wanderingyuncks

Up and Over Neahkahnie Mountain – 04/05/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 7, 2025
2 Comments on Up and Over Neahkahnie Mountain – 04/05/2025

We had visited Neahkahnie Mountain in January 2014 (post) and had wanted to come back in Spring to hopefully see some wildflowers. The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) crosses over Neahkahnie Mountain passing below a rocky viewpoint. In 2014 we had come from the north so this time the plan was to start from the south using a newer section of the OCT beginning in Manzanita, OR. Heather had other plans, so I was on my own for this outing, and decided that I would go up and over Neahkahnie Mountain and visit the Devil’s Cauldron before climbing back over to Manzanita.

The trailhead for the OCT is just a pullout on the shoulder of Neahlem Road.
I had arrived just after 6:30am so it was still a little dark as I set off.

It was early enough that I didn’t have to worry much about traffic when I crossed Highway 101 from Nehalem Road to the signed Oregon Coast Trail.

This 2.1-mile section of the OCT was constructed in 2020 and passes through the Neahkahnie Headwaters Preserve managed by the Lower Nehalem Community Trust.
Please respect private landowners wishes when recreating to ensure that public access continues to be allowed.

The trail began with a couple of ups and downs as it followed a powerline corridor.
Looking back at the sunrise.

The trial eventually left the powerlines and passed through a few stands of trees before arriving at a clearcut. The trail continued climbing through the clearcut and then reentered the forest. Approximately two miles from the trailhead I arrived at a signboard along Road 38555 where I turned left, hiking downhill past a gate to the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead.

Entering the clearcut.

Bleeding heart

The OCT is well marked.

Woodpecker

Back in the forest.

Interpretive signs in the preserve.

Bench at a viewpoint.

Nehalem Bay (post) from the bench.

Salmonberry blossom

Leaving the preserve.

Violets and pink fawn lilies. These were the first pink fawn lilies I had seen, it seems that we hadn’t timed our coastal hikes right to catch their bloom in the past.

The trailhead was empty at 7:20am.

Trail signs identified the continuation of the OCT which began a series of approximately a dozen switchbacks through the forest.

Trillium

Fringecup

Toothwort

The switchbacks led to a 4-way junction with an old roadbed where the OCT continued on the opposite side.

For the next half mile the trail traversed along the hillside below the summit ridge of Neahkahnie Mountain.

I made use of this bench on the way back to take a break and do some stretching.

View to the north.

Tillamook Head (post) and Haystack Rock (post)

After the half mile the trail made a switchback. The trail here was a little sketchy.

It was obvious that there had been some work done to try and shore up this section of trail.

The trail continued to a saddle where a spur to the right led up a rocky spine to the viewpoint summit.

The view south from the viewpoint.

Cape Meares (post), Three Arch Rocks, and Cape Lookout (post).

Cascade desert parsley near the summit.

After taking in the view I returned to the OCT and continued north.

Looking up at the viewpoint from the OCT.

It was a little over 2-miles down to the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead. A September 2020 windstorm had resulted in heavy blowdown to sections of this trail. The trail was closed until 2022 when crews were able to clear it.
Trillium

This was the only obstacle that required any sort of maneuvering.

There are some great trees along the upper section of the trail.

Violets

Recent trail work.

Anemones and violets.

Entering the storm damaged area.

Angora Peak (post) through the trees.

Getting creative with the trail route.

Out of the storm damage.

Skunk cabbage

Cape Falcon from the trail.

Pink fawn lilies

Arriving at Highway 101 near the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead.

I dashed across the highway to the trailhead and immediately spotted a few elk in the meadow below the highway.

From the trailhead I picked up the Elk Flats Trail and followed it a tenth of a mile to the Devil’s Cauldron Overlook Trail.

Another tenth of a mile brought me to the overlook.

After admiring Devil’s Cauldron I headed back. The climb back up to the saddle below the viewpoint was approximately 1400′, and after having climbed over 1600′ from Manzanita, and I felt the burn.

Snow queen

He may have been moving faster than I was.

There is nothing better than hearing wrens sing in the forest.

More creative trail in the storm damaged area.

Wood sorrel

The view if you don’t scramble up the spine.

Up to the point that I started back down from the saddle I’d passed 11 people on the trail, all of which were after having spent time at the viewpoint. On the way down I passed at least 30 people between the saddle and the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead which was now packed with cars.

Trillium with a touch of pink.

Arriving at the packed trailhead.

Continuing on from the busy trailhead I only passed two more people before arriving back Nehalem Road and my lonely car.
Leaving the crowds behind.

Big patch of pink fawn lilies.

Highway 101 from the powerline corridor.

Margined white

One of the more impressive trees in the preserve.

Nearing the Highway 101 crossing. I arrived just as a long line of traffic was passing by but was able to safely cross shortly afterward.

This hike came in at 11.6 miles and roughly 3000′ of elevation gain.

This was a good hike with quite a few wildflowers, some wildlife, and some nice views. It was also a good training hike for some of the alpine hikes with significant elevation gain later in the season. The various trailheads offer plenty of options for those who might not want to hike as far or climb so much, but even the shortest route (South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead) gains 840′ in 1.5-miles to the viewpoint. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Neahkahnie Mountain from Manzanita

Tags devils cauldron, elk, Elk Flats Trail, hiking, Lower Nehalem Community Trust, Manzanita, Neahkahnie Headwaters Preserve, Neahkahnie mountain, Neahkahnie Mountain Trail, Nehalem Bay, Nehalem Road Trailhead, North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead, Oregon, oregon coast trail, Oswald West State Park, South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead

Columbia Gorge North Hiking Trip report Washington

Catherine Creek – Coyote Wall Loop – 03/29/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date March 31, 2025
1 Comment on Catherine Creek – Coyote Wall Loop – 03/29/2025

** Note the 2025 Burdoin Fire burned over much of the route described here. **

A combination of inclement weather and illnesses had kept us off the trails for a few weeks, so we were excited to get a chance to head out and check out some wildflowers. We decided to revisit a pair of hikes that we’d done back in 2016 as part of our 500 featured hikes quest. On our 2016 outing we made separate stops at Catherine Creek and Coyote Wall but this time our plan was to hike a loop between the two areas.

We based our route on a loop described in the Oregonhikers.org field guide which begins at the Catherine Creek Trailhead.

The Forest Service along with the Washington Trails Association have been working on restoring these areas including by improving, rerouting and decommissioning various user created trails. It is a work in process so knowing the current conditions and respecting any closed trails/areas is important before visiting.

For our loop today we began by following Atwood Road (right of the signboard).
Atwood Road

The first 3.5 miles of our loop followed this old roadbed. The initial 1.5 miles climbed steadily before the road turned west to traverse the hillside toward Coyote Wall. There were a variety of wildflowers blooming along the lower portion of the road.
Death camas

Saxifrage and a yellow bells.

Grass widows

Gold stars, wood-land stars, and blue-eyed Mary.

Catherine Creek from Atwood Road.

Pungent desert parsley

Catherine Creek Arch from Atwood Road.

Closer look at the arch.

Buttercup

One of the highlights of the day was spotting a number of Dutchman’s breeches on a hillside below some cliffs.
I believe this was just our second time coming across these flowers.

Closer look at the Dutchman’s breeches.

The Columbia River from Atwood Road.

Hairy bittercress (non-native)

Entering the sunlight.

Glacier lilies

wood-land stars

Toothwort

Nearing the forest.

Columbia desert parsley

Shortly before Atwood Road turned we passed a roadbed on the right that led to an old stove.

Heading through the forest.

The road exited the forest not long after turning west and passed through an open hillside with views of Mt. Hood.
Looking east as the road emerged from the forest.

Grassy hillside

This signed trail heading down Sunflower hill is the Bitterwood Trail aka Ca2. This is not yet an official trail, and the Forest Service plans to reroute and build out an official trail in 2025. (Assuming they have employees and funding.)

Mt. Hood behind a few clouds.

Mt. Hood

Popcorn flower

The trail descending into another stand of trees to cross Rowland Creek and continued to alternate between open hillsides and stands of trees before arriving at a signed junction.

