Author: derwoodynck

Tygh Creek Trail – 05/26/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 29, 2025
4 Comments on Tygh Creek Trail – 05/26/2025

After spending a second night in The Dalles it was time to return home, but before we headed to Salem we had one more hike to do in the area. There was one more hike on the east side of the Badger Creek Wilderness featured in Matt Reeder’s “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition) guidebook – Tygh Creek. His recommended hike on the trail is a 4-mile out-and-back gaining 1700′. If that sounds steep, it is!

We left The Dalles and drove south on Highway 197 and made our way to the unsigned Tygh Creek Trailhead along Forest Road 27.
The Tygh Creek Trail across FR 27 from the Tygh Creek Trailhead.

The trailhead is just 1.4-miles from the School Canyon Trailhead where we had started our hike two days earlier (post). It is theoretically possible to combine the two trails into a 13.7-mile loop, but the upper portion of the Tygh Creek Trail is reported faint and prone to heavy blow down. Even if the trails were clear we didn’t have time for a long hike today, so the 4-mile option was perfect.

For the first half mile the trail did a little up and down along Tygh Creek.

The only two trees down that needed to be climbed under/over.

Tygh Creek

At the half mile mark the trail left the creek and began the steep climb to the ridge above.

Heather had opted to not tackle the climb after already having done two challenging hikes this weekend so I had left the car before her and was on my own heading uphill when I spotted something moving in the forest ahead. I noticed the black first but then saw white as well and realized it was a skunk on the trail ahead.
Distance + low light + moving animal = blurry photo.

The skunk had been at the far end of this section of trail which was lined with lupine.

I stopped and watched the skunk head uphill until it was out of sight and then proceeded carefully not wanting to wind up smelling of skunk for the entire ride home. (I’m sure Heather would not have appreciated that either.) It was a good thing I was being cautious because after a short distance I noticed the skunk in some brush just off the trail.

The little stinker had a pretty cute face.

We stared at each other for a minute, and I politely requested it move along. When that didn’t work I left the trail in an attempt to swing out wide and pick up the trail further uphill. My moving again prompted the skunk to run off deeper into the forest with its tail in “firing position”. I hoped it wasn’t randomly spraying the air which might still get me but fortunately the safety was kept on and I was in the clear to continue the hike.

Reeder mentioned the middle third of the 0.9-mile climb as being “some of the steepest, dustiest trail in the Badger Creek Wilderness.” From the sample of trails we’ve hiked in this wilderness I’d agree with that statement. The first and final third were no picnic either. There were however great views and a lot of wildflowers to look at as I slowly trudged uphill.
The trail is to the right in this photo.

Paintbrush, balsamroot, and a strawberry blossom.

Ball Point

Rough eyelashweed

When a trail looks steep in a photo that tells you something.

More paintbrush and balsamroot.

Townsend’s solitaire

Buckwheat

My goal, the turn around point, was up on the crest of that ridge ahead.

Lupine, balsamroot, and a death camas.

Dogwood tree among the ponderosa pines.

Mahala mat

Getting close to the ridge and still steep.

The trail got less steep near the ridge.

Gordon Butte to the right. Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and Mt. Jefferson would also have been visible if not for the clouds.

Level trail on the ridge!

The hike describes cresting a “small” ridge and finding a user trail on the left that leads to a viewpoint sometimes used as a helispot. I headed out the ridge and quickly realized that my definition of “small” and Reeder’s were not the same.
Looking ahead at the trees atop the “small” ridge.

Sandwort

Oregon sunshine

Wildflowers on the “small” ridge.

Almost to the crest.

While I never actually spotted a use trail it was easy to see the opening where a helicopter could land just to the left of the trail, so I made my way out to the opening.

The clouds here are hiding Mt. Hood which should be visible behind the ridge. What is visible is Flag Point (post) in the middle with the Flag Point Lookout Tower.

Looking toward Mt. Jefferson.

Parts of Mt. Jefferson peeking out through the clouds.

After catching my breath at the viewpoint I began the steep descent back to Tygh Creek. I had been so focused on the climb up that I saw a few flowers that I’d missed on my first pass.
I’d seen a couple whitestem frasera going up but coming down I realized just how many there actually were, although none of the plants were quite blooming yet.

Groundsel

Broken Top and some of the Three Sisters were visible on the way down.

Tam McArthur Rim (post), Broken Top with Green Ridge (post) and Black Butte (post) in front, and parts of the Three Sisters.

I missed this whole patch of silvercrown earlier.

Pine Hollow Reservoir and Central Oregon.

Elkhorn clarkia aka ragged robin.

Threadleaf phacelia

Paintbrush with Ball Point in the background.

Vetch

Penstemon

Bastard toadflax

Buttes in Cental Oregon.

Back in the forest near Tygh Creek.

Tygh Creek

Squirrel

Starflower

Coral fungus

The trailhead in sight.

The hike was just under 4-miles with 1700′ of elevation gain.
The Tygh Creek track along with a portion of Saturday’s hike on the School Canyon Trail at the bottom.

Tackling this hike when my legs were already tired from the previous two days wasn’t ideal, but its length was which allowed us to get home to Salem before 11am. It was a little disappointing not having clearer views from the helispot given the effort to get there, but the wildflowers and views that I did have made for a good hike regardless.

In a crazy twist I posted a few photos on Instagram and Matt Reeder himself commented having also hiked the trail a little later that same morning. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tygh Creek

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Ball Point. School Canyon Trail, hiking, Off the Beaten Trail, Oregon, Pen Point, Skunk, Tygh Creek, Tygh Creek Trail, Tygh Creek Trailhead, wildflowers

Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Criterion Tract – 05/25/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 28, 2025
1 Comment on Criterion Tract – 05/25/2025

After spending the night in The Dalles, OR we got another early start and drove south on Highway 97 to Maupin, OR. On the south side of the Deschutes River near the southern end of town we turned right (west) at a signboard for the “Deschutes River Rec. Area” and followed this narrow road 3.9-miles to a small parking area at a locked gate.

The road beyond the gate passes through private property but the BLM has an easement that allows hiking (and wheelchairs) along the next 4.5-miles of the road.

We had hiked in the BLM’s “Criterion Tract” in 2023 (post) as part of our goal to hike at least part of 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s guidebook series (post). That hike was one of the “part of” hikes where we started at an alternate location and took a different route to the hikes main goal. In this case that was Stag Point, a viewpoint above the Deschutes River. We had started from Highway 197 above Stag Point for that hike while the hike described in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Easter Oregon” began at the locked gate. He describes an out-and-back hike from the road to Stag Point, but various trip reports in the Oregon Hikers Forums showed loop options using the road easement as a return route. A good map, GPS and route-finding skills are important here since there are no official trails, just a collection of old jeep tracks and game/cattle trails.

From the parking area we headed uphill past a rusty gate and picked up a clear path.

Phacelia

Fleabane

Thistle

Madia

There was a lot of really nice lupine along this lower portion of the hike.

