Starker Forests
Starker Forests is a locally owned timber company that manages thousands of acres in the Oregon Coast Range. They offer free permits for recreational access to their lands.
Starker headquarters at 7240 Philomath Blvd, Corvallis
(1) Obtaining Starker permits
Current information about how to obtain permits is available by phone (541-929-2477) or on Starker's access our lands webpage. As of 12/20/23, this page stated: "All visitors to Starker Forests must obtain a free recreation permit. Permits are available for out of town current permit holders via phone by calling our office. If you are local and/or getting a permit for the first time, you are required to visit our office. We like first time permitees to view the map and go over rules and regulations."
Starker offers free recreational permits for up to six tree farms that must be renewed annually. Please note that ebikes are not allowed on any tree farm. Also bicycling is not allowed on the Dan Farmer Tree Farm and permits for the Beaver Creek Tree Farm are reserved for members of a local local motocross group (the Flat Mountain Riders). Two roads that pass through the Beaver Creek tree farm do not require a permit: Beaver Creek Road and The Grade.
(2) Overview map of Starker tree farms
Starker Forests (image).png(3) List of Starker tree farms
1 - Alder Creek; 3 - Alexander School; 5 - Alsea Mountain; 11 - Beaver Creek; 13- Bummer Creek; 15 - Bunker Hill; 17 - Burnt Woods; 21 - Dan Farmer; 23 - Eisele Summit; 25 - Evergreen; 29 - Gellatly; 31 - Glenbrook; 34 - Kings Valley; 39 - Lower Yaquina; 41 - Missouri Bend; 45 - North Fork Alsea; 47 - Norton Hill; 51 - Polk Miscellaneous; 53 - Ridge Route; 55 - Salmonberry; 57 - Shotpouch; 59 - Soap Creek; 65 - Trout Creek; 67 - Tum Tum; 69 - Upper Marys River; 71 - Vonsild; 80 - Decker / Ward Road; 82 - Trust / Glenbrook; 86 - Reese Creek; 92 - Henderson Road
(4) Highly recommended tree farms
The tree farms listed below are my top recommendations. They all have a network of roads that permit multiple routes and have great viewpoints: Eisele Summit (#23); Tum Tum (#67); and Upper Marys River (#69).
This tree farm is south of the town of Summit and northeast of the settlement of Burnt Woods.
This tree farm is on the shoulder of Marys Peak above Blodgett. This is the location of several mountain bike trails and the annual Mudslinger Mountain Bike Race.
This tree farm lies between the town of Summit & Fort Hoskins and offers many route possibilities.
(5) Other recommended tree farms
When obtaining your permits, you should consider these tree farms. The top recommendations in this group are: Alder Creek (#1), Evergreen (#25), and Soap Creek (#59). If you plan to use the Old Peak Road section of the C2C Trail, a permit for Ridge Route (#53) is needed.
This tree farm is just west of McDonald Forest. It includes the Skillings Road route to McCulloch Peak as well as several mountain bike trails.
15 - Bunker Hill
This tree farm is northwest of Bellfountain.
This tree farm is just north of the settlement of Burnt Woods and immediately west of the Eisele Summit tree farm.
21 - Dan Farmer
This tree farm is just south of Decker Road. This area is reserved for hikers and equestrians and bicycles are not permitted on the roads and trails. This farm makes the list because it is a good place to hike and has great views.
This tree farm south of Philomath and just north of Decker Road.
A permit for this tree farm is necessary if you plan to use the Old Peak Road section of the C2C Trail.
This tree farm is south of Dunn Forest and west of Soap Creek Road.
This tree farm is on the shoulder of Marys Peak and is immediately east of the Tum Tum tree farm.
Maprika is a smartphone app that includes a repository of georeferenced digital maps that can be used for offline smartphone navigation. I have been uploading (and georeferencing) selected Starker tree farm maps to Maprika. So far, the following tree farms are available: Burnt Woods (#17); Eisele Summit (#23); and Upper Marys River (#69). Follow the link above to more information about Maprika and how to download and use these maps.
(7) Adding Starker Maps to GaiaGPS
GaiaGPS is one of the best tools for offline smartphone navigation. A premium subscription enables you to download multiple basemaps for offline use. These include several types of topo maps (including USGS and USFS), Open Cycle Map, and satellite imagery. Many kinds of map layers are also available, the most useful being public and private land ownership information (so you always will know whose land you are on).
You can upload your own maps to GaiaGPS as map layers. In order for the map to line up with the Gaia basemap, you have to first rectify your map to the same map projection used by web-based maps (which is known as "Web Mercator"). You can do this by uploading an image of the map to a website called Mapwarper and adding multiple "control points" to rectify the map. Then, in GaiaGPS click on "Add Map Layers" and enter the address for your map on the Mapwarper server. Your map will appear as a layer in GaiaGPS.
So far, I have done this with the maps for the tree farms listed below. If you have subscription to GaiaGPS, you can copy the Mapwarper link and enter it as a layer in GaiaGPS.
(23) Eisele: https://mapwarper.net/maps/tile/62517/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
(69) Upper Marys River: https://mapwarper.net/maps/tile/62678/{z}/{x}/{y}.png