Rowland Creek

Another user trail on the left, referred to as the Shoestring Trail by the Oregonhikers Field Guide. This trail is not shown on the Forest Service map nor is it mentioned on their website.

Coastal manroot

Grass widows

View of Mt. Hood’s summit.

Robin hunting worms.

Daffodils

The Upper Labyrinth Trail (aka Co8) joining from below. This was the first junction with signs naming official trails.

We had come up the Upper Labyrinth Trail in 2016 making the next three quarters of a mile a repeat.

Labyrinth Creek below Atwood Road.

The Labyrinth Creek crossing.

Wet trail climbing away from Labyrinth Creek.

Red-tailed hawk

A half mile from the Upper Labyrinth Trail junction, and 3.5-miles along Atwood Road, we arrived at another signed junction at a boundary with some private land.

Here Atwood Road enters the private property, so we followed the pointer for the Old Ranch Trail #4426. We followed this trail downhill 0.3-miles to a signed junction with trail #4427 – Traverse to Coyote Wall where we turned right.

Yellow bells

This was once again new trail for us and we followed it uphill just over three quarters of a mile to a confusing signed junction near the rim of Coyote Wall.

We stayed left here.

We ignored the singletrack leading right on the far side of this unnamed stream.

Here we veered right on the single track. I believe the single track is the “official trail” although both paths led to the signed junction.

A multitude of tracks near the junction.

It appears that the ultimate plan is to have one official route for the Coyote Wall Trail #4428 (aka Co1) and to decommission all others. At this point there was only one small sign identifying a closed trail and it was a path along the rim of Coyote Wall that was covered in a type of netting. We turned uphill at the junction to visit the meadow at the junction but were unsure which path to take. The field guide map has not been updated to identify the new official route and showed a narrow-elongated loop. There was no consistency watching other trail users, so we picked a hiker and followed his route up.

We eventually came to the conclusion that the new official trail was the one that used a series of switchbacks to reach the upper viewpoint.
On one of the switchbacks.

Turkey vulture

The upper viewpoint.

After a short break at the viewpoint we headed back down to the signed junction where we continued down the Coyote Wall Trail.

Balsamroot

Looking east over the Columbia River.

Gold stars

A mile beyond the junction the Old Ranch Road Trail joined from the left at a three way junction.

Here we stayed right on the Little Moab Trail (Co3) and continued downhill along Coyote Wall.

Coyote Wall

The Coyote Wall Trailhead.

Woolly-pod milk-vetch

Miniture lupine, redstem storksbill and a popcorn flower.

Fiddleneck

Poet’s shooting star

We turned right at this junction with the Old Ranch Trail to continue downhill.

Naked broomrape and redstem storksbill

We took another right at this junction with the Little Maui Trail to drop down even further to an old highway.

Tomcat clover and redstem storksbill

The old highway below.

We turned left (east) on the highway and followed it for 0.3-miles to the Labyrinth Trail #4423 (Co7) where we turned left.

The Labyrinth Trail wound through rocky outcrops for 1.2-miles to an unsigned junction with the Upper Labyrinth Trail on an open hillside.
We ignored the Little Maui Connector Trail on the left near the old highway.

Larkspur

The trail to the right here is a spur to Labyrinth Falls.

Labyrinth Falls

Crossing for Labyrinth Creek.

Labyrinth Trail

First view of the Catherine Creek Trailhead on the plateau ahead.

At the junction we stayed right on the Labyrinth Trail. We were happy to not be climbing for a bit as the Labyrinth Trail traversed the hillside before dropping to an ancient rockslide where Native Americans built vision quest pits.

Hound’s tongue

Rowland Creek

Rowland Basin

Lupine and balsamroot

We’d done a pretty good job staying on course given the numerous trail junctions, a good number of which were unsigned, but that ended when we reached another unsigned junction with a rough trail on the left marked by a small rock cairn.

We should have turned left here but got confused reading the field guide entry and wound up staying straight. Apparently straight is the Raptor Trail (Ca1). We didn’t realize our mistake until we spotted the highway below.

At that point I turned around to go back to the junction. Heather was just behind me on her way down and when I informed her of the mistake she decided not to climb back up to the junction but to simply walk the highway a little over a third of a mile to the trailhead. (Apparently the Raptor Trail is closed seasonally from Feb 1 – July 15th, but we didn’t see any signs to that effect.)

I returned to the cairn and turned right up the rough path which led to basalt cliffs and up a scree slope to another unsigned junction after just 0.2-miles.

The Rowland Pinnacle

I turned right at the junction and followed this trail just over half a mile back to the trailhead where Heather was waiting. (Eventually the Bitterroot Trail (Ca2) will replace this user created trail.)

One of several small vernal pools.

The GPS put this hike at 11.9 miles consisting of a little over 2900′ of elevation gain.

There was more climbing than we’d anticipated between Coyote Wall and the Upper Labyrinth Trail junction, but we should have expected it since we’d hike that section before. There was an extra 0.6-miles in that total from the Raptor Trail mistake (which also added 280′ of the elevation gain). It was a great hike though with a lot of variety both in flowers and scenery. Hopefully the Forest Service will be able to finish their projects at these areas and add signage to the official trail junctions to help keep people on the correct trails. These are busy areas (as can be seen from the trailhead photos) in later Winter/early Spring when the wildflowers are blooming. Starting early and doing the longer loop as we did helped to keep our hike from feeling overly busy, but if you can swing a weekday, it would be ideal. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Catherine Creek-Coyote Wall Loop

Tags Atwood Road, catherine creek, catherine creek arch, Catherine Creek Trailhead, coyote wall, hiking, labyrinth falls, Labyrinth Trail, Little Maui Trail, Little Moab Trail, Old Ranch Road Trail, Rowland Basin, Rowland Pinnacle, Upper Labyrinth Trail, Upper Viewpoint, Washington, wildflowers

Clackamas Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Clackamas County Parks – 03/08/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date March 10, 2025
No Comments on Clackamas County Parks – 03/08/2025

Following a really nice January, February didn’t provide us many opportunities for hiking in decent weather. So far the weather in March has been quite a bit better and we took advantage of it to visit three different parks managed by Clackamas County.

This outing was inspired by our failed visit to Eagle Fern Park on our last day out hiking (post). They fee kiosk was out of order that day and we weren’t carrying enough cash ($8) to pay for the required day-use permit, so we skipped the hike here and continued on to our second destination – Milo McIver State Park. We made sure to restock our emergency cash supply and moved the visit to Eagle Fern Park to our March hikes.

Because the hike Eagle Fern Park is under 4-miles we wanted to add another destination (or two) to increase our time on trail for the day. To make it a theme day we chose two additional Clackamas County parks with short trail systems, Barlow Wayside and Metzler County Park, as stops.

We decided to start with the park furthest from Salem and work our way back home which meant starting at Barlow Wayside Park located 11-miles east of Sandy, OR. We arrived at the trailhead to discover it is now a fee park. With it being a “limited-use” park the day-use fee is $4.00 here but the only option to pay is by phone which requires downloading an app and setting up an account prior to paying.
The small blue sign on the left provides the pay by phone information. This was one of two such signs in the parking area.

Fortunately we had enough cell service to download the app and pay the fee (the fine for not obtaining a permit is currently $80.00). After doing that we headed for the informational signboard to begin our hike. It was a chilly start to the morning with the temperature a crisp 34 degrees Fahrenheit

We began with a short out-and-back on the Little Joe Tie Trail which connects to the Sandy Ridge Trail System which offers 17-miles of mountain bike trails. This level trail paralleled Little Joe Creek and entered BLM managed land before arriving at a signed junction.

Little Joe Creek

The pointer to the right was for the Sandy and Salmon Rivers (.25 miles) while continuing another .18 miles would bring us to the Sandy Ridge Trail System.

The junction seemed like a good turnaround point and we headed back to the information kiosk where I ran to the car to grab an extra Buff for Heather before following pointers for the parks three loop trails.

We turned left onto the Little Joe Loop which just 600′ long but it does lead past a platform above Little Joe Creek.

At the end of the Little Joe Loop we turned left following a pointer for the self-guided nature tour.

Brochures were available here and online. Unfortunately, we are at that age where without reading glasses the brochures were of no use to us.

