Burn Boulders Climbing

Driving: Head out of town on Skyliners Rd, take the next right after you pass the turnoff for Phil's Trailhead onto FS 4606. Drive .1 miles, turn left passing through an open gate (closed in winter). Follow this road straight through a few intersections until you cross a bridge over Tumalo Creek (1.3 miles, this is the parking area for Tick Ranch/The Deep). Continue driving for another mile where you will reach an intersection with Jack Pine Spring Rd (one lane, deeply rutted. Some clearance and caution recommended). Turn right and follow this for 0.6 miles to a small parking area on the left next to some old burn piles. There is a faint wooden perimeter marking the parking area (see beta photos). If you reach a fork in the road (one fork goes steeply downhill) you have gone 0.1 miles too far. Turn around and look for the faint parking area on your right this time. (About 100 yards past the correct parking there is a well defined turnout just before the fork in the road, which can be mistaken for the parking area). From the parking area, walk down the road for less than 50 feet until you see a faint trail on your right (see photo). Follow this to the edge of the cliffband and you have reached the Burn Boulders.

It is also possible to approach via bicycle through Shevlin park, which may be quicker time-wise; or the only way in when the gate on FS 4606 is closed for the winter. Disclaimer: it has been a few years since I've approached this way, directions may not be 100% perfect. Turn into Shevlin park from Shevlin park rd. Follow this road to the gate (where it is closed to cars). From here you have a few choices. Option 1 (most scenic): Turn right up onto the trail that follows the ridge through the park (Shevlin loop trail), about 1.8 miles or so, staying high on the ridge past several trail junctions to a point where there is a bend in the trail and a nice looking slab boulder, from here walk uphill less than 50 yards to the Burn boulders. Option 2 (fastest). Follow the paved road to the end (about 1.8 miles), take the rightmost trail up to meet Shevlin Loop trail.