Neil Creek Trail
Neil Creek Trail is a 3 mile out and back hiking trail waaaaaay up on Mount Ashland.
Driving
– From Ashland Plaza head south on Siskiyou towards the University. Pass Ashland Stret on your left – SOU on your right and try not to hit every deer or student that wanders into the street. In 5 miles turn right on Toleman Creek Road. 3 miles in the pavement ends and becomes a fancy gravel road. 5 miles up, just before you reach the Four Corners area there is a ‘Y’ and you veer left uphill. The fancy gravel road you were on becomes a filthy dirt road. 3 miles up this section you will pass the Corp Camp logging road on your right. 1 mile from there, look to your left for the downhill trail.
Parking
– Pull to the left where the road widens just past the trail head..
The Trail
– There is no trail sign, just a generic Forest Service road 300 sign. This former logging road is perfectly overgrown – for a while. It’s a decent slope downhill for a mile and then, the overgrowth becomes imperfect. Some fallen trees add a fun challenge. Then a bigger tree. Then a thick patch of brush, then thicker, then… screw it – end of trail. For a trail with “Creek” in it’s name, I too was hoping to end at some gully of moisture but… nothin’. It’s a long way to go for a little bit of trail, so definitely not a high priority or on anybody’s bucket list.