We crossed the creek on a footbridge then ignored a signed “Primitive Trail” on the right to reach the start of the Falls Loop Trail.

The Primitive Trail.

Start of the Falls Looop.

We turned right on the Falls Loop and climbed up a ridge to a switchback. We ignored another Primitive Trail sign on the right and followed the switchback to the left.

Primitive Trail number 2 with the Falls Loop continuing to the left.

The trail had now leveled out and passed through a nice forest before making a short descent to an unnamed creek crossing above a small “falls”.

This was a nice little cascade this time of year. Later in the Summer the flow reportedly drops down to a trickle.

Shortly after crossing the unnamed creek we arrived at a junction with the Northern Loop Trail where we turned right.
The self-guided nature tour follows the Northern Loop Trail here as well.

The Northern Loop climbed gradually toward a set of power lines where it turned and began looping back toward the Falls Loop.
Passing stop #6 on the self-guided tour (Forested Headwaters).

The powerline corridor below Sandy Ridge.

One of the creeks flowing from the forested headwaters.

Trees are truly amazing.

Back on the Falls Loop.

We turned right on the Falls Loop and followed it as it crossed several streams and eventually dropped down to the base of a larger cascade.

We completed the Northern Loop and then returned to the trailhead where we detoured across East Barlow Trail Road following a pointer for the Sandy River.

It was a just over a tenth of a mile to the river where we took a moment to watch the water rushing past on its way from Mt. Hood to the Columbia River and eventually the Pacific Ocean before returning to our car.

Our GPS recorded our hike here as 2.7-miles with a little under 200′ of elevation gain.

From Barlow Wayside we headed back toward Sandy on Highway 26 turning off at Firwood to make our way to the trailhead at Eagle Fern Park.

After paying the $8 day-use fee at the functioning kiosk we prepared to set off on our planned hike here. Similar to Barlow Wayside there are several loop options at this park and we were hoping to check out the bulk of them. We began by crossing Eagle Creek on a suspension bridge.

There are a few Eagle Creeks in Oregon, this is the Eagle Creek that originates in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness (post).

At a junction on the far side of the bridge we turned right on Loop C which is another interpretive trail.

At a junction we stayed right to begin Loop A.
Trail Keepers of Oregon restoration work sign. TKO does a lot of great work and with the current administration’s hostility toward public land groups such as theirs are needed more than ever.

Loop A made a good climb before leveling out a bit along the hillside above Eagle Creek.

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We ignored this connector trail on the left (Spur B on the park map) and continued along the hillside.

Snow queen

One of several switchbacks.

Rough-skinned newt and snow queen.

Closer look at the newt.

Blue sky

Traversing the hillside.

The trail below as we neared a switchback to begin descending.

Rock overhang along the trail.

Viewpoint near the end of the loop.

After returning to the trailhead we headed off in search of Loop D which begins off of Kitzmiller Road. This meant a short road walk from the trailhead to Kitzmiller Road where we turned right for 0.2-miles where there is a small parking area on left (west) side of the road. The trail was reportedly on the opposite side of the road and had at one time been signed. That sign was gone but a cyclist who had stopped at the pullout was aware of the trail and helped point us in the right direction. He was a little bewildered about us wanting to hike this trail, having tried to follow it himself some years back. At that time he said it climbed out a little way above the main park area and just petered out. The official park map showed a loop, Loop D, here and the Oregonhikers Field Guide described an additional lollipop loop off of Loop D. After confirming that this was indeed the trail we were looking for he wished us good luck and we set off on the unmarked path.
The start of Loop D from Kitzmiller Road.

The trail quickly split and we went right.
The remains of former signs can be seen at the split ahead.

This trail obviously doesn’t see much use but was in decent shape with one large tree requiring a duck under and another smaller tree down across a switchback that meant we had to climb over it twice.

The trail made a steady climb to the junction with the supposed Lollipop Loop.

The lower portion of the tree across the switchback.

There was no sign at the start of the Lollipop Loop but the tread at the split was obvious.
Left is the continuation of Loop D. We stayed right to attempt the Lollipop Loop.

The Oregonhikers Field Guide described the lollipop as a rougher trail and that was accurate. It was still easy enough to follow. After about a quarter of a mile we found ourselves dropping to a footbridge over a small stream.
There were some cut trees along the trail mixed with more recent blowdown but nothing was particularly difficult to navigate.

Wren

There was a lot of snow queen.

The footbridge with a large tree across it.

There was a large tree down across the near side of the footbridge. The bridge appeared to have held up well with just one visibly broken plank. Heather decided she’d seen enough though so she stopped here and we agreed to meet back a what we thought might be the other end of the loop that we’d passed near the top of the hill. I continued on and quickly found myself navigating multiple downed trees and other obstacles.
Look back along the bridge.

The older blowdown had all be cut.

I finally lost the trail in a muddy bog not far from Eagle Fern Road. At some point the loop should have turned uphill to the left and after a series of switchbacks returned me to the trail not far from the footbridge. I had seen no sign of any trail to the left between the bridge and where I turned around.
I made it through this muddy mess but couldn’t find any sign of tread on the opposite side.

I back tracked to the bridge looking for any sign of the loop. I still didn’t see any tread, flagging or cut logs that would have indicated the presence of a trail. I recrossed the bridge and rejoined Heather and then we returned to Loop D. We turned right onto Loop D and followed it back down to Kitzmiller Road.

We detoured across Kitzmiller Road to the pullout and followed a short path down to the bank of East Eagle Creek.

My hike here came in at 3.9-miles with a little under 400′ of elevation gain.

After visiting East Eagle Creek, we returned to our car and made our way to the trailhead at Metzler County Park.

This was by far the busiest park and another requiring the $8 day-use permit (annual permits are also available). I was unsure if the day-use permit we purchased at Eagle Fern Park could also be used here or if a separate permit was required. (The Clackamas County website was no help and they were closed Friday so I couldn’t ask ahead of time.) There was one sign that I took as indicating the day-use permit was good for that day at any of the fee parks, so we did not purchase a third permit.

From the parking area we walked down the paved entrance road toward Clear Creek. At a memorial stone for Alice Metzler we followed a “Swimming Hole” sign passed a picnic shelter to a suspension bridge.

Clear Creek

On the far side of the bridge we stayed left at a junction and followed Swagger Creek gradually uphill.

Swagger Creek

The trail soon veered away from the creek and descended through a mixed forest to an unsigned junction where we stayed and eventually arrived at a second unsigned junction.

Song sparrow (according to Merlin)

The second unsigned junction.

The section junction was part of the Northern Loop where we once again stayed left traversing the hillside above Clear Creek before arriving at a clear cut at the park boundary.

The trail descended beside the clear cut then turned back along Clear Creek to complete the loop.

We turned left and hiked back to the first junction where we again stayed left and returned to the suspension bridge to complete another loop.

Swagger Creek (right) joining Clear Creek at the suspension bridge.

We recrossed Clear Creek and hiked back to the entrance road where we turned left. We followed the road into and through the closed campground to its end and the start of the Nature Trail.

The Nature Trail wasn’t signed other than some “No Motor Vehicles” signs.

This interpretive trail follows an old roadbed behind the campground and through part of the disc golf course to the baseball field where it abruptly ends.

One of the numbered interpretive markers (brochures available on the park website).

The old roadbed.

At the baseball field we had a choice to turn right or stay left, either way we had to pass through more of the disc golf course. There were disc golfers coming up from the right so we stayed left and hiked around the field to the park entrance road and then followed it back to our car. This wound up being our shortest hike of the day at 2.6-miles and less than 350′ of elevation gain, but we missed a small section of the Nature Trail that veered off from the far side of the suspension bridge. That section of the trail follows a pointer for the “Swimming Hole” and thinking it was just a spur to a swimming hole we’d skipped it when we first crossed the bridge.

All together the three stops provided a little over 9-miles of hiking with approximately 875′ of elevation gain.
Relative locations of the three stops plus Milo McIver from our previous outing.