Fiddleneck and lupine

The first of several deer we spotted during the day.

The distinctive cliffs behind the lupine are across the river from the parking area so we were almost always able to tell where we had parked.

This jeep track would veer to the left to pass between the smaller hills and cliffs ahead.

Western meadowlarks could be heard throughout the hike.

The view south.

Desert yellow fleabane

The view west.

Mt. Hood peaking over the canyon rim to the NW.

Mt. Hood

Butterfly on yarrow

Grasses and wildflowers added color to the landscape.

The route became very faint at times.

Balsamroot

Looking back at the route so far.

View from the trail after passing between the hills and cliffs.

An old fence.

Mt. Hood and Lookout Mountain (post).

Buckwheat

As we continued to follow the jeep track views of the Deschutes began to open up.

Rough eyelashweed

Paintbrush

A short detour to the cliff edges just over 2-miles from the rusty gate led to a nice view.

We continued to follow the jeep track beyond the viewpoint as it veered away from the river to hug the hillside.
Another stretch of faint tread.

It was often easier to see the road ahead than below our feet.

Balsamroot and lupine

Grand collomia and lupine.

Spreading dogbane

Digging in.

Small water trough (empty).

View from the water trough.

Haven’t identified this bird yet.

Looking back at the route again.

Approximately 0.4-miles beyond the water trough the jeep road turned more steeply uphill climbing to a newer barbed wire fence and the BLM boundary.

Mt. Hood again.

Ochre ringlet. There were hundreds of butterflies.

Looking at the climb ahead. At this point most of the rest of the hike would be in direct sunlight, and it was already getting warm.

Buck

Buck number two.

We had to get pretty high up before we could see Washington’s Mt. Adams and even once it was in view the lighting made it hard to make out.

Mt. Adams

The newer barbed wire fence at the public land boundary. This is around 3.5-miles from the parking area.

Hawksbeard

After taking a warm break at the fence, we turned right (south) along the fence line. The jeep track had gone through the fence onto the private land, so we were now relegated to following cattle/game trails.
The fence went up and down steeply so that meant we got to as well.

Crow

Fritillary

Cattle trail

Western kingbirds

A milkvetch

Another butterfly on balsamroot.

Stag Point is the high triangular point along the plateau in the foreground.

Zoom in on Stag Point. (The lone post on top gives it away.)

First and only brief view of the top of Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Jefferson

After approximately 0.8-miles along this newer fence we came to a corner where an old rusty fence continued straight.
The newer fence turned left at the corner.

We began following the rusty fence line which Sullivan said came to an old road in another 0.4-miles.
Onion

This rocky gully was a little tricky to cross.

Checkerspot

Old stone structure along the fence.

Western meadowlark

Lark sparrow

After following the rust fence for maybe 0.2 of a mile we decided we could cut a little distance off our hike by heading diagonally cross country toward Stag Point since we could see it from where we were.

Probably cattle bones.

Checkerspot on fiddleneck.

We came upon the road after 0.3-miles of following cattle trails.

Balsamroot and Mt. Hood from the road.

We turned right onto the road and headed downhill. At this point we discussed if we really wanted to head cross country to Stag Point. Since we had climbed up to it on our previous trip, and the hike today had already provided extensive views we opted to skip Stag Point and just continue our loop on the road.

Phlox

Indra swallowtail

Checkerspot

Another checkerspot

A blue or copper of some sort.

The old road made a series of switchbacks below a stock pond gaining views again of the Deschutes River.

Oregon sunshine

Skipper

Colorful rocks

Looking back up along the switchback section.

Gate along the road at the end of the switchbacks.

Beyond the gate the road straightened as it descended below some cliffs.

Allumroot

Cusick’s sunflowers and desert yellow fleabane.

Cusick’s sunflowers

As we descended the road we were alerted to the presence of a western rattlesnake when it loudly hissed and shook its rattle.

Unbelievably this was only the second rattlesnake that we’ve encountered while hiking. It gave us a jump scare but stayed in its defensive position and kept an eye on us while we left the road to give it a wide berth before hoping back onto the tack.
Looking back up the road toward the snake.

The still coiled snake to the right of the track.

After that bit of excitement we continued down the road a short distance before arriving at an even fainter jeep track heading steeply downhill.
The fainter jeep track split off here to the right. It’s really hard to see it in the photo but was a little more obvious in person.

It is necessary to use this jeep track for the loop due to the other road entering the private landholdings just a little further on. The jeep track stays on public lands which extend all the way across the river here making it the only area where one can legally descend down to the access road.
The goal was to aim for the knoll ahead then find two junipers that were relatively close together and descend between them.

Looking back up from the jeep track.

The view upriver with a private house.

From the knoll the tops of the two junipers were visible.

Going between the two junipers.

The hillside was steep so we carefully picked our way down through the bunchgrass, eventually picking up a faint path that led us down to the road.

Looking back up at the two junipers.

We turned right on the road for a 4-mile road walk back to the gate at the parking area. It was flat which was welcome, but it was late enough in the morning that there was virtually no shade being cast from the canyon walls. It was in the low to mid 80s so we were feeling the heat. As road walks go it wasn’t bad aside from the heat with lots of views of the river along with a number of bird sightings. There were a few cars and closer to the parking area we encountered a number of anglers. Before reaching the road the only people we’d seen was a group of four people coming up the rattlesnake road, presumably from the private land at the end of that road which is owned by the Portland Deschutes Club.
It’s a checkerboard of public and private land along the road. While this portion of the road is open to hikers, public fishing along the riverbank is limited to the public land portions. No trespassing signs line the road in the private sections.

Heather spotted this rattlesnake off the side of the road. We couldn’t tell if it was still alive and didn’t really want to find out.

One of the few bits of shade along the road walk.

Probably some sort of flycatcher.

There were a lot of osprey along the river.

There were also quite a few Bullock’s orioles.

Mock orange along the river.

Mallard

Bindweed

Another unknown bird and an angler in the river.

Cliff swallow

Dove

More osprey

Portland Deschutes Club Gatekeepers House

Visitors hiking in along the road must check in and then sign out at the Gatekeepers House but since we didn’t come up the road we hadn’t checked in so we couldn’t check out. Heather did use the shade along the road here for a break from the Sun though.

From the Gatekeepers House we had 2.5 more road miles left and we wound up using just about every bit of water, including the extra water we’d brought with us, to get back to the car.

Geese

Common merganser

Yarrow covered hillside.

Rock formations above the road.

The distinctive cliffs on the opposite side of the river from the parking area.

Arriving back at the parking area.

The loop came to 11.8-miles with approximately 2100′ of elevation gain.
Yellow is our track from 2023.

