With me recently starting physical therapy for my leg/hip/lower back issues we decided to cancel a planned road trip around Northern California and instead focus on shorter recovery hikes closer to home. The bright side of missing out on the road trip was we’d be saving a lot of money on gas.
To kick off our staycation we headed south to Eugene for the 3.5-mile Wild Iris Ridge loop before picking up our son who would be spending part of the week with us. Wild Iris Park opened in 2017 offering a 3.5-mile lollipop loop through an oak savannah with Spring wildflowers. We parked at the small trailhead along Bailey Hill Road.
A one-mile segment of trail climbs a little over 300′ from the trailhead to the start of the loop on Wild Iris Ridge. Initially the trail passes under a set of powerlines before entering the woods. Wildflowers were blooming in the grass.
Camas
Buttercups
Rose checkermallow
We found more wildflowers in the woods.
Cow parsnip
The wild roses were just beginning to bloom.
Hawthorne
Tough-leaved iris
Rosy plectritis
Dogwood
Chickadee
Passing back under the powerlines.
Vetch
Houndstongue
Fringecup
Bench near the start of the loop.
Serviceberry
We opted to hike the loop clockwise and followed the pointer for Bailey Hill Drive.
It was a 0.3-mile climb to the Bailey Hill Drive Trailhead. This section continued through the woods before reaching a meadow below the trailhead.
Lupine
Columbine
Smallflower woodland star
Baby blue eyes
Miniature lupine
Rosy plectritis
The trailhead at Bailey Hill Drive.
Barestem biscuitroot
View from the trailhead area. There was a forecasted 20% chance of showers, but those never materialized. We were however surprised when we started hearing occasional rumbling thunder in the distance.
From Bailey Hill Dirve the loop follows old roadbeds for 1.2-miles to complete the loop.
There were a lot of irises in bloom along the road.
Grass pea
The blurry brown spot to the right of the bend in the road is the second of two deer that crossed in front of us.
Bench in a meadow along the loop. With the cloudy conditions there wasn’t much of a view today.
Olive-sided flycatcher
Tolmie’s mariposa lily
The final tenth of the mile of the loop narrows and climbs up to the junction.
After finishing the loop, we hiked back down the 1-mile stretch to the trailhead. We spotted a few flowers that we’d missed on our fist pass.
Yarrow
Avens
Finch
Purple oyster salsify
Nearing the trailhead.
The 3.5-mile hike gained a little over 700′ of elevation but was never steep. We saw a decent number of other trail users, but it never felt crowded.
My leg/hips responded well to the hike which was a little longer and had more elevation gain than my previous hike at Fort Hoskins (post) which was encouraging. We (or at least I) will continue with shorter hikes while I work through the physical therapy. Luckily there are plenty of nearby options that fit the bill. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Wild Iris Ridge
wanderingyuncks 