These would be good hikes with kids given each park has interpretive trails and loop options of varying lengths. They also make for a nice destination for a quick stop, although the day-use fee might give non annual fee permit holders pause. Each park is nevertheless worth visiting at least once. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Clackamas County Parks

Tags Barlow Wayside Park, Clackamas County Parks, Clear Creek, Eagle Creek, Eagle Fern Park, hiking, Little Joe Creek, Metzler County Park, Oregon, Sandy Ridge Trail System, sandy river, Swagger Creek

Clackamas Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Milo McIver State Park – 02/22/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 24, 2025
1 Comment on Milo McIver State Park – 02/22/2025

After getting a couple of extra hikes in during January, Winter finally arrived in February. We were down to our final chance to take our monthly offseason hike so regardless of the weather we planned on heading somewhere. I had a few options ready depending on the forecast which wound up being for a relatively dry morning followed by rain. We originally decided on a pair of hikes near Estacada, Eagle Fern Park and the Riverbend Loop at Milo McIver State Park.

We planned on starting our morning at Eagle Fern Park, but unfortunately the debit/credit card fee station there was out of order, and we weren’t carrying cash, making it impossible to pay the $8 day use fee charged by Clackamas County. (The county doesn’t have a way to pay online, that I could find.) After striking out at Eagle Fern Park we headed to Milo McIver where a State Park Pass is required. Day use passes went from $5 to $10 beginning in 2025 so for the first time we purchased an annual pass (online) which is only $30, or three visits to fee parks.

We parked in the McIver Memorial Viewpoint parking area and began our hike by following a paved path down to the viewpoint.

Gazebo near the parking lot.

McIver Memorial Viewpoint

On a clearer day there would be a view of the mountains here, but we had to settle for the mountain identifier to let us know what we were missing.

Clackamas River from the viewpoint.

We had visited this park in June 2020 and done a 6.5-mile loop around the southern half of the park (post). For this visit the plan was a lollipop around the northern portion. From the viewpoint we walked back toward the parking area and turned right (north) on a gravel path leading to a signboard.
The small trail sign on the left is labeled “Viewpoint Trail”.

Map on the signboard. Oddly the Viewpoint Trail is not shown on this map even though the trail continues past the signboard.

We continued past the signboard on the Viewpoint Trail which descended the hillside above the Vortex Meadow before reaching a junction with the Vortex Loop near the edge of the meadow.

The Vortex Meadow through the trees.

At an unsigned 4-way junction with the Vortex Loop we turned right and headed further into the meadow.

Former model airplane landing strip in the meadow.

The lack of signage combined with some trails not being shown on the maps we had, created some issues as we neared the SE end of the meadow. We came to a group of picnic tables where a trail headed left toward them. It appears, based on our final GPS track compared to the route shown in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide and the park map, that this was the continuation of the Vortex Loop. We assumed it was simply a trail to the tables and continued straight through the meadow to a “T” junction at its edge.

We turned left on this trail, which again had no signage, and followed it staying right at junctions until we arrived at a 4-way junction with signs.

There were some limited views of the Clackamas River from this trail.

While we were happy to see trail signs again it was a little confusing to see the Riverbend Trail pointer here. Here again the maps that we had did not show this junction. They did show a 4-way junction between the Riverbend Trail and Vortex Loop but only after crossing a road which we had not done.

We decided to follow the pointer for the Riverbend Trail to the right since that was the trail we were eventually to be on. A short distance later we came to another signed junction, but this one made no mention of the Riverbend Trail.

This junction really threw us off. We initially turned left following the pointer for the Vortex Trail but quickly talked ourselves out of it when it appeared to be heading away from the river. In hindsight this was the correct choice to follow the Oregon Hikers Route, but I failed to catch that in the hike description. We were still a little confused as to exactly where we were on the route as well due to having come to more junctions than we’d expected already. We backtracked to the junction and headed down into the Kingfisher Group Camp and picked up the continuation of a trail on the far side of the grassy area.

Viewpoint near the group camp.

This trail led us to a junction with the Riverbend Trail at the Riverbend disc golf course.

Had we not backtracked through the group camp we would have connected with the Riverbend Trail after crossing a road then turned right on the Riverbend Trail, recrossed the road, and arrived at this junction on that trail which was now on our left.

We turned right on the Riverbend Trail and were now back on track with the route we had intended to be on. The Riverbend Trail passed between the river on the right and the Riverbend Day Use Area.

Stellar’s jay

We stumbled on a one-leg standing competition that the local geese were engaged in.

The mallards seemed unimpressed with the geese’s balancing abilities.

Common mergansers

The Riverbend Trail brought us to a parking area near a boat ramp where we once again got a little confused.

We should have turned left here following the pointer but instead we continued past the boat ramp and picked up a trail on the far side of the parking area.

This trail was not the Riverbend Trail but rather was part of the disc golf course providing access to holes 5, 6, & 7, and it ended at the riverbank.

Common merganser drake

After consulting our maps once again we realized our mistake and that we should have turned left when we’d arrived at boat ramp.
We found this nice little bridge wandering around the disc golf course attempting to connect with the Maple Ridge Trail.

Stream below the little footbridge.

When it became clear that it wasn’t possible to reach the Maple Ridge Trail from this part of the disc golf course we made our way back to the boat ramp and walked up the paved road to a trail marker on the right.

We crossed a patch of grass to another set of trail signs where we found a pointer for the Maple Ridge Trail.

We were back on track again and followed the Maple Ridge Trail uphill half a mile to Wood Duck Pond.

The Cedar Knoll Trail connects the upper and lower segments of the Maple Ridge Trail. We stayed right on the Maple Ridge Trail.

Colorful fungi

Wood ducks on Wood Duck Pond. It’s pretty rare that the animal a feature is named after is actually present.

At the pond the Maple Ridge Trail made a 180 degree turn and headed SE while continuing its gradual climb. A short distance from Wood Duck Pond was a signed spur trail to the 2008 Landslide Viewpoint.

We detoured the 150′ to the viewpoint.

While the cliffs were dramatic this short detour also resulted in us spotting a large newt/salamander and a great blue heron.
Not sure if this is just the biggest rough-skinned newt we’ve ever seen or a different type of salamander.

Great blue heron by a small pond. It was probably hunting the frogs that were croaking loudly here.

We returned to the Maple Ridge Trail and followed it to a junction with the Riverbend Loop Trail. This stretch of trail climbed a little more before leveling out somewhat and eventually dropping back down to the junction.
The sign ahead is for the Cedar Knoll Trail joining from the left.

Dropping down to the Riverbend Loop Trail junction.

The Maple Ridge Trail makes another nearly 180 degree turn here and drops down to the parking area a short distance from its other end.

We stayed right here again at a junction with a trail leading to the Maple Ridge Picnic Shelter.

I believe these are sweet coltsfoot starts.

There was a bench next to this nice little creek.

Nearing the Riverbend Day Use Area entrance road.

When the Riverbend Trail arrived at the entrance road it turned uphill.

After a short climb we arrived at a junction where we turned right leaving the Riverbend Trail.

A very short distance later we came to a junction with the Vortex Loop where we also turned right.

Had we not gotten confused and gone through the group camp earlier we would have come to both of these junctions before. In any event we followed the Vortex Loop uphill, steeply at times, to a crossing of the paved road across from the Vortex Meadow.

Song sparrow

At the junction in the meadow we turned right onto the unsigned Viewpoint Trail and followed it back uphill to our car.

It’s hard to make out but there is a coyote in this photo.

I have no idea what’s going on with this photo of the coyote as it was trotting away from us. Shortly after this it popped out from behind some brush and jumped into the air to pounce on something. That was the last we saw of it.

Squirrel

Left to right: Silver Star Mountain, Little Baldy, and Bluff Mountain (post).

Mt. Hood making a partial appearance.

The weather held and we stayed dry despite having driven through several rain showers on the way to the park. Despite missing out on Eagle Fern Park it had been a good day of hiking. The trails weren’t too busy, and we got to see a fair amount of wildlife through the morning. This hike was approximately 6.4-miles with a little over 400′ of elevation gain.