This was a beautiful albeit challenging hike made even more difficult by the warm temperature. That being said it was enjoyable. There are other possible loop options and routes in the BLM land here if you’re comfortable with route finding and not afraid of some challenging terrain. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Criterion Tract

Tags BLM Access Road, Bullock's Oriole, Criterion Tract, Deschutes River, hiking, Oregon, Rattlesnake, wildflowers

Badger Creek Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

School Canyon-Little Badger Loop – 05/24/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 27, 2025
1 Comment on School Canyon-Little Badger Loop – 05/24/2025

We spent Memorial Day weekend in The Dalles in order to cross a few “to-dos” off our hiking list. Our first stop was a two-for-one hike in the Badger Creek Wilderness. The plan was to make a loop out of the School Canyon and Little Badger Trails which would allow us to cross those trails off the list of hikes we still hadn’t done featured in our Matt Reeder guidebooks (Off the Beaten Trail). The School Canyon Trail is featured in his “PDX Hiking 365” (1st edition) and The Little Badger Trail is covered in “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition).

The two trailheads are 3.5 road miles apart but only about a half mile separates them in a direct line. Both Reeder and the entry in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide mention avoiding the longer road walk by cutting cross country suggesting slightly different routes and having differing opinions on difficulty. Based on the two hike descriptions and a recent discussion in the Oregon Hikers Forum it appeared to me that the “best” solution was to bushwack downhill from Forest Road 27 to the Little Badger Trailhead roughly a half mile from the School Canyon Trailhead. I arrived at this conclusion based on our belief that going down is easier than climbing up and by comparing Google Earth imagery with a topographic map. I was looking for the least steep looking open hillside which would limit the number of downed trees we might encounter. Prior to leaving I added waypoints to our GPS units to mark where I thought we should leave the road and one at the Little Badger Trailhead so we could easily see what we were aiming for.

We left Salem extra early and arrived at the School Canyon Trailhead about a quarter after seven.

From the trailhead we headed left (SE) on FR 27 until we reached the waypoint I had created then looked for an open spot to start the cross-country portion of the hike.

We headed off through the trees here.

After passing through a small stand of trees the views opened up to the SW where Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte stood out on the horizon.

Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte (post).

Gordon Butte in the foreground.

Our route steepened as we headed downhill among a number of different wildflowers.
Balsamroot and oak trees.

Buckwheat and balsamroot

Whitestem frasera with Mt. Jefferson in the background.

Rough eyelashweed

Paintbrush

We picked up a faint path, not sure if it was a game or use trail.

As we neared the Little Badger Trailhead we entered another stand of trees.

Lupine and ponderosa pines.

We popped out of the trees on FR 2710 less than 20 yards from the Little Badger Trail.

The trailhead is on the opposite side of FR 2710 from the trail.

Sign at the start of the Little Badger Trail.

After the half mile road walk and 0.6-miles cross country we were now on official trail and quickly entered the Badger Creek Wilderness.
Badger Creek Wilderness sign next to Little Badger Creek.

For the first two miles the trail stuck closely to the creek.

Groundsel

Woodland stars

Little Badger Creek

Fairy slipper

The trail then climbed a little higher on the hillside as it continued further into the wilderness.

American vetch

Bastard toadflax

Duskywing on sagebrush false dandelion.

Balsamroot

Bee coming in for a landing on phacelia.

Sticky cinquefoil

Western wood-pewee

Madia

Brown elfin (and another pollinator) on Oregon sunshine.

Starflower

Mahala mat along the trail.

Duskywing on blue-eyed Mary

Largeleaf sandwort along the trail.

Skunk cabbage

Red-flowering currant

Duskywing on arnica

Silvercrown

Oregon grape

Last of the trillium.

Plumed solomonseal

The trail had begun a descent back to the creek at the 3-mile mark and just under 4-miles from the trailhead we arrived at the site of the former Kinzel Mine Cabin.

What’s left of the cabin.

Little Badger Creek at the cabin site.

We took a brief break at the cabin to prepare for the nearly 900′ climb to reach the School Canyon Trail. After the break we walked past the cabin remains and forked left to visit the old Kinzel Mine.
Anemone

There was a short climb before reaching the spur trail.

Spur trail to the mine.

The old mine. We did not go in as wildlife do sometimes use it for shelter.

Ballhead waterleaf near the mine.

After visiting the mine we returned to the main trail and began the steep 0.7-mile climb to the School Canyon Trail. This was a challengingly steep ascent, but there were plenty of wildflowers, wildlife, and views to distract us.

Western tanager

A stand of oaks ahead.

Balsamroot along the trail.

Paintbrush

Buckwheat

Juniper trees

Threadleaf phacelia

Signpost ahead for the trail junction.

We took a much-needed break at the junction before detouring left (west) on the School Canyon Trail for a tenth of a mile to a spur trail on the left that led to a Helispot Viewpoint where there were several rock pinnacles.

Wildflowers along the trail.

The spur trail on the left to the Helispot.

Penstemon

Pine Hollow Reservoir in Central Oregon.

We returned to the junction after visiting the helispot and followed the School Canyon Trail as it gradually descended to a ridge below Ball Point.

Woodland star

This was the most significant obstacle we had to navigate on the entire loop.

Yarrow

A dogwood on top of the rocks and penstemon below.

First view of Ball Point.

Penstemon

From the ridge we could faintly make out Broken Top and the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters on the right and Broken Top with Tam McArthur Rim (post) to the left.

Pen Point across the Tygh Creek Valley.

The trail left the ridge and traversed the hillside around Ball Point.
Passing through the 2009 Ball Point Fire scar.

Pen Point toward the center and the taller Hootnanny Point to the right.

Death camas

View east as we came around Ball Point.

Desert yellow fleabane.

Prairie smoke aka Old Man’s Whiskers

On the far side of Ball Point the trail descended fairly steeply along a ridge covered in wildflowers and a view of Mt. Jefferson.

Heather coming down the ridge.

I think this is a western racer.

The trail dropped off the ridge and descended just over a mile to the trailhead. The wildflowers and views were nice along this entire stretch.
Looking up at the ridge.

A clarkia

Lewis’ woodpecker

Lizard

On last view of Mt. Jefferson

Ball Point

Butterfly on whitestem frasera

Signs at the trailhead.

The loop ended up being 9.9-miles with 2150′ of elevation gain.
Orange is the road + cross country portion.

We really enjoyed the variety this hike provided, and we only saw two other hikers all day. The climb from the cabin site to the School Canyon trail was tough but we were glad to have tackled it. We checked in to our room in The Dalles and after having dinner and picking up some snacks for the room we turned in so we could get another early start the following day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: School Canyon-Little Badger Loop

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Ball Point, Helispot, hiking, Little Badger Creek, Little Badger Trail, Little Badger Trailhead, Oregon, Pen Point, School Canyon Trail, School Canyon Trailhead. Off the Beaten Trail, The Dalles, wildflowers

Hiking Olympic Peninsula Trip report Washington

Olympic National Park Day 5 – Bogachiel Rain Forest 5/16/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 23, 2025
1 Comment on Olympic National Park Day 5 – Bogachiel Rain Forest 5/16/2025

Our original plan for our last hike in Olympic National Park was going to be a 12ish mile hike along the Bogachiel River Trail. With Heather being sick and rainy conditions forecast for the entire day I scaled back the plan. Unlike our previous hikes during the week the Bogachiel River Trailhead was not located in Olympic National Park. The trailhead and the first 1.5-miles of the hike was located in the Olympic National Forest.
This trail is part of the Pacific Northwest Trail as were the beach hikes we did the previous two days.

