Hiking Ochoco National Forest, a Hidden Winter Adventuring Gem! 4K Bandit Springs Prineville Oregon

This was a Day-Hike in Central Oregon, Ochoco National Forest, Bandit Springs Sno Park, Yaxtrax'ing (although they may have been a mistake because after the rutted grooved path of the first mile it was all postholing), to a theoretical Rustic Log Cabin Shelter that is on the official map.....after going to the GPS coordinates of said Shelter, I did find a series of logs in a pile underneath the snow and thus concluded that the shelter was dilapidated and no longer exists and the map simply has not been updated! That said, the area is absolutely gorgeous and was well worth doing just for the beauty alone, so I do recommend Bandit Springs Sno-Park as an epic winter snow adventuring forest hike wonderland!

This was hiked on 1/24/2024, low of 21F with wind chill of 15F around Sunrise with a mix of blue sky and overcast clouds, and there were NO Mosquitoes.

As far as road conditions, it's highway directly to the small parking lot just off the highway. In my opinion, the road DOES NOT require 4-Wheel Drive, however do watch for road conditions, particularly snow/ice depending on the time of year and drive VERY CAUTIOUSLY, and do so at your own risk!