We plan on trying Eagle Fern Park again in the not-too-distant future, and this time we’ll be sure to bring cash just in case. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Milo McIver Riverbend Loop

Tags Clackamas River, Common Merganser, coyote, geese, hiking, Mallard, Maple Ridge Trail, McIver Memorial Viewpoint, Milo McIver State Park, Oregon, Riverbend Trail, Viewpoint Trail, Vortex Loop, Vortex Trail, Wood Duck Pond

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Crown Zellerbach (CZ) Trail – Ruley TH to Nehalem Divide – 1/25/25

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 27, 2025
No Comments on Crown Zellerbach (CZ) Trail – Ruley TH to Nehalem Divide – 1/25/25

We hiked a segment of the 24.8-mile-long Crown Zellerbach (CZ), or Crown Z, Trail in March 2022 (post). For that hike we began at the Nehalem Divide Trailhead and hiked to the Wilark Trailhead. With another sunny, but cold, weekend forecast we decided it was time to check out more of the trail. For this visit our plan was to begin at the Ruley Trailhead and make the 4.5-mile hike to the Nehalem Divide Trailhead where we would turn around.

We arrived at the empty trailhead shortly after 7:30am on a frosty 26°F (-3°C) morning.

After stopping to view the interpretive signs here, we set off on the old logging road turned trail.

1930 Caterpillar Model 30

We followed the trail past several homes along North Scappoose Creek before entering a second growth forest.
Bridge over Cedar Creek.

Cedar Creek

North Scappoose Creek

Sun hitting the top a hill in the distance.

There was a lot of hair ice along the trail.

Forest along the trail.

One of several interpretive signboards along this segment.

The trail ascended gradually through the forest to a “Y” just below the Nehalem Divide Trailhead.
While the Sun was out the trail remained mostly shaded and therefore cold. We both would have benefited from some slightly warmer layers.

Hair ice

More hair ice

Another interpretive sign ahead.

MP 13

The Nehalem Divide TH on the left and the Crown Z Trail continuing on the right.

I believe that is Silver Star Mountain (post) in the distance.

On our way back we kept our eyes open for a use trail that reportedly led down to the eastern end of the abandoned Nehalem Divide Railroad Tunnel. We had visited the west portal in 2022 and thought it might be fun to see the other end. The OregonHikers Field Guide mentioned a red paint dot on a tree 30 yards from a green trail marker, but we didn’t see any such markers in the area where the use trail might be or any red dot on the west side of the trail. There was a red “A” and other markings on a tree along with an apparent use trail that may have been what we were looking for, but after a quick look at the terrain we opted not to go exploring.

We continued back to the trailhead passing roughly a dozen other users, mostly cyclists, before reaching our car.

North Scappoose Creek winding past a private home.

The Ruley Trailhead ahead.

Our hike today came to 9.2-miles with a little under 700′ of elevation gain.

The Crown Z may not be the most exciting trail out there, but it offers plenty of distance opportunities and some easy, peaceful hiking. The interpretive signs providing history and insight to the area are a plus and so is the fact that the trail is accessible year around. We plan on eventually hiking the entire trail which we should be able to do in three more segments. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Crown Z Trail – Ruley TH to Nehalem Divide

Tags Crown Z Linear Trail, Crown Z Trail, Crown Zellerbach Trail, CZ Trail, hiking, Nehalem Divide Trailhead, North Scappoose Creek, Oregon, Ruley Trailhead

Hiking

2024 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 23, 2025
No Comments on 2024 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

This is part 2 of our 2024 wildlife phots. Please click here for our feathered friends gallery. As with all our wildflower and wildlife posts any corrections or additions to our attempts at identifying what we’ve photographed are greatly appreciated. One other note, while we really enjoy taking pictures as a way to record what we see on our hikes, we are by no means photographers. We use our phones and a point and shoot camera on the auto setting, so the pictures are far from professional, but we hope you enjoy them. Finally, we do practice Leave No Trace Principles including Principle 6: Respect Wildlife which means observing from a distance, never feeding, and respecting any area wildlife closures. We urge others to do the same and recreate responsibly.

It was a pretty good year for wildlife. While we spotted several species of birds that were new to us this year, we didn’t add any new mammals, reptiles, or amphibians to those we’d seen in previous years. Below are photos representing many of the different critters that we saw, including a number of insects on flowers that we only realized were there after viewing the photos.
Starfish, anemones, and mussels – 5/11/24 Crescent Beach, OR

Crab – 5/11/24 Crescent Beach, OR

Trout – 7/13/24 Joyce Lake, OR

Fish – 10/7/24 Salmon River, OR

Frog – 9/13/24 Sprague Lake (Mt. Jefferson Wilderness), OR

Tree frog – 5/26/24 Madison Butte Trail, OR

Toad – 8/31/24 Deep Lake (Sky Lakes Wilderness), OR

Western toad – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Rough-skinned newt – 1/27/24 Corvallis to Coast Trail, OR

Sagebrush lizard – 6/19/24 Deception Butte, OR

Western fence lizard – 5/25/24 Barnes Butte Recreation Area, Prineville, OR

Snake – 6/8/24 Tillamook State Forest, OR

Snake – 7/4/24 Horsepasture Mountain Trail, OR

Not sure if this is a vole or a pocket gopher? – 6/8/24 Tillamook State Forest, OR

Townsend’s chipmunk – 9/13/24 Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR

Least chipmunk – 8/20/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Golden-mantled ground squirrel – 8/20/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Columbian ground squirrels – 8/18/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

California ground squirrel – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Red squirrel – 9/9/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Douglas squirrel – 2/3/24 Forest Park, Portland, OR

Yellow-bellied marmot – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Leaning toward muskrat but it could be a nutria. – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

This one is for sure a nutria (invasive). – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, OR

Pika – 7/24/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Cottontail – 9/8/24 National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Baker City, OR

Rabbit – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, OR

Roosevelt elk – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Black-tailed deer – 3/30/24 Corvallis, OR

Black-tailed deer – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Mule deer – 8/22/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Mountain goat – 8/19/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness

Coyote – 10/5/24 Mt. Hood Wilderness, OR

Black bear – 8/22/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Cows – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Slugs – 4/13/24 Wind Mountain Trail, WA

Snail – 6/19/24 Buckhead Nature Trail, Westfir, OR

Beetle – 6/8/24 Tillamook State Forest, OR

Beetle – 8/31/24 Sky Lakes Wilderness, OR

Beetles – 7/22/24 Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Cricket – 9/9/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Cicada – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Crane flies – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path Eugene, OR

Dragon fly – 6/19/24 Deception Butte Trail, OR

Dragonfly – 8/31/24 Sky Lakes Wilderness, OR

Dragonfly – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Flying ants – 7/13/24 Nasty Rock, OR

A pollinator – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Seet bee – 8/18/24 Cliff Creek Trail, OR

Bees – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Bumble bee – 8/19/24 Pine Creek Trail, OR

Spider – 4/13/24 Sams-Walker Day Use Area

Find the crab spider (hint: one of the white blooms). – 7/4/24 Olallie Trail, OR

Spider hunting a moth. – 7/22/24 – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Millipede – 6/19/24 Deception Butte, OR

Caterpillar – 6/22/24 Big Huckleberry Mountain, OR

Caterpillars – Pine Lakes Trail, OR

Woolly bear caterpillar – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Crescent butterfly and another pollinaotr – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail, OR

Skipper and flies – 5/25/24 Barnes Butte Recreation Area, Prineville, OR

Arctic skipper – 6/1/24 Cook Hill, WA

Northern cloudywing – 6/19/24 Deception Butte, OR

Persius duskywing (Erynnis persius) – 7/4/24 Horsepasture Mountain, OR

Possibly a Pacuvius duskywing – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Western meadow fritillary – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Fritillary – 7/13/24 Nasty Rock, OR

Fritillary – 8/22/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Myllita crescent (female) – 7/22/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Myllita crescent (male) – 7/24/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Field crescent – 9/13/24 Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR

Edith’s checkerspot – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Snowberry checkerspot (male) – 7/13/24 Nasty Rock, OR

Snowberry checkerspot (female) – 7/13/24 Nasty Rock, OR

Green comma – 8/20/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Hoary comma – 7/23/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Painted lady – 9/13/24 Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR

California tortoiseshell – 7/23/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – 5/26/24 Madison Butte, OR

Common woodnymph – 7/22/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Great arctic – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Monarch butterfly – 7/24/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Orange tip – 5/26/24 Madison Butte, OR

