Maybe you live in Grants Pass or Medford and want a great day ride. Or maybe you are interested in a fun destination to ride and camp with your horse. Maybe you’re planning a trip to the Redwoods and want a horse camping spot halfway there. If any of these conditions apply, you have to check out Lake Selmac.
Lake Selmac is a Josephine County park with a splendid network of trails that explore the hills around the lake, plus a horse camp with all the amenities you could wish for. And all of this is only three miles off the Redwood Highway (Hwy. 199), about 20 miles southwest of Grants Pass.
You’ll find plenty of riding at Lake Selmac to fill a weekend of horse camping. And if you’re lucky enough to live nearby, you’ve got good reasons to come often to explore these delightful trails.
The South Mountain Loops explore a large hill that lies south of Lake Selmac and west of the horse camp.
The Osprey Trail explores the hills west of the lake.
And the Saddlebag Trail runs mostly on old logging roads that encircle a long ridge south of the horse camp.
The ridges are covered with towering Douglas-fir trees, with an understory of alder, madrone, dogwood, and oak. The vegetation changes dramatically depending on which side of the hills you are on, adding variety to your rides.
So get out there, enjoy the beautiful forest, and have fun getting to know the area. The riding isn’t difficult and the trails are well maintained. The trail junctions aren’t signed, though, so a map is a must and a GPS will come in handy.
You’ll find more information in Riding Southern Oregon Horse Trails, available at www.NWHorseTrails.com. Happy Trails!
