Ochoco National Forest · Oregon

Payten

3.6 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 820D · trail class 3 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 12-18 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailheads Cottonwood Trailhead Drive there · Payten Trailhead Drive there

Cottonwood Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

This is a free facility. · reservation required

This trailhead is located almost directly across Forest Service Road 38 from Payten Trailhead and provides access to the southeastern terminus of the Ochoco Mountain Trail (#823) .

View a Black Canyon Wilderness area trails map

Restrictions This is a Day-Use only facility.  No overnight camping is permitted at trailheads or Sno-Parks on the Ochoco National Forest or Crooked River National Grassland.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Kelsey Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

This is a free facility. · reservation required

This trailhead is located slightly west of Cottonwood Trailhead and Payten Trailhead . It provides access to the Kelsey Trail (#820C) , which connects to Black Canyon Trail (#820) within Black Canyon Wilderness . Keep a keen eye out for the trailhead because it is not well marked and there is limited roadside parking.

View a vicinity map to locate Kelsey Trailhead

Restrictions This is a Day-Use only facility.  No overnight camping is permitted at trailheads or Sno-Parks on the Ochoco National Forest or Crooked River National Grassland.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Payten Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

This is a free facility. · reservation required

This trailhead is located near 760 Reservoir and provides access to Payten Trail (#820D) which drops into Black Canyon Wilderness from the north.

Almost directly across Forest Service Road 38 is the Cottonwood Trailhead , which provides access to the eastern end of the Ochoco Mountain Trail (#823) .

Access to Payten Trailhead can be rough and the parking area at the trailhead is rather small, so please plan the vehicles you bring strategically.

View a map of Black Canyon Wilderness area trails and trailheads

Restrictions This is a Day-Use only facility.  No overnight camping is permitted at trailheads or Sno-Parks on the Ochoco National Forest or Crooked River National Grassland.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Ochoco National Forest

Other trails from the same trailheads

All 63 trails in Ochoco National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.