Prineville's Newest Walking Loop Is at the Hospital. It Opened Just as the Wetlands Go Quiet.

"For almost 11 years, it was the sidewalk and the pathway," Todd Shields told Central Oregon Daily. He was describing what walking at St. Charles Prineville looked like before September 2026. "It's a busy street out there, but it's a safe walkway, but it doesn't give people the opportunity to decompress and enjoy their surroundings."

That changed this fall. A new 1-mile gravel nature path now circles the hospital, and St. Charles has invited community members, caregivers, patients and families to use it. The timing lines up with a seasonal shift across town. In October, the Crooked River Wetlands Complex, Prineville's best-known flat walk, loses most of the migrating birds that make late summer there so busy. The new loop also gives Combs Flat Road a second walking option, close to the turnoff for Barnes Butte. Together, those changes redraw Prineville's walking map for fall and winter.

What the hospital loop actually is

The path runs over about 30 acres of mostly vacant hospital land around St. Charles Prineville at 384 SE Combs Flat Road. According to the Central Oregonian, the gravel route crosses sagebrush, quaking aspens, Siberian elms and seasonal wildflowers. A donation from Mid Oregon Credit Union to the St. Charles Foundation paid for it.

"We care about the health of the community, and what better place to think about wellness than at our local hospital?" said Kevin Cole, president and CEO of Mid Oregon Credit Union.

The opening coverage left a few practical details out. Neither the announcement nor the St. Charles Prineville location page names a trailhead, path parking, public hours or a dog policy. It's an active hospital campus, so posted signs on site are the best guide to where to park and where the path starts.

What's clear is the format: one mile, gravel, a single loop, and no climbing anyone has reported. That makes it a different kind of walk from the two places Prineville has relied on for years.

The wetlands' busiest stretch ends in October

The Crooked River Wetlands Complex at 4035 Rimrock Acres Loop has carried Prineville's flat, easy walking for years. A 2025 visitor guide describes it as free and open daily from dawn to dusk, with about 3.2 paved miles and 2.2 gravel miles plus parking, restrooms, picnic tables, benches, a pavilion and information kiosks. The same guide mentions newer metal pond-number signs, two per pond, and seven stainless-steel bird-wingspan silhouettes near pond 1.

The paths stay put. What changes in fall is what you see from them. A Central Oregonian account from October 2024 described how the year typically plays out:

• August: up to 50 species on a single visit
• September: 30 to 40 species per visit, including more than 15 shorebird species on southbound migration
• October: the shorebirds and many other birds had moved on

The guided walks follow the same curve. East Cascades Bird Alliance has listed its Crooked River Wetlands bird walks as twice a month from April through October, then first Saturdays only in November and March, with none December through February. That schedule comes from an earlier listing, so check this season's calendar before planning around it. Either way, the gap covers the walks only. The site itself stays open.

Winter at the wetlands isn't empty, just quieter. A 2022 Central Oregonian piece reported that a December 31 Christmas Bird Count there tallied 1,412 birds across 51 fairly common species. The same piece mentions a Least Sandpiper spotted on a monthly bird walk earlier that December. Fifty-one species in midwinter is close to a busy August day, but the same piece described winter birding there as quiet overall. The wetlands work well for winter walking. Their peak birding season is now behind them for the year.

Combs Flat Road now has two kinds of walk

Barnes Butte Recreation Area sits on the northeast stretch of Combs Flat Road. The Central Oregon Trail Alliance directs volunteers past Barnes Butte Elementary on NE Combs Flat Road, then right onto the first gravel road to reach the trailhead parking lot. The hospital loop is on SE Combs Flat Road. Two walks with very different terrain now share one road.

Barnes Butte is the harder of the two. In 2021, The Bulletin described the summit route as 1.3 miles one way with about 550 feet of elevation gain. It also mentioned trails along a canal and around a pasture, and listed trail running, hiking, dog walking and strolling among the uses. That description is several years old, and the trail system has been growing since. Signs at the trailhead are the best source for the current layout and rules.

The trail system is still being built. COTA has a north-side work session scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, to build new trail by hand. That's planned work, not a finished segment.

The hospital loop fills in the gentle end of that range. Before September, a short, level, unpaved walk on this side of town wasn't part of the picture. Barnes Butte was the main nearby option, and its signature route climbs. Now the same road offers both: a one-mile gravel loop through aspens and sagebrush, and a butte with about 550 feet of gain.

The three walks side by side

Dog rules aren't in the table because we couldn't confirm current published rules for any of the three. The wetlands and Barnes Butte had an open debate over leash rules back in 2018, but that coverage describes a proposal, not the current rule. Signs at each site are the best guide.

Farther out on Highway 27

For a longer outing, the BLM-managed stretch of the Crooked Wild and Scenic River south of town has the Chimney Rock trail. BLM describes it as a moderately steep out-and-back hike of about 2.6 miles round trip, starting across Highway 27 from Chimney Rock Campground. Bikes and horses aren't allowed. BLM also describes the river corridor as habitat for wintering bald eagles and as critical winter range for mule deer. The wetlands lose their birds in October, but the canyon gains some in winter. BLM's page carries no publication date, so check current notices before heading out.

The October calendar for these walks

• Now: The St. Charles Prineville loop is open, with a mile of gravel through sagebrush, aspens and Siberian elms on SE Combs Flat Road.
• Through October: The wetlands' fall migration winds down, and East Cascades Bird Alliance's twice-monthly walks have historically ended with the month.
• Saturday, Oct. 17: COTA volunteers build new trail by hand on Barnes Butte's north side.
• November: Guided wetlands walks have historically dropped to the first Saturday of the month, so check the current listing.

If you take a fall walk on Combs Flat Road and the view starts you wondering about the homes on the next ridge over, Jessica Lay and The Lay Group can tell you what they're worth. Ask for a free home valuation. We know this side of Prineville well and are always happy to talk about it.