Heather opted to stay in the car while I donned my raingear and set off on the Bogachiel Rain Forest Trail.

Damaged footbridge over Morganroth Creek at the 0.2-mile mark.

The Wetland Loop Trail split off just beyond Morganroth Creek. I stayed right and planned on returning via the loop.

This was a muddy trail which isn’t surprising for an area that receives 120″ of rain (3 meters) on average annually.

Youth-on-Age

Approaching the Bogachiel River.

Bogachiel River

The other end of the Wetland Loop was approximately a half mile from the Olympic National Park boundary.

Kahkwa Creek. The log down in the distance was crossable but I opted to ford the creek on my first pass.

Ford at Kahkwa Creek.

Signs at the park boundary. The trail name changes here to the Bogachiel River Trail.

Wilderness permits for back country camping. At this point I was not only in the park but also the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness.

I decided to continue into the park a bit before turning around. I initially set a turnaround time of 6:50am but then decided to turn around at the next creek shown on the map. As it turned out the creek was not exactly where it was shown on the GPS and it wound up being dry when I did reach it at 6:54am.

The dry creek where I turned around.

I took the Wetland Loop Trail on the way back and was surprised at how much climbing was involved on a wetland trail.

The log crossing over Kahkwa Creek.

The Wetland Loop Trail junction was near the Kahkwa Creek crossing.

The Wetland Loop began along Kahkwa Creek.

Skunk cabbage

The Wetland Loop traversed up and down along a hillside above some wetlands.

Scouler’s corydalis

Wetlands below the loop trail.

Completing the loop.

After completing the loop I climbed back up to the trailhead and rejoined Heather at the car.

Fairy lanterns

Almost immediately after arriving at the car my throat began to hurt and I knew that I was coming down with the same cold that had hit Heather starting Wednesday. I had managed to get a 5-mile hike in on a quiet and scenic trail.

I would definitely go back to experience more of this trail under better circumstances. It may not have been the ideal ending to our trip but we both really enjoyed our hikes and hopefully we will return someday to explore more of the park. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bogachiel Rain Forest

Tags Bogachiel Rain Forest, Bogachiel Rain Forest Trail, Bogachiel River, Bogachiel River Trail, Bogachiel River Trailhead, Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, hiking, Olympic National Forest, Olympic National Park, Pacific Northwest Trail, Washington, Wetland Loop Trail

Hiking

Olympic National Park Day 4 – Ozette Triangle 5/15/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 22, 2025
No Comments on Olympic National Park Day 4 – Ozette Triangle 5/15/2025

For our fourth day in Olympic National Park we headed to Ozette Lake, the largest natural body of water in Washington. This was our longest drive from Forks taking just over an hour to reach the Ozette Trailhead.

We followed pointers for the “Coastal Trail” and crossed the Ozette River on a footbridge.

Notice regarding the petroglyphs on Wedding Rocks. By the time we were on the beach we’d completely forgot to look for these. We did run into another hiker who had seen them on a prior trip, but he couldn’t remember where. He thought they were located at some rocks near where we’d run into him, so we searched those rocks for several minutes with no luck. As it turns out he was mistaken as to where Wedding Rocks was, it is located on the first rocky headland nearest Cape Alava at the northern end of the triangle hike. We were much closer to the southern end.

Ozette River leaving Ozette Lake.

Shortly after crossing the river the trail split to begin the triangle.

We forked right onto the Cape Alava Trail. This 3.1-mile trail led through a coastal forest to the beach near Cape Alava. Much of the trail consisted of boardwalk.

Bunchberry

Slug on a skunk cabbage leaf.

Skunk cabbage

Bog laurel along the trail.

Closer look at the bog laurel blossoms.

Squirrel

First view of the ocean.

Beach bunny

Ozette Island. The signpost is used to identify inland trails that bypass the beach.

At the beach we turned left (south) and began walking along the rocky beach.
Bodelteh Islands

Heading south along the beach.

We had heard sea lions somewhere in the direction of Ozette Island as we were approaching the beach.

There is a seal in the foreground and a couple of sea lions on the rocks beyond.

Seals lounging on the rocks.

This beach hike wasn’t quite as challenging as the previous day on Rialto Beach (post) but there was a lot of slick ocean vegetation that was washed up on the shore.

One of several campsites along the beach.

Approaching Wedding Rocks. There is a bypass sign ahead if you look closely. At higher tides it is not possible to go around the rocks along the beach.

A couple of crabs taking a defensive position as we were passing by.

Wedding Rocks

On the other side of the Wedding Rocks. As I mentioned before this is where the petroglyphs are, but we’d already forgotten to be looking for them. In Heather’s defense she had started to come down with a cold the previous day and was not feeling 100%. I however had no excuse.

Beyond the Wedding Rocks we had to cross a rocky area where there were many pools.

After reaching some sand we took a break on a log before continuing on.
Looking back at the Wedding Rocks.

Robin

Bald eagle

Whimbrel

Hole in a sea stack.

Seals and cormorants

The second rocky headland where there was an inland bypass route. On the far side is where we ran into the hiker who thought these were the Wedding Rocks where he’d seen the petroglyphs before.

Path through the rocks. It made sense to us that this would be where the petroglyphs were given there were several passages between the rocks here.

Coming out the other side.

Looking back at the rocks that weren’t the Wedding Rocks.

After hiking back to the rocks with the hiker to look for the petroglyphs, which he did have photos of on his phone, we continued south to Sand Point. Along this stretch we passed a couple of large groups of backpackers heading north.
Sandpoint ahead.

Semipalmated plover

There was a use trail up the headland at Sand Point which I felt obliged to go up.

View south

One of the groups of backpackers heading north from Sand Point.

Chickweed on the headland.

We picked up a trail in the trees near some empty campsites and followed it inland along Sand Point.

There was a bit of a maze of use trails in the trees but we eventually found some trail signs and picked up the Sand Point Trail that would lead us back to Ozette Lake.

Similar to the Cape Alava Trail this trail had lot of boardwalk sections over the muddy forest floor.

Evergreen huckleberry blossoms.

Bench along the trail.

Groundcone. Heather had a sharp eye to pick this up on the forest floor.

There were a couple of missing sections of boardwalk along this side of the triangle.

Ozette Lake

This hike came in at an even 10-miles. Wandering around looking for the petroglyphs and going to the end of Sand Point instead of cutting up off the beach at the signed bypass added a little distance to the typical 9.4-mile distance.

