The Dunn Forest: the path less traveled        

When: Saturday, February 28th, 2026 at 12:30 PM

The Dunn Research Forest is a less-visited, yet vastly interesting, component of the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest. Once part of a U.S. Army training base (Camp Adair), it was named for Paul M. Dunn (1898-1988, Dean of Forestry at OSU from 1942-1952). Come hike with Dr. Mark E. Swanson, interim director of the College of Forestry Research Forest system, and explore some of the Dunn Forest. This hike will feature restored oak woodland, Douglas-fir/bigleaf maple forest, young plantings of valley pine, and old "wolf tree" Douglas-firs that once graced open, fire-maintained hillsides. The discussion will include historic ecology, forest management approaches, fire ecology, human history, rare plants and butterflies, and more!

RSVP: Please RSVP to mark.swanson@oregonstate.edu.  Limited to first 12 people to RSVP.

Location: Meet at 12:30 PM at the 400 Road forest gate parking area on Tampico Road.

What to expect: Hike will be 3.1 miles in length, gaining and descending 600 feet of elevation. Please note: this is a physically rigorous hike that will involve off-trail travel. Please be sure you are physically able to climb 50% slopes with some unstable footing.