Spencer Butte

I absolutely LOVE Spencer Butte. Today my husband and I went on this hike for the first time. On our way up we went on the difficult path. Holy, what a work out! The view on top is absolutely breath taking. Totally worth the climb! We went down the newly renovated path, so much easier than the climb up. We will definitely be taking that path on the way up from now on. Spencer Butte is a must if you want to see beautiful views of Oregon.

A majority of the trail construction work is done and it’s a much better hike at the top, and easier to avoid the poison oak. They’ve done a nice job of cutting steps in many places into the rock. Will get 5 stars once the work is done!

A favorite hiking spot for many in the area, Spencer’s Butte provides a fantastic view once reaching the summit. The trail is fairly moderate in difficulty and an overall great workout. Plenty of dogs and smiley people at all times along the trail. Come on sunny days to see all of Eugene and even Autzen Stadium if you look hard enough! My personal favorite hike here was completing the hike early in the A.M. and watching the sunrise through the cloud cover — a breathtaking experience.

Now till July 2015 trail construction on the summit area. Trail will be closed M to F from 7AM to 4:30PM. So hike after 4:30PM or the weekends! Once the construction is done walking up the summit side will be a lot easy and the paths are wide to accompany traffic from both directions at the same time.
Great area to just take all the surrounding beauty this area offers. Be careful not to touch those nasty poison oaks along the trails. Especially hiking the summit areas.
Oh if you bring stuff to eat at the top please take your trash with you. Help keep Oregon trails beautiful for everyone!

Busy but good. There’s good variety in the trail, it’s short but you’ll get a great workout, you’ll always meet adorable dogs, and when you get to the top it’s a good place for lunch, relaxing with a book, or chatting with friends. There is a lot of poison oak at the top so be careful. Overall it’s safe and the view at the top is a full 360 with mountains and the city of Eugene.

Beautiful view gained from a pretty short hike! Mind you it is pretty steep, but that’s good for the glutes anyway! You’ll want to stay and hang out at the top for a while, so bring a lunch. Lots of nice places to sit down and take it in. Just make sure you pack your trash after

Great place to go if you want see the whole city. I love the views up here and it’s a great place to relax as well.

My favorite place in the world.
Steep side: for a quick athletic burst go up this and you can be back down I’m 45 minutes.
Regular way up: watch for rattle snakes in the summer. Always lovely.
Ridgeline trail: save a little more time for this way. Thrilling to run down if that is your thong and your knees allow it.
Always something beautiful to see– orchids, banana slugs, blackberry, old growth trees, Happy faces, funky mushroom like things.
My fave way to do the butte is in the foggy wet mornings. The colors will pop out to your eyes.

I want to be one of the few to give this less than 5 stars. My reason? Poison Oak and the lack of any transfigured deity when you reach the top, (but mostly just to be an iconoclast). Other than that it’s pretty awesome. I take my 3 sons (around kindergarten age) up here (the short route, Willamette) at least once a season. They love it. It’s always filled with cartoonishly smiling and attractive people. A little scramble at the top, good views. Even when it’s overcast, sometimes you can see over the clouds, which is awesome.

One of the best hikes I’ve had the pleasure of completing. Visited with my uncle, cousin, and best friend and it was great time. We incidentally ended up picking the difficult trail to the summit, which was rigorous as far as the level of cardio (lots of heavy breathing) but doesn’t require any technical climbing skill. I love to climb so this trail was so much fun for me and the view from the summit more than makes up for any exertion you might feel.

I will do this every time I come to Eugene… if time allows. I really enjoyed this hike. It’s a beautiful trail and view.
Lots of folks and kiddos out when we went… early… on a Sunday morning. It was nice to see people all out with a common goal. :)

I’ve been a few times and have always enjoyed it here. It’s a pretty good climb even for a fat kid :)
It’s always best on a sunny day (naturally) with a good friend or two. enjoy the green grass and blue skies ;)

This place was packed a couple of weekends ago! A nice, sunny day in the middle of Winter. Plenty of friendly folks, kids and dogs getting in some great views and exercise. I really believe this is easier to climb than Mount Pisgah even though it’s elevation is higher. I usually park at the far lot on Willamette Street (The Spencer Butte Park parking lot). There are other trails but I’ve always enjoyed going up the back side and the views on the way up to the West and South are great! Up to it? Give it a go!