Heather was a trooper for getting through this hike with what had now become a pretty intense cold. The cold would however keep her from our final hike and as I am writing this trip report I am dealing with the same illness. It had sprinkled off and on near the end of this hike and more rain was on the way Friday. For now we headed back to Forks and after changing clothes headed to Sully’s Drive-In for some burgers and tater tots before turning in for the night. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Ozette Triangle

Tags Cape Alava, Cape Alava Trail, hiking, Olympic National Park, ozette lake, Ozette Triangle, Sand Point, seal, Sully's Drive-In, Washington

Hiking Olympic Peninsula Trip report Washington

Olympic National Park Day 3 – Rialto Beach 5/14/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 21, 2025
5 Comments on Olympic National Park Day 3 – Rialto Beach 5/14/2025

For our third day in Olympic National Park we headed for the ocean. Staying near Forks, WA meant we were only 20 minutes from Rialto Beach where we planned to hike north along the coast through Hole-in-the-Wall and possibly as far as Cape Johnson. For the hikes along the coast we needed to consider the tides. Many portions of the coastline are only passible within a couple hours of low tide. There are bypass routes through the forest, but those routes are often muddy, steep and rough. Fortunately for us low tide was at 8:26am meaning it coincided with our typical early morning start.

We arrived at the Rialto Beach Trailhead around 5:45am.

We headed out to the beach and turned north.

James and Little James Islands

The beach was mostly small pebbles to start. Our steps often sunk more than expecting requiring more effort than we’d have guessed. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find the most solid ground.

Our footsteps on the beach.

Stump in the sand.

Ellen Creek. The creek flowed under the beach and emerged shortly before the ocean.

Seagull

Bald eagle

The Olympic Coast is known for its rock formations, some of which were on display here.

A little over 1.5-miles from the trailhead we arrived at Hole-in-the-Wall.

The tide was low enough we were able to pass through the arch.

Looking back through the arch.

There are some nice tide pools around Hole-in-the-Wall.

This racoon was searching the tide pools for breakfast.

Looking back toward Hole-in-the-Wall.

The hiking became more difficult on the far side of Hole-in-the-Wall due to the rockiness. Some of the rocks were very slick and other sections were large and awkward to scramble over. There were also hundreds of small crabs to avoid.

Many of the dark spots on these rocks are the small crabs.

Does anyone know what this is?

Oyster catcher

Cormorants

Cape Johnson in the distance.

Paintbrush

Unnamed creek not quite making it to the ocean above ground.

Due to the difficult footing we weren’t making great time. We decided that I would go ahead since I am a little more comfortable hiking on rocks and try to make it Cape Johnson. We also agreed to turn around before low tide at 8:26am to ensure that we gave ourselves enough time to get back before the tide was too high to stick to the beach.
Cape Johnson

I rounded a small point at 7:50am and saw that to reach Cape Johnson I’d have to bow in a lot further than I’d anticipated.

My legs were already tired and I didn’t think I could continue to maintain the faster pace needed to reach Cape Johnson and get back to the trailhead, so I continued until 8am then turned around.

I turned around at the slide ahead.
Hermit crab shells

A good example of the challenging terrain.

Seagull, oyster catchers, and a cormorant.

Paintbrush on the cliffs above the beach.

Hole-in-the-Wall and James Island back in view.

I had been scanning the ocean all morning looking for anything that might be an animal and took a number of pictures of things that turned out to be nothing. At one point I thought I spotted something floating near the rocks but wasn’t sure if it was just another rock. I took some zoomed in photos and think I may have stumbled on a sea otter.
Not a great picture due to the extreme zoom and low lighting. After looking closer at this photo I began thinking it was just a rock in the surf. Then I looked at the next photo and what would be the foot and the head were in different positions.

Possible sea otter.

The area around Hole-in-the-Wall was a lot busier on the way back.

Driftwood on the beach.

Heather spotted this little starfish while exploring the tide pools near the arch.

Heather also spotted this which we believe is a velella velella.

Starfish and anemones

Bald eagels

I eventually caught up to Heather on the far side of Hole-in-the-Wall and we continued south on the beach to the jetty along the Quillayute River.
On the jetty looking at James Island.

La Push across the river.

Sea lion in the river.

Heading back to the trailhead along the jetty.

The jetty is actually part of the Quileute Indian Reservation.

I managed to get 7.9-miles in here.

This was the most challenging hike of the week due to the rocks, but it was scenic with lots of wildlife too. Our next hike also included some beach hiking, but only about 3 miles so hopefully it wouldn’t be quite as tiring. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Rialto Beach

Tags Cape Johnson, hiking, Hole-in-the-Wall, James Island, Rialto Beach, Rialto Beach Trailhead, sea otter, Tide pools, Washington

Hiking Olympic Peninsula Washington

Olympic National Park Day 2 – Sol Duc Falls and Lake Crescent 5/13/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 20, 2025
No Comments on Olympic National Park Day 2 – Sol Duc Falls and Lake Crescent 5/13/2025

For our second day at Olympic National Park we originally had planned a long hike on the Sol Duc River, but we both had people recommend visiting Lake Crescent we decided to shorten our hike to Sol Duc Falls and then do a few trails in the Lake Crescent Area.

We began by driving to the Sol Duc Trailhead which was nearly deserted at 6am on a Tuesday morning.

Map of the area trails at the trailhead.

We set off down a set of stairs on the trail.
Anyone know why the spelling on the sign is different?

Violets

Bridge over an unnamed creek.

Trillium

Coltsfoot

Fairy bells

Near the three quarters of a mile mark we came to the Sol Duc Shelter.

Just beyond the shelter was a footbridge over the Sol Duc River at Sol Duc Falls.

Depending on the volume of water there are up to four channels which was the situation on this day.

Heather on the bridge above the falls.

We spent some time admiring the falls then headed back passing a handful of hikers on their way in. Our hike here was just under two miles with approximately 200′ of elevation gain.

From the Sol Duc Trailhead it was a little over half an hour to another waterfall trailhead, Marymere Falls.

It was still just a quarter to eight when we parked here so this lot was fairly empty as well. We set off on the well signed trail past the Storm King Rangers Station.

Storm King Ranger Station

The trail passed under Highway 101 and was relatively level to its crossing of Barns Creek.
Forget-me-nots (non-native) along the trail.

Lake Crescent

Storm King Trail to the left.

Marymere Falls Trail junction with the Barnes Creek Trail.

Footbridge over Barnes Creek.

Barnes Creek

Trillium

Footbridge over Falls Creek almost immediately after crossing Barnes Creek.

Falls Creek

On the far side of Falls Creek a loop began and the trail started to climb to a viewpoint of Marymere Falls.
Start of the clockwise loop.

Marymere Falls

The trail climbing up from the first viewpoint.

Marymere Falls from the second viewpoint.

Final viewpoint before the loop curved away from the falls and descended back to its start.

We completed the loop and headed back to the car.
The footbridges over the two creeks.

