Ochoco Trails began in 2017 as the Ochoco Trails Strategy Group, when a clear need was identified in the Ochocos and Crook County for a collaborative effort between trail user groups. With rapidly growing tourism and recreation in the area, all agreed that new trail opportunities were necessary in the Ochocos to accommodate increased traffic. However with general conflict and opposition occurring between user groups, trail proposals were falling flat before they could get off the ground. The Ochoco Trails collaborative group began meeting monthly and after nearly three years we were able to put together and submit a non-motorized trails master plan to the US Forest Service, and most importantly it was developed in conjunction with as many user groups as we could think of, including COTA, Backcountry Horsemen, Oregon Equestrian Trails, Oregon Wild, Oregon Hunters Association, US Forest Service and more. In the coming months and years we will be working closely with the Forest Service to undertake mandatory environmental reviews and eventually construct new trails.

Besides our main focus in the Ochocos, Ochoco Trails has also been tasked with helping to create a master plan for the Crooked River National Grassland. This project is still in the early stages and a full proposal has not yet been submitted to the Forest Service.