Take a hike
to the
top of
that guy
Spencer’s
Butte
where
the squirrels
are not afraid
to come
right up
to you,
and dont
touch
that
poison
ivy
because
i heard it
itches
kinda like
right now
ive got
the itch
to
cruise over to
Spencer
and
go
Take a hike.

I did this hike a few years ago and went on one of the trails that was a lot more gradual. I loved that hike and had a great time.
My mom and I decided to take my dog and go for a hike to get out and get some fresh air. I suggested we hike Spencer Butte. We went to the Spencer Butte trailhead (there are three different trail heads I believe) Anyways, we set off and you could go the longer a little over a mile trail, or go on the steep .6 mile trail. Of course we chose the shorter one.,. Bad idea! It’s very steep and muddy. Beautiful views along the way, but next time I will take the scenic trail.

Great view and hike as always. A lot of litter and broken glass on the top and dog poop bags along the way. I wish people would respect the park rules and their environment more

Spencer Butte was one of the first hikes we took after settling into Eugene. We heard rave reviews before we left and weren’t disappointed!
+ Dog friendly
+ Well marked trails w/​mileage
+ 2 trailheads (Fox Hollow & Spencer Butte)
+ Great cardio workout to reach the very top
+ Beautiful views of Eugene
We all had a great time hiking to the top of Spencer Butte and will be back often. We’d love to take a picnic lunch and enjoy it while taking in the view.

Woohoo! I’m glad my friend and I decided to hike this amazing place before I left Eugene. It’s a MUST hike if you are visiting Eugene. There are three levels (easy, medium, and hard) and the distance ranges from 0.6mi to 2.5mi to the top, each way. My friend and I started at Ridgeline Trail and it was about 1000 ft elevation from the start of the trail. Most of the trail is not steep until the last few hundred yards or so to the top of the butte.
The view from the butte is amazing and I would come to this place every weekend if it was in my backyard. AMAZING!

Great hike. Short and sweet with some pretty intense rock climbing (if you’re in rain boots like I was) … (yes, I’m from LA, deal with it!).
We managed to get some time in between rain storms and the view was incredible. It may have been a cold and icy hike up to the top, but it was all worth it. Climbing the summit would have been easier with snow gloves since I was holding a camera in one hand, and trying to hang onto snowy rocks with the other. Oh well.
I think this hike really made this trip. So, if you are in Eugene, you MUST get up there. I am so glad we did.

This is a great place to hike considering the proximity to Eugene. The summit at the top is a great payoff to this steep hike with panorama views of Eugene, Springfield, the Coastal Range, the Cascades as well as the rugged terrain to the south.
The beginning of the trail at Spencer Butte Park is well signed and the map provides a good overview of how the trail will curl around the butte. I do not like the shorter trail to the top as it is incredibly steep and suggest that it only be taken on the way up as it is easy to lose one’s footing on the way down. As far as the the longer 1.08 mile trail, it gains ground less rapidly, so it’s easier to look around on the way and take in your surroundings. Right before the treeline to the top the trail gets really rocky and it’s hard to keep track of the trail, even though they have markers periodically embedded in the rock.
I was really close to giving this five stars, particularly since there is no use fee and it would be easy to incorporate a hike up the trail in some sort of workout regimen. What detracts from it is the overly steep shorter trail, and the poor signage in the rocky area.
Most people will opt to start a hike at Spencer Butte Park itself, however I would urge hikers looking for something a little more challenging to start at the Willamette Street trailhead. It starts out in a fairly open area, but rapidly gets secluded (for the most part) and makes for a 5 mile round trip. The numerous other starting points for trails that ultimately leads to Spencer Butte is impressive, and keeps it fresh for locals that frequently want to take a hike close to home.
I highly recommend bringing out of town friends and family on this short hike and they will be amazed at the view they are rewarded with at the top!