Unnamed fall on Falls Creek from the footbridge.

This hike also came in just under two miles, but with 500′ of elevation gain.

From the Marymere Falls Trailhead we drove east on Highway 101 toward Port Angeles to the end of Lake Crescent then turned left onto East Beach Road for three miles and left again on Boundary Creek Road to its end at the trailhead.
It was now almost 9am so there were a few cars parked here already.

This paved trail follows a former railroad along Lake Crescent.

Our plan was to hike to the second of two tunnels and visit the Devil’s Punchbowl along the way. After a short initial climb the trail descended to the old railroad and leveled out as it followed the lakeshore.

Various poems were located along the first mile of the trail.

This trail is open to a variety of users.

Haiku

A second haiku.

Common whipplea

Starflower

Valerian

A dirt trail signed for the Devil’s Punchbowl split off to the left at the first tunnel.

Clear water in Lake Crescent.

Paintbrush

Something in the pea family.

Nearing Devil’s Punchbowl.

Devil’s Punchbowl

There was a fair amount of poison oak along the trail to Devil’s Punchbowl.

Madrones

Honeysuckle

Common cryptantha

Rejoining the railroad trail on the far side of the tunnel.

Butterfly

Another type of trail user.

View west.

View east.

Big deervetch

Fairy slippers

Chipmunk

Woodpecker

Lake Crescent Lodge on the far side of the lake.

Squirrel

Wallflower

The second tunnel.

Thimbleberry

White crowned sparrow

Going through the tunnel.

I went a little further around this bend while Heather took a seat on a log after exiting the tunnel.

Paintbrush

View across the lake toward the Barnes Creek Valley.

I believe the snowiest peak is Lizard Head Peak.

Saxifrage

Chickweed

After a short break we headed back.
Swallow

Oregon sunshine

Lupine

Stonecrop

Variable-leaf collomia

On the way back we opted to hike through the first tunnel instead of the trail by Devil’s Punchbowl.

This was a longer tunnel and had little light near the middle.

Descending to the trailhead.

This wound up being a 6.2-mile hike with about 250′ of total elevation gain.

It was still before Noon so we decided to check out the area around Lake Crescent Lodge, which was close to the Marymere Falls Trailhead, so we drove back to where we’d turned off HWY 101 for that hike and followed pointers for Bovee’s Meadow Day Use Area.

We spent some time at one of the two picnic tables near the lake shore before attempting to follow a trail east to the lodge.
The lake from the picnic table.

Common loon

These mallards came flying in then waddled up to see if they could scrounge something from us, but we explained that we do not feed the wildlife (LNT principle six). They seemed to understand and promptly flew off.

Stellar’s jay

Trying to find the route to the lodge.

Mushroom

A maze of user trails crisscrossed through the trees and there were some student groups working on projects which we were attempting not to disrupt. We wound up at Barnes Creek but with no way to cross.
The lodge is just on the other side.

After looking a little more for a path that would lead to a bridge without going through the students we gave up and returned to our car and drove across Barnes Creek. We wound up parking at the Moments in Time Trailhead and hiking that two thirds of a mile interpretive loop before walking over to the Lake Crescent Lodge.

Interpretive signs explaining the creation of Lake Crescent by glaciers.

This trail had good signage unlike the area near Bovee’s Meadow.

Chair near the lodge.

Lake Crescent Lodge.

We poked around in the lodge and picked up a shot glass which is our go to souvenir for our trips. With the half mile of wandering near Bovee’s Meadow and a little over a mile between the Moments in Time Trail and walking to the lodge our day totaled 11.6-miles over the five stops.

Our hikes at Lake Crescent.

This was a fun day with a nice variety of scenery and trail types. While I’m sure a longer hike along the Sol Duc River would have been beautiful, we were glad we chose to check out the Lake Crescent area instead. We drove back to our cabin outside of Forks and cleaned up then went into town for dinner at Blakelees Bar & Grill which we both enjoyed. Our next two days would be a change of pace as we would be headed for the coast. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Sol Duc Falls and the Lake Crescent Area

Tags Blakelees Bar and Grill, Bovee's Meadow, Devil's Punchbowl, Forks, hiking, Lake Crecent Lodge, Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls Trailhead. Spruce Railroad Trail, Moments in Time Trail, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Sol Duc Falls, Sol Duc River, Sol Duc Trailhead. Marymere Falls, Washington

Hiking Olympic Peninsula Trip report Washington

Olympic National Park Day 1 – Hoh Rain Forest 5/12/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 19, 2025
1 Comment on Olympic National Park Day 1 – Hoh Rain Forest 5/12/2025

The hike that we chose for our first in Olympic National Park was the Hoh Rain Forest. Up until the Thursday before our visit access to the area had been cut off by a washout along the access road in December 2024. Fortunately, the State of Washington was able to fund repairs, and the road reopened on 5/8/2025. The forecast was for a slight chance of showers which seemed fitting for a rain forest hike.

We parked at the Hoh River Trailhead near the Hoh Visitors Center.

Starting just before 6am meant we had the trails to ourselves to start the morning so we began with two popular short loops, the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Trails.

The first loop we came to was the Hall of Mosses Trail.
Hall of Mosses pointer.

The Hall of Mosses Trail is a 0.8-mile interpretive loop with some nice green scenery.
Spring fed Taft Creek.

Start of the one-way loop.

Interpretive sign along the loop.

Looking up from the interpretive sign.

Maple Grove

Nursery log

After completing the loop and returning to the Hoh River Trail we crossed Taft Creek and arrived at a junction with the Spruce Nature Trail.

Fallen sign for the Spruce Nature Trail.

We turned right onto the 1.2-mile Spruce Nature Trail and hiked this loop clockwise.

This was another interpretive loop.

Hoh River from the trail.

This huge root ball was hosting its own mini forest.

Taft Creek

After completing the second loop we turned right onto the Hoh River Trail. Our plan was to hike to 5 Mile Island and then turn around.
The trail extends all the way up to Glacier Meadows below Mt. Olympus.

The section of trail to 5 Mile Island was fairly level with just a handful of short up and downs. The scenery was great as was the weather with some blue sky and just a brief misty shower on our way back to the car.

Violet

Fungi

Another type of violet.

Hoh River

Bunchberry and strawberry bramble

Slug

Trillium

Squirrel

One of the “ups”.

Star flower

Hoh River

Mineral Creek

Scouler’s corydalis along Mineral Creek.

Mineral Creek Falls

Unnamed creek a short distance beyond Mineral Creek.

Waterfall on the unnamed creek.

Sign for the spur trail to Mount Tom Creek Camp.

Wren

Vanilla leaf

Water droplet on a vanilla leaf.

More violets

Salmonberry along the trail.

Big leaf maple canopy.

There were a few obstacles such as this closer to 5 Mile Island.

Cougar Creek crossing.

Marker at the spur trail for 5 Mile Island Camp.

Hoh River at 5 Mile Island Camp.

