If you're looking for one of the best spots in Oregon to hike, take pictures and enjoy one of the most spectacular places in the state, Jefferson Park is surely able to fit the category.  The hike is about 10.2 mile round trip and the elevation gain is about 1800 feet.  The trail usually opens around mid July but if the snow pack is heavy you may have to wait until late July or even August to have a snow free trail to the park.  In fact, I just returned from a hike in late June and found myself with a snow covered trail at the 1/2 mile mark.  I was fortunate to bring along my poles and hiking tracking but unfortunately it wasn't able to continue past the three mile mark.  My two previous trips to the park were in September and the photo shown was taken in late September last year.  To reach the trail head you need to drive about 11 miles east of Detroit and look for the Whitewater road 2243.  It's located between mile post 60 and 61.  You will want to take a left and the road is very easy to find since the actual name of the road is posted and it's just before you cross over the Whitewater river.  You then drive about 7.6 miles on a well traveled gravel road.  The road is well maintained so you can drive on it with a passenger car but there are a few rough spots so be sure to drive carefully.  The trail starts at the end of the road so you can't miss it.  Just keep driving until the road comes to an end.  The hiking trail is very well maintained and since it's so popular during summer weekends you may have to contact the forest service to get a permit.  the Detroit Ranger number is 503-854-3366.  I've always gone on a weekday in order to avoid any restrictions as well as major crowds so I'm not sure if they still require a permit.  The hike is pretty steep but it's an amazing hike with even more amazing views for the entire hike.  Plan on getting an early start since you won't want to leave anytime soon.  Early Fall at Jefferson Park is sure to provide the best photography opportunities since the late Summer wildflowers are still in bloom as well as the red huckleberry leaves blanketing the alpine carpet. Since many of the trails have been closed in order to try and restore the park, you have to really look for opportunities to photograph Mt. Jefferson with the foliage in the foreground. There are still dozens of trails to suite your needs but you do want to stay focused since its easy to miss a terrific photo opportunity. It’s especially true since you will find yourself immersed in the sheer beauty of the area. I almost missed the opportunity to take this photo since I was heading towards the opposite part of the park in order to hike above the alpine lakes and I was worrying about running out of daylight. This photo was taken between Russell Lake and the mountain and I really liked the view of Mt. Jefferson with the foliage, trees and rocks in the foreground. I was using my tripod, bubble level and remote switch but placed it low to the ground in order to get as much foliage in the photo without reducing the field of view. I was using my Sigma 17-70mm lens and had the focal length at 17mm in order to get a panoramic shot so I could include as much of the mountain and foliage as I could. Since I had attached my CIR-PL and warming filter as well as set the ISO to 100 and the white balance at -1.3 the aperture was at F-5.7 and the shutter speed at 1/128 second since the camera mode was in Program/Normal. The photo was taken at about 1:20pm and the sun was at about a 90 degree angle above the mountain so the saturation was nice.