtue of the Treaty of 1855, have legal rights to harvest and manage wildlife and, by implication, the right to habitats suitable to support wildlife populations. The Land Trust considers the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs an important partner in management and restoration of the property.

The first Euro-Americans began to arrive in Central Oregon in the 1800s as trappers, explorers, and survey crews began mapping the region. In the early 1800s, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the fur trade brought trappers in search of beaver. In the early 1840s, John Fremont’s expedition crossed the high desert and camped in the vicinity of Camp Polk. In 1843 westward migration began along the Oregon Trail as the federal government forcibly re-settled Native Americans and offered western lands to Euro-Americans.

By 1855, railroad survey parties were seeking westward routes. Lieutenants Williamson and Abbot traveled through the area scouting routes. Their map and journals provide some of the earliest descriptions of Camp Polk and Indian Ford Meadows.

From September 1865–May 1866, Captain Charles LaFollett commanded 42 soldiers who were sent to establish Camp Polk with orders to protect commerce and settlers on the Santiam Wagon Road. The soldiers built eight log structures and named their camp for Polk County in the Willamette Valley—home to most of the soldiers and to their Captain.

In 1868, Samuel Hindman (pronounced Hineman) purchased the Camp Polk Meadow land from the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Military Road Company. There he built a house and barn which would become Hindman Station a stopping place for travelers on the Santiam Wagon between 1868-1885. The Hindman family in some shape or form would continue to live at Camp Polk until 1940. Other early settlers in what would become Camp Polk Meadow Preserve include the Fryrear family and the Cobb family.

The Deschutes Land Trust established Camp Polk Meadow Preserve in 2000.


Learn more about the cultural history of Camp Polk Meadow Preserve.