Pine white – 8/31/24 Sky Lakes Wilderness, OR

Becker’s white – 8/18/24 Cliff Creek Trail, OR

Clodius parnassian – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Margined white? – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail, OR

Not sure which sulphur this is – 7/22/24 Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Also unsure which sulphur this is – 8/20/24 Chimney-Wood Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Ochre ringlet – 5/25/24 Barnes Butte Recreation Area, Prineville, OR

Cedar hairstreak – 5/25/24 Barnes Butte Recreation Area, Prineville, OR

Oregon swallowtail – 5/26/24 Madison Butte, OR

Western tiger swallowtail – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail, OR

I rarely ever attempt a guess at the gossamer wings.
6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

8/18/24 Cliff Creek Trail, OR

7/22/24 Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

7/24/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

8/20/24 Chimney-Wood Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail, OR

Echo azure? – 4/13/24 Beacon Rock State Park, WA

Moth – 06/08/24 Tillamook State Forest, OR

Moth – 6/29/24 Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Moth – 7/21/24 Hat Point, OR

Eight-spotted forester moth – 7/4/24 Olallie Trail, OR

Police car moths – 7/24/24 Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Hiking

2024 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 22, 2025
3 Comments on 2024 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

A couple of my favorite posts to put together every year is our wildlife galleries. Seeing animals on our hikes is always a highlight. (Maybe not rattlesnakes, but in 15 years of hiking we’ve still only seen one on trail.) A couple of years back we spilt our gallery post into two, feathered and featherless. This helps keep the number of pictures to a more reasonable number. While we do our best at identification, we are not experts’ Any corrections or further identification of species are appreciated.

A couple of other notes, while we really enjoy taking pictures as a way to record what we see on our hikes, we are by no means photographers. We use our phones and a point and shoot camera on the auto setting, so the pictures are far from professional, but we hope you enjoy them. We also practice Leave No Trace Principles including Principle 6: Respect Wildlife which means observing from a distance, never feeding, and respecting any area wildlife closures.

Acorn woodpecker – 3/30/24 Mulkey Ridge Trail, Corvallis, OR

Lewis’s woodpecker – 8/31/24 Sky Lakes Wilderness, OR

Northern flicker – 6/19/24 Deception Butte, OR

Black-backed woodpecker? – 9/13/24 Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR

Hairy? woodpecker (I have a hard time with Hairy vs Downy woodpeckers) – 6/19/24 Deception Butte Trail, OR

Anna’s hummingbird – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Rufous hummingbird – 8/3/24 Crater Lake National Park, OR

American goldfinch – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

American robin – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

American dippers (ouzels) – 5/12/24 Lee Wooden Fishhawk Falls County Park, Clatsop County, OR

Black-headed grosbeak – 6/8/24 Cedar Butte (Tillamook State Forest), OR

Bullock’s oriole (top of photo) – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

LOL! This is the best photo of a varied thrush I could get this year. 2/3/24 Forest Park, Portland, OR

Hermit thrush – 6/15/24 O’Leary Mountain Trail (Willamette National Forest), OR

Chickadee – 9/9/24 Hidden Lake Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Dark-eyed junco – 3/30/24 Mulkey Ridge Trail, Corvallis, OR

Common yellowthroat – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Dusky flycatcher – 8/19/24 Pine Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Hammond’s flycatcher – 8/22/24 East Fork Wallowa River Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Ash-throated flycatcher – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Lazuli bunting – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Mountain bluebirds – 8/18/24 Cliff Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Western bluebirds – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Cedar waxwing – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

California jay – 3/30/24 Mary’s River Natural Park, Corvallis, OR

Canada jay – 6/19/24 Deception Butte Trail, OR

Stellar’s jay – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Crow – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Raven – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Sage thrasher (new sighting for us) – 9/8/24 National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, OR

Western meadowlark – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Western tanager – 7/24/24 Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Pine siskins – 8/20/24 Chimney-Wood Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Ruby-crowned kinglet – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Spotted towhee – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Townsend solitaire – 9/13/24 Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, OR

Yellow-rumped warbler – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Orange-crowned warbler – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Wilson’s warbler – 6/8/24 Kilchis Forest Road (Tillamook State Forest), OR

Purple martins – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Tree swallows – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Barn swallows – 5/11/24 Fort Stevens State Park, OR

European starling – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Brewer’s blackbird – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Yellow-headed blackbird – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Red-winged blackbird – 2/10/24 Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Bushtit – 7/6/24 Independence River Front Park, Independence, OR

Brown creeper – 6/19/24 Deception Butte Trail, OR

White-breasted nuthatch – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Red-breasted nuthatch – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Pacific wren – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Marsh wren – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Rock wren – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Golden-crowned sparrow – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Savanah sparrow – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Song sparrow – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Chipping sparrow – 4/13/24 Sams-Walker Day Use Area, WA

White-crowned sparrow – 4/13/24 Sams-Walker Day Use Area, WA

House finch – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Cassin’s finch – 8/4/24 Crater Lake National Park, OR

Cassin’s vireo – 8/21/24 Maxwell Lake Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

American kestral – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Peregrine falcon – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Copper’s hawk – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Red-tailed hawk – 5/25/24 Willow Creek Trail, Madras, OR

Northern harrier – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Osprey – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Bald eagles – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Turkey vulture – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Dusky grouse – 7/23/24 McCully Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Sooty grouse – 8/31/24 Sky Lakes Wilderness, OR

Ruffed grouse – 11/28/24 Silver Falls State Park, OR

California quail – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Dove – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Pigeons – 9/8/24 National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, OR

Band-tailed pigeons – 6/8/24 Kilchis Forest Road (Tillamook State Forest), OR

Pigeon guillemont – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Oyster catcher – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Whimbrel – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Seagull – 5/11/24 Ecola State Park, OR

Spotted sandpiper – 7/24/24 Bonny Lakes (Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR

Wilson’s phalarope (another first for us) – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Double-crested cormorant – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

American bittern – 5/28/24 Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Great egret, female mallard, and great blue heron – 10/10/24 William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Mallard drake – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Ruddy ducks – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Northern shoveler – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Buffleheads – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Green-winged teal – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Northern pintail and American wigeons – 2/10/24 Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Canvasbacks (first time sighting for us) – 2/10/24 Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Common merganser drake – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Hooded mergansers – 3/16/24 Middle Fork Path, Eugene, OR

Cinnamon teal – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Lesser scaups – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Greater scaup – 5/11/24 Skippanon River, Warrenton, OR

Ring-necked duck – 5/26/24 Bull Prairie Lake (Umatilla National Forest), OR

Gadwalls – 5/27/24 Crooked River Wetlands, Prineville, OR

Barrow’s goldeneye – 9/11/24 Pyramid Lake (Mt. Hood National Forest), OR

American coot – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Pie-billed grebe – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Eared grebe – 5/26/24 Bull Prairie Lake (Umatilla National Forest), OR

Horned grebe – 2/10/24 Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Canada geese – 4/20/24 Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, OR

Cackling geese – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Tundra swans (first sighting for us) – 2/24/24 Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, OR

Hiking

Shellburg Falls – 01/20/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 21, 2025
No Comments on Shellburg Falls – 01/20/2025

It had been nearly 14 years since we visited Shellburg Falls (post). Since that time a lot has changed there, most notably the area was burned in the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire. The area remained closed until May 2024, when it was reopened thanks in large part to volunteer work done by the Trail Keepers of Oregon (TKO). I had MLK Day off from work and while the polar vortex was keeping people from outdoor activities in some parts of the country the low at Shellburg Falls was forecast to be a crisp but reasonable 25F with nothing but blue skies.

I couldn’t pass up hiking weather like that so while Heather was getting ready for work I headed out to the Shellburg Falls Trailhead. Please note that access roads for the trailhead changed post fire and that some information online and certain navigation apps (I’m looking at you Google Maps) still show the pre-fire route. The directions in Oregon Hikers Field Guide (linked above) are correct as of this writing.

One of the other changes post fire is that the loop we did back in 2011 is no longer possible due to the closure of the section of trail that passed behind Shellburg Falls. You can still reach Shellburg Falls on either the west side or east side, you just can’t make a loop out of it. There are several other loops that are possible in the area on the east side of the creek and my plan was to check out three of those and also take a detour to the Silver Falls State Park Backcountry.