View upriver from the same spot.

Privy at 5 Mile Island Camp.

Crow

Cat Peak, Mount Carrie, and Ruth Peak partly under clouds.

Cat Peak

After a nice long break at 5 Mile Island Camp we headed back to the trailhead. We’d had the trails pretty much to ourselves until the return trip when we started encountering an increasing number of folks on the trail.

We saw a lot of robins, on this hike and the over the next four days.

Slug

Candy flower

Almost back to the trailhead.

This was the longest hike of our week coming in at 13 miles and 400′ of elevation gain.

It was a beautiful hike, and we can only imagine what the remaining miles of trail might be like. It was obvious why this is such a popular area in the park, and we were glad we’d arrived early enough to enjoy some solitude. It was a great introduction to Olympic National Park. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Hoh Rain Forest

Tags 5 Mile Island, Hall of Mosses, hiking, Hoh Rain Forest, Hoh River, Hoh River Trail, Mineral Creek, Mineral Falls, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Spruce Nature Trail, Washington

Coastal Range Hiking Trip report

Beaver Falls and Gnat Creek – 05/11/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 18, 2025
1 Comment on Beaver Falls and Gnat Creek – 05/11/2025

Having finished the last of our long-term hiking goals in 2024 (post) we headed for Olympic National Park for our first goal free vacation since 2015. This would be our first visit to this park, and we chose a few hikes in the area of Forks, WA. Forks is a little over 5 hours from Salem which is similar to several areas we’ve traveled to in Eastern Oregon. For these types of long drives we try to find a hike along the way to stretch our legs. Beaver Falls and the Gnat Creek Trail had been on our radar since picking up Matt Reeder’s “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition) and were located along a slightly longer but more scenic route to Olympic National Park. Detouring to these two stops would add about an hour to our drive by taking us through Astoria, OR (post) versus more time on Interstate 5.

We drove north on I-5 into Washington then turned off in Kelso to renter Oregon on the Lewis and Clark Bridge. We then headed west on Highway 30 to Beaver Falls Road then proceeded to the Beaver Falls Trailhead. When we neared the pullout that acts as a trailhead there was a camper van at the west end and a large white “Trail Closed” sign on a tree in the center of the pullout. The camper van appeared to have been there for an extended period, and we hadn’t anticipated the sign, so we drove past a short distance and pulled over to consider our options. We decided to drive back up past the trailhead pullout to a different pullout just a little further up the road to see if we could at least see the falls from above. Coming from the east we spotted another sign at the eastern end of the pullout where the actual trail is located that did not say this trail was closed, just that it is not maintained and you use at your own risk.

It appeared that the “Trail Closed” sign was above a second scramble path located near the center of the pullout and not referring to the unmaintained user trail to the falls. That was our interpretation of the situation anyway, so we headed down the short trail to visit the waterfall.
There were a couple of downed trees and at least one spot where part of the tread had given way on the hillside. A bigger issue was the broken glass and other garbage left by mouth breathers that was littered about.

It was just over a third of a mile to the falls.

Beaver Creek below the falls.

Trail snail

Fringecup

Starflower

This was a nice waterfall, and unfortunately also clearly a popular part spot. At 7am in May we had it all to ourselves, save for an ouzel that was flying back and forth across the splash pool.

After climbing back up to the car we continued west, rejoining Highway 30, and then parking at the Gnat Creek Trailhead just a tenth of a mile off the highway.

Located in the Clatsop State Forest the Gnat Creek Trail is broken up into two sections. The lower, where we were starting, begins near the Gnat Creek Campground and follows Gnat Creek to a crossing of Highway 30 then continues a short distance to the Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery, another possible trailhead. The trail continues from the fish hatchery for approximately 2-miles to a short loop with a couple of benches near Bigfoot Creek.

The lower section makes an initial climb then gradually rises on the way to the highway crossing. The forest was pretty but there was some noise from the nearby highway.

Fairy lanterns

Scouler’s corydalis

Bleeding heart

False lily of the valley

Highway 30 crossing.

Sign along the section of trail between the highway and the fish hatchery.

Trail pointer on the shelter at the fish hatchery.

The upper section of trail climbed more significantly and there were several confusing intersections just beyond the hatchery that were part of interpretive trails separate from the Gnat Creek Trail.

Youth-on-age

Numbering on a tree for the interpretive trails.

We were able to locate a sign for the Upper Gnat Creek Trail along the closed road coming up from the hatchery.

Bigfoot off the Gnat Creek Trail.

Trillium

Huckleberry blossoms and a downed tree along the Gnat Creek Trail.

Scouler’s corydalis along the trail.

The start of the short loop.

One of two benches along the loop.

Gnat Creek from the bench.

We took a short break on the first bench then finished the loop and headed back to the fish hatchery.
The backside of the loop was a little overgrown.

Star-flowered Solomonseal

When we arrived back at the paved road we crossed it and followed the interpretive trails along Gnat Creek to the trailhead at the hatchery.

We mostly stayed right at junctions to keep along the creek.

Barrier Falls

Unnamed waterfall near the hatchery trailhead.

We passed through the hatchery to pick up the Gnat Creek Trail again and followed it back to our car.

Our hike here came in just under 8-miles while our stop at Beaver Falls was just 0.7-miles.

Our track for the Gnat Creek Trail.

These were a couple of enjoyable stops that were perfect for breaking up a long drive. They were also the perfect duration to keep us from arriving at our cabin near Forks before check-in at 4pm. We arrived just after 4pm got unpacked then went out for some food and got to experience some Forks rain (the average rainfall in Forks is 120 inches). Fortunately for us the forecast was for drier conditions over the next few days before turning wet again for our final day on Friday. Rain or shine we were looking forward to exploring another National Park. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Beaver Falls and Gnat Creek

Tags Barrier Falls, Beaver Creek, Beaver Falls, Clatsop State Forest, Gnat Creek Campground, Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery, Gnat Creek Trail, hiking, Oregon

Coastal Range Eugene Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day 7: Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (and bonus waterfalls) 05/03/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 5, 2025
4 Comments on Wildlife Week – Day 7: Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (and bonus waterfalls) 05/03/2025

The final outing of Wildlife Week fell on Saturday, so Heather was able to join me. I’d picked the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area west of Eugene, OR for this final outing, in part because it gave us an excuse to check out a pair of waterfalls SW of Eugene between Reedsport and Drain.

The forecast called a chance of showers through early afternoon, and we drove through several along Interstate 5 before exiting the freeway on Highway 38 south of Cottage Grove. As we headed west on Hwy 38 the showers eased and we even had some blue sky by the time we parked at the gated entrance to Loon Lake Recreation Site.

With the campground still closed for the season we parked at a pullout next to a bridge over Mill Creek and then hiked past the gate to the day use area.
Mill Creek from the bridge.

Stellar’s jay

Chipmunk

Loon Lake

The lake was formed by a landslide. The boulders in the Mill Creek picture above were part of that landslide.

