Hadley Butte

South Winter Ridge area, Forest Service

Soarable: Yes, Ridge/Thermal in N-NE winds and a morning heating site, also thought good for afternoon glass-offs on N-NE high pressure days.

Location: 6 miles west of Paisley (Hwy. 31 NW from Valley Falls), Sec. 23, T. 33 S., R. 17E., 42*41’27”N . 120*39’58”W.

Access: About 9 miles of good 2 WD Forest Service road.

Route: Take a left onto Mill Street and continue W through town. Go past the Fremont Sawmill, take the first right turn onto Forest Service road 3315. Follow this road to junction of 3360. Take the right fork which is Forest Service road 3360. Then it’s just 3 miles to the launch site.

Launch: The Paisley Forest Service, working with the RVHGA, completed requested launch improvements here in Oct. 1991. There is now an improved road out from 3360 to a new parking area, a trail to the launch ramp, and a new launch ramp, at about 6,260’ MSL. The site is 2,000’ AGL and 6.5 NNE to the Summer Lake Hot Springs.

Landing: Large, flat ranching fields border Hwy.31 below. Land on the N side of Hwy. 31 E, some distance from the Summer Lake Hot Springs, on BLM land. There are ranch roads S of Hwy. 31 at the base of the hill if you land short of the Hot Springs, as many did in 1991.

Protocol: Unregulated, USHGA H2 with FSL recommended for early flights, H3 with Turb. for strong afternoon conditions. See Records.

Camping: Valley River Store and Summer Lake Hot Springs have R.V. sites as well as Paisley (on M Street – inquire at Chewaucan Garage). Camping on the beautiful Chewaucan River along N.F. 330 out of Paisley, at Marsters Springs Campground, is suggested. Marsters Springs has tent, canper sites and drinking water. There are also primitive sites along Winter Ridge. Overnight camping at the launch site is OK too.

Records: None of note for this site yet. Pilots have been to 13,000’ MSL here in 1,300 f.p.m. boome? Fights 20 mi. N to Summer Lake along Winter Ridge (6,200 – 7,840’ MSL) or back 6 mi. E to Paisley and SE to Valley Falls (or maybe Lakeview??) are possible.

Maps: USGS 7.5 min. Slide Mtn., OR, 1980, for launch and Summer Lake Hot Springs topography. USGS Klamath Falls NK 10-61:250,000 (1/4”=1 mi.), 1970, (good for all Lakeview sites except Sugar Hill and Doherty Slide); and Fremont National Forest, OR, (1/2”=1 mi.), 1976, U.S. Forest Service, Paisley Ranger District, PO Box 67, Paisley, OR, 97636.

Nearby Sites: We’re told Portland area pilots have flown the length o9f Winter Ridge, starting somewhere unknown. Tague’s Butte, in the S. Abert Rim bowl, is closest, followed by Black Cap.

Misc.: No RVHGA representative has seen the launch area improvements as of this site guide update. However, the existing launch was a shallow, brushy, rocky hillside. We’re certain these are improvements. If you see Paisley Rangers, be sure to thank them for their work to improve this site, especially launch.