Prior to doing any of that though I headed down the Shellburg Falls Trail to do the roughly 1.5-mile out-and-back on the west side of the falls.

The trail parallels Shellburg Road and briefly joins it after passing a gate to cross Shellburg Creek and then returns to a single track recrossing Shellburg Creek on a new footbridge installed by TKO volunteers.

Shellburg Creek

Trail sign ahead on the right marking the resumption of the Shellburg Falls Trail.

The trail soon passes the top of the falls before descending via new switchbacks and turning back up the creek for a view of the full waterfall.

May 2011 view.

First sunlight hitting the rocks above the trail.

Barricade and sign marking the closed section of trail.

2011 view

After admiring the falls I headed back up toward the trailhead but stayed on Shellburg Road and turned right across the parking area to head toward the shelter and day use area.
Some survivors on the far hillside.

I heard a number of woodpeckers throughout the day, but this was the only one I was able to spot.

Outhouse at the day use area up ahead.

Parking spots at the day use area along with the shelter. The trails on the left and right are the Vine Maple Trail, the shortest loop option at about 1-mile.

While my plan was to do the Vine Maple Loop it would not be all at once. Instead, my plan was to take the left (northern) section to the Shellburg Creek Trail where I would turn left onto that loop which would eventually lead me back to the trailhead where I would then take the southern section of the Vine Maple Loop to the August Mountain Trail.

The only tree I had to step over on a trail all morning.

Arriving at the 4-way trail junction with the Shellburg Creek, August Mountain, and southern portion of the Vine Maple Trail.

At the junction I made a hard left onto the Shellburg Creek Trail.

We had not been on this trail in 2011, so it was brand new to me. The trail climbed gradually along Shellburg Creek (no views) for a third of a mile before turning away from the creek and climbing more steeply.

I saw a good number of varied thrushes including 4 or 5 in this spot, but once again I failed at getting a clear picture.

The forest along the creek held up pretty well in the fire.

I was keeping an eye out for the Lost Creek Trail which would be heading uphill to the right (or left if you’re going the other way) of the Shellburg Creek Trail. I first spotted a faint trail signed as a horse route.

I had seen this trail on at least one map and knew it wasn’t the trail I was looking for. (It theoretically rejoins the Shellburg Creek Trail a short distance later, but I did not notice the other end.)

Frosty leaves

A short distance later the trail crossed a roadbed that was not on any of the maps that I had available to me. (This road is shown on several other maps that I did not happen to be using.)

Referring to the maps I had, and my GPS track this old roadbed looked like it might be what I was looking for. There was no sign for the Lost Creek Trail but the other tail signs at the junction increased my confidence that this could be the trail. I turned uphill on the roadbed and climbed 150′ in a quarter of a mile to the end of the road.

End of the line. I briefly searched for old tread before deciding that this was not in fact the Lost Creek Trail.

I returned to the Shellburg Creek Trail and continued on that loop. A tenth of a mile later I passed an abandoned trail that had been covered with debris. A few feet beyond the abandoned trail I came to an unsigned T-junction at the edge of a clearcut.

The T-junction

The trail leading uphill here was in good shape and I was confident that I had finally found the correct trail, so I turned right.
Heading uphill from the Shellburg Creek Trail.

After climbing for a bit I passed the upper end of the closed trail and a trail marker for the Snag Loop Trail.

As near as I can tell the decommissioned section of trail was the Lost Creek Trail as some maps show both the Lost Creek and Snag Loop Trails.

I continued uphill crossing a roadbed at the half a mile mark and arriving at Shellburg/Ayers Creek Road at the three-quarter mile mark.

Arriving at the road crossing.

Shellburg/Ayers Creek Road (depending on the map)

I turned right on the road for a tenth of a mile to an intersection where I proceeded straight into a wide muddy area.

On the other side of the intersection.

The Lost Creek Trail followed the muddy roadbed for another 0.2-miles before splitting off to the left at a trail pointer.

The trail continued uphill to Lookout Mountain Road at the edge of Silver Falls State Park.
Some of the forest up higher had survived the fire as well.

Arriving at Lookout Mountain Road.

Gate at the border of Silver Falls State Park.

I had been on the other side of that gate in 2022 during my 21.5-mile perimeter loop of that park(post).

The unmistakable flat top of Coffin Mountain (post) in the distance.

After tagging the gate, and shedding a layer, I headed back down to the Shellburg Creek Trail.

Shortly after starting back down I spotted a couple of early wildflowers.
Evergreen violets – Viola sempervirens

Snow queen

Back at the Shellburg Creek Trail.

From the junction the Shellburg Creek Trail descended at a good pace through a recently replanted clearcut before ending at Shellburg Road after two thirds of a mile.

While the Sun was out and it had warmed up a bit the shady areas were still frosty.

The trail crossed this road at the 0.3-mile mark. It turns out this roadbed is the one I turned up earlier in error.

Shellburg Road

I turned left onto the road and followed it approximately 500′ to the trailhead where I again headed for the day use area (left this time) and picked up the southern section of the Vine Maple Trail.

I followed the Vine Maple Trail back to the 4-way trail junction and turned right onto the August Mountain Trail.

The back of the shelter.

The August Mountain Trail crossed Shellburg Creek on another nice new bridge then climbed August Mountain to a signboard at a roadbed.

Following a pointer for the Shellburg Falls Trail I headed downhill into a creek drainage where I spotted a few deer on the opposite hillside.
While not unobstructed, the fire had opened up partial views of Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Jefferson through the trees.

Two of the deer.

The trail dropped to Shellburg Road (again) and continued on the far side.

I however turned left onto the road in order to make another little loop, and to see if the fire had opened up any views of Stassel Falls. While the waterfall is on private property the Santiam State Forest Boundary extends far enough that it is possible to get glimpses of the 125′ waterfall. There is no official trail but I picked up a use trail which I followed, keeping an eye out for private property or no trespassing signs.

While the fire had burned away much of the trees the angle looking toward the falls from this side of Stout Creek still doesn’t provide a great view.
Stassel Falls

Given the rough terrain, dangerous hillside, and lack of a view I don’t recommend this side trip. I returned to the road and followed it down to a picnic table next to Lower Shellburg Falls. Along the way I was passed by a bike, the first person I’d seen on trail all morning.

The picnic table in the distance.

Lower Shellburg Falls

2011

I saw a second trail user, an equestrian, just before I headed up toward Shellburg Falls from the road.

I had the waterfall to myself and as a bonus there was a nice rainbow at its base.

Rainbow and ice below Shellburg Falls.

Icicles on the rocks above Shellburg Creek.

After admiring the falls again I headed back by taking the August Mountain Trail through the burned forest to the road crossing.
August Mountain Trail on the left.

At Shellburg Road I turned left and followed it above the falls and back to the bridge over Shellburg Creek.

At the gate I hopped back onto the Shellburg Falls Trail and took it back to the trailhead.

My convoluted route came to 10.8-miles with a little over 1700′ of elevation gain and consisted of five loops.

Given the numerous options and proximity to Salem (about an hour) it’s an area we need to make more use of. There is also a network of mountain bike only trails in the area making it a popular destination at times but on a day like to today it provided a lot of solitude.

One interesting prospect that I found myself thinking about was the possibility of shuttling from Shellburg Falls over to Silver Falls State Park. It would make for a long outing but could include at least a dozen waterfalls with the right planning. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Shellburg Falls

Tags August Mountain Trail, hiking, Lost Creek Trail, Lower Shellburg Falls, Oregon, santiam state forest, Shellburg Creek Trail, Shellburg Falls, Shellburg Falls Recreation Area, Shellburg Falls Trail, Silver Falls State Park, Snag Loop Trail, TKO, Trail Keepers of Oregon, Vine Maple Trail

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Yachats and Waldport Area Trails

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 13, 2025
No Comments on Yachats and Waldport Area Trails

We kicked off our 2025 hikes with a multi stop day on the Oregon Coast. During our offseason, Nov-Apr, I spend a fair amount of time looking for hikes to add to our list of to-do hikes. The Oregon Hikers Field Guide provided me with three short hikes in and around Waldport Oregon that we had yet to check out.

