3/14/23: Heads up! We are making space for some accessibility improvements at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve! Work will start tomorrow and will be ongoing intermittently for several weeks. The Preserve will be closed during construction, so please make a plan to head elsewhere if you see crews out there working.
The Land Trust protected the 151 acre Camp Polk Meadow Preserve in 2000. Located near Sisters, Oregon (see map below), the Preserve contains approximately 1.4 miles of Whychus Creek with wetlands, meadows, aspen groves and ponderosa pine stands. It is home to a variety of plant and wildlife species and is one of Central Oregon’s birding hot spots. Camp Polk Meadow Preserve also has a long and illustrious history as a crossroads for Native Americans, explorers, soldiers and settlers. The Hindman barn on the Preserve is believed to be one of Deschutes County’s oldest structures.
Learn some history: Camp Polk Meadow has played a key role in Central Oregon’s history for more than 150 years. Learn more about this history or read Biography of a Place, Martin Winch's book about Camp Polk Meadow and the history of Central Oregon.
Brush up on your plants: Camp Polk Meadow Preserve protects a diverse array of plant families and is home to the rare Peck’s Penstemon. Spring time brings a riot of color to the Preserve, often setting the lower meadow ablaze with purple lupine and native iris.
Discover the story of native fish: The portion of Whychus Creek that flows through Camp Polk Meadow is home to salmon and steelhead. The Land Trust completed a major restoration of Whychus Creek in 2012 to benefit fish and wildlife. Learn more about the restoration.
Releasing steelhead at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. Photo: Land Trust.
Camp Polk Meadow Preserve protects more than two miles of Whychus Creek with high quality habitat for salmon and steelhead. The Preserve has important wetlands, meadows, aspen groves, and ponderosa pine stands that provide a home to a host of wildlife species. The Land Trust manages the Preserve to protect these characteristics.
Whychus Creek meanders through the meadow. Photo: Russ McMillan.
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. See our suggested routes for the Preserve. The rest of the meadow is closed unless on an authorized Land Trust visit.
The Hindman Springs Area offers the following amenities:
Informational kiosk with shady benches
Small parking lot
Short gravel walking trail
Seasonal toilet
There are no trash removal services.
Preserve guidelines
Use of Camp Polk Meadow Preserve is conditional upon following these and any other posted rules:
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.
Dogs are not allowed at the Preserve.
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.
In 2007 at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath offered a blessing to celebrate the first steelhead to be released in Whychus Creek in 50 years. Photo: John Hutmacher.
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.
The Hindman Family c. 1870. Photo: Courtesy of Joyce Hindman.
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.
A great horned owl at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. Photo: Kris Kristovich.
Releasing steelhead at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. Photo: Land Trust.
Whychus Creek meanders through the meadow. Photo: Russ McMillan.
In 2007 at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath offered a blessing to celebrate the first steelhead to be released in Whychus Creek in 50 years. Photo: John Hutmacher.
The Hindman Family c. 1870. Photo: Courtesy of Joyce Hindman.