At the end of the day use area we picked up a paved path that led into the forest.

Trillium

We veered right at a hiker symbol onto a short path (about a quarter mile) that led into the Elliott State Research Forest and ended at Loon Lake Falls.
This was our first hike in the Elliott State Forest and possibly only hike given the forest webpage states under “There are no established trails, restrooms, or trash receptacles.”

Fairy lanterns

Given that the unnamed stream that feeds the waterfall appears to start just a bit further uphill I suspect it doesn’t often have much of a flow, but it was a decent waterfall in a lovely setting.

After admiring the waterfall we hiked back to the car. This stop was just 1.5-miles with 200′ of elevation gain.

Quite a bit of the distance was walking from the road to the day use area.

The next waterfall we visited was Camp Creek Falls. This waterfall is on private timberland just off of a BLM road. The timberland company’s public access map available online currently shows the area as open to the public but that could change at any time. Because of this I am not going to go into detail for the location but there is information online from other sources. If you do plan on trying to visit the waterfall, I highly suggest looking up the current land ownership through the Douglas County Assessor (Douglas County GIS| County Map) and then looking up the current owner online to find out about public access.
A very short path led down to the waterfall.

Camp Creek Falls. The rock here is sandstone which creates the 31′ stairstep cascade.

Snail

This was a very pretty waterfall. There were however a few beer cans and bottles around and a fire pit along the creek which were disappointing. We’ll never understand why someone would take the time to visit such a beautiful location and mar it.

With the waterfall visits checked off we headed back to Highway 38 then made our way north to the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area.
Before reaching Highway 38 I had to pull over to get a couple of photos of an elk herd.

We started our hikes at Fern Ridge WLA by parking along Cantrell Road at a pullout for the West Coyote Unit.

The wildlife area maps showed loops on both sides of Coyote Creek. We set off on a trail leading off from the pullout which followed an old roadbed.

Camas

Not sure why this was lying on the side of the trail away from the trailhead, but it provides information on the seasonal allowed usage of the units.

The trail led to a grassy track along Coyote Creek.

Geese

The maps showed the trail then looping back closer to the creek and returning to Cantrell Road at the Coyote Creek Canoe Access. There was a bench right next to the creek near the mowed track but we didn’t see any sign of a trail here, so we continued another 0.2-miles on the grassy tack before deciding we’d for sure missed the return trail, if it even still existed.
Roses

Channel along the dikes.

We turned around and returned to the bench where, coming from this direction, we could make out a faint trail leading into the woods.

This trail was muddy with vegetation encroaching on it, including an alarming amount of poison oak.

Rough-skinned newt

Slug

Snail

Made it out.

Dodging poison oak isn’t either of our favorite pastimes so we were hesitant about the trail in the Coyote East Unit. Nevertheless we crossed Coyote Creek on Cantrell Road where large signboards announced the Nature Trail. (FYI there are no parking pullouts on this side of the creek.

We walked up the trail a short distance to the start of the loop where Heather said thanks but no thanks and headed back to the car.

I opted to give it a try and set off to the right on the more obvious trail. There was a bit of poison oak but on this trail it wasn’t encroaching as much as it had in the Coyote West Unit.

Western meadowrue

Bench along Coyote Creek

The Nature Tail also emerged onto a mowed track where I messed up the route.

If I had consulted the map I would have realized the trail continued left on the grass for a short distance before returning to the woods and looping back around to mowed tracks. The trail then sticks to the grass as it heads south before turning back to the west. I turned right mistakenly thinking I was further along the route and having not paid attention to the mix of grass tracks and woods.
I should have gone this direction. The presence of the bench should have tipped me off.

I kept my eyes out for a trail on my right and after 0.2-miles I spotted a possibility.
Overgrown but in the right spot.

I was now paying closer attention to the map compared to the GPS and realized my mistake of turning right, but I could also see that this overgrown path must be the continuation of the loop. It was muddy and overgrown but in just 370′ I was back at the start of the loop.

After completing my “modified” loop I road walked back to Heather and the car. This hike wound up being two miles with no elevation gain.
The orange section is where I turned right instead of left as I should have. I estimate that going the correct way would have added approximately 0.75-miles. I don’t know what type of condition the other section of trail through the woods is in.

These were an odd couple of trails, possibly more useful for hunters during hunting seasons. We had one more stop at planned at Fern Ridge WLA at the https://myodfw.com/sites/default/files/2019-02/Fisher%20Butte.pdf. We parked at the large trailhead off Highway 126 and set off past a large signboard.

We’d spent time in this unit in November 2021 when we started from a different trailhead along Royal Avenue (post). The “trails” here are a series of dikes through the wetlands creating multiple route opportunities. We wound up with a 4.3-mile hike consisting of two loops.

Road to Fisher Butte,

We spotted quite a few different species of birds and heard a lot of bull frogs. There were also some impressive camas fields in some of the wetlands.
Camas

Bird viewing platfrom.

Red-winged blackbird

Bullfrog. They were everywhere and continuously startled us when they would make a loud “alarm” sound before jumping into the water.

We turned left at the platform onto this dike.

Sparrow

Blue-winged teals. This was the first time seeing this species during Wildlife Week. We had seen a couple of these ducks back in 2021 at Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon (post).

Another big field of camas.

Fisher Butte at the end of another dike.

Geese in formation.

Checkerbloom

Blue sky, a far cry from the low clouds and showers we’d driven through in the Eugene area earlier in the morning.

Geese and cinnamon teals.

I needed a more powerful camera to make out the various ducks and other birds we were seeing in the distance.

There were a number of great blue herons hunting in the wetlands.

Another viewing platfrom.

Looking toward the Royal Avenue Unit.

Pelicans. Another species that I hadn’t seen at any other wildlife area this week.

Purple martin

One of at least a half dozen American bitterns that we saw in flight. We were unable to spot any before or after they were in flight.

Swallows in flight

There was a lot happening in this part of the unit.

White pelicans and a mute swan (non-native)

Geese

Another first this week – greater white fronted geese. It’s a blurry photo but it was the best I could do given their distance.

Goose passing the swan.

Same goose passing a pelican.

Northern shoveler

Hawk

Another large group of various ducks and other birds.

Bald eagles

Two types of camas

Heading back to the trailhead along the side of Fisher Butte.

Flax

The final stretch of Wildlife Week.

The showers never materialized, and the wildlife was abundant making this a great end to Wildlife Week. Over the seven days I visited five national wildlife refuges, two state wildlife areas, and two wetlands covering nearly 60-miles of hiking. I got to see a great variety of wildlife and know I missed so much more. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fern Ridge WLA plus waterfalls

Tags Coyote Creek, Coyote East Unit, Coyote West Unit, Fern Ridge Wildlife Area, Fisher Butte Unit, hiking, Loon Lake, Loon Lake Falls, Loon Lake Recreation Site, Nature Trail, Oregon, pelicans. blue-winged teal