We started our morning in Yachats at the Smelt Sands State Recreation Site.

We’d used this trailhead in 2020 for a hike on the 804 Trail. We set off on the 804 Trail again this time but after two tenths of a mile we turned right off the 804 Trail.
We started with this hike in part due to it being the first day of the final king tides, abnormally high tides, for the season. High tide for Smelt Sands was going to be 9:45am so we were hoping to see some of the wave action.

It was just before 8am as we hiked the 804 Trail.

We made a mistake and turned right on the paved path here, but we should have continued beyond the large signboard to a second path marked by a wooden post. You can see the small white and black to the left of the green signboard. We may have been distracted by “Free Coffee” being printed on the bottom of the green sign.

We wound up walking through the Fireside Motel’s parking lot and out to Highway 101 via its driveway instead of the Overleaf Lodge & Spa. Either way we faced a choice at the highway. We could go directly across to Diversity Drive and walk up it 125 yards to the start of the Ya’Xaik Trail. (There are a small number of parking spots available at the end of Diversity Drive but be careful not to take any of the spots reserved for the townhomes here.) Our other option was to turn north (left) along the highway for a tenth of a mile and then cross (at the Earthworks Art Gallery) where we could pick up the public footpath at the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve. Please note that dogs are not allowed on the paths at the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve. Dog owners who would like to do a loop can find a dog friendly trail to the north of the fire station between the art gallery and Diversity Drive.

We chose to walk the highway shoulder to try and minimize the amount of traffic that would be passing by.

This post is similar to the one along the 804 Trail where we should have turned right.

Information about the preserve.

The public entrance.

The path through the preserve is only about a quarter mile. The trail climbs gradually along Mitchell Creek with numerous interpretive signs. It also passes “Grandmother Spruce” a 300+ year old Sitka spruce that spans the small creek.

One of the interpretive signs on the left.

Boardwalk over Mitchell Creek.

The plaque at the base of Grandmother Spruce.

Grandmother Spruce

The upper end of the preserve trail.

Pointer for the Ya’Xiak Trail on the far side of the upper gate.

Going right on the Ya’Xiak Trail would complete the loop to Diversity Drive, but before we did that we turned left on the unmarked Starr Creek Trail. This well maintained trail led a third of a mile to Starr Creek and Starr Creek Road. (Note there is no parking available at Starr Creek Road.)

The Starr Creek Trail.

Mushrooms

Approaching Starr Creek.

Starr Creek

Starr Creek Road

After tagging the road we headed back to the Ya’Xaik Trail junction and followed it south for a third of a mile before it turned west and headed downhill to Diversity Drive.
The upper gate at the junction.

Ya’Xaik Trail

The right hand fork here is the trail leading down to the fire station that dog owners can use to make a loop. A local had warned us that this trail can be pretty slick. We went left to remain on the Ya’Xaik Trail.

There was a little climbing involved before the trail headed down to Diversity Drive.

The Ya’Xaik Trail at Diversity Drive.

We walked down Diversity Drive, recrossed Highway 101, and returned to the 804 Trail which we followed back to our car. It was a little after 9am so it was still about 45 minutes from high tide, but there were already a lot of people watching the waves come crashing in.

Our hike here clocked in just under two and a quarter mile with a little over 225′ of elevation gain.

We could have extended this hike up to 14 miles by continuing north on the 804 Trail and then walking the beach to the Alsea River as we’d done in 2020, but since we’d already hiked that section of the Oregon Coast, we opted not to extend this hike but instead check out a different section of beach later in morning. From Smelt Sands we drove north on Highway 101 to Waldport and the John Maré Woodland Trailhead.

Simply put the three-quarter mile Woodland Trail runs between this lower trailhead and the Red River Disc Golf Course at Woodland Park off South Crestline Drive. The hike however is not simple, even with the fairly detailed descriptions in the OregonHikers Field Guide and a input from a local who provided some useful information. Abandoned roadbeds, trails connecting to neighborhoods, and paths used by the disc golf course create a web of interconnected trails/paths with the only signage being for the disc golf holes. With many pauses to check our map and the descriptions I believe we only took one wrong turn which resulted in us doing a figure eight near Woodland Park instead of a loop as we’d intended.

The trail set off from the interpretive signs at the trailhead and quickly crossed the Red River (actually just a creek).

The Woodland Trail continues to the left while the right connects up to a road.

At the quarter-mile mark the trail crosses an abandoned roadbed.

It was at the end of this stretch where we ran into a local who gave us some tips on our route.

The trail climbed fairly steeply via switchbacks to another roadbed and after passing a cement barricade we veered left onto an unmarked path.

Just up this path we encountered the first signs of the disc golf course.

A footbridge over the Red River below with a disc golf hole on the opposite ridge. We were able to use the OregonHikers Field Guide map to identify this connector trail as one we did not want to take. That map had many of the connector trails identified in red which helped keep our position located as well as keep us on the correct route.

We managed to arrive at the skate park having stayed on course.

The Woodland Trail between the skate park and playground.

Our (my) mistake came at a junction near the playground. I misinterpreted the map and had us turn right on a wide path at a junction then take a quick left when we should have stayed more of less straight.

I had taken one of the red trails then regained the OregonHikers route when we turned left only we were now hiking in the opposite direction of their route.

Heather was able to get me to understand my error and we simply looped back around to the playground then once again took the connector trail to where we’d turned left and this time turned right.

The right hand fork led us to a large opening which the local we’d spoken with earlier aptly described as a landing strip.

At the northern end of the opening the trail reentered the forest.

We continued to refer to the OregonHikers track to stay on the correct path which followed a ridge to its end above the Red River.

We dropped down to the footbridge over the creek and then continued straight on an abandoned roadbed.

The gentleman we’d spoken to earlier had mentioned these three sets of stairs.

We followed this roadbed back to the switchbacks where we’d encountered the local and at the bottom of the switchbacks turned right on another roadbed that led us back to the trailhead.

The old roadbed at the bottom of the switchbacks.

Rainbow over the baseball fields at the trailhead.

This hike was just 1.6-miles with approximately 175′ of elevation gain.
Woodland Trail on the left and our next stop, the Lint Slough Trail, on the right.

Our next trailhead was just under a mile drive away (0.4 as the crow flies) at the Lint Slough Trail.

This short out-and-back begins on a wide grassy track along the Lint Slough before becoming single track. There are several benches along the trail which according to the city is approximately 0.8-miles long, but we only managed to get half a mile out before we lost the tread in the vegetation.

Memorial plaque

There was a bypass uphill for this short flooded section.

There were a number of bufflehead ducks, a pair of geese, and one noisy great blue heron at the slough. All of the wildlife seemed to be positioned as far away from the trail as possible.

The great blue heron in a tree across the slough.

This little group of buffleheads was the exception.

I turned around at this bench due to not seeing an obvious continuation of the trail here. I had also lost Heather who had stayed up to avoid the flooded section and instead of returning to the trail I was on, on the other side of the flooded bench, stayed up on the higher path. That path began leading up uphill away from the actual trail without another way to get back to the correct path. She wound up backtracking and we met shortly after I had started back.

The slough from my turn around point.

A little blue sky reflecting in the water on our hike back.

Yarrow

Bull thistle (non-native)

Rose (probably non-native)

From Lint Slough we drove back to Highway 101 and headed north toward Newport and stopped at the Driftwood Beach State Recreation Site.

The king tide was now heading out which provided us with the ability to walk the beach and enjoy the breaks in the clouds giving us some much-needed glimpses of blue sky.

Looking north along the beach.

The view south.

We headed north first in the direction of Seal Rock (post). We turned back after 0.4-miles at a creek on Holly Beach.
The wet sand and debris from the high tide was up to the vegetation along much of the beach.

We decided to turn back at the creek partly to avoid crossing it, but also because we had been walking into the wind. It wasn’t a particularly cold day, but the wind chill was almost making it uncomfortable.

Seagull with a crab.

We decided to continue south past the recreation site though to add a little time and distance to our day. (Our rule of spending as much time hiking as driving was in jeopardy of being broken.) We hiked 0.6-miles to the south turning around once we were confident our self-imposed rule wouldn’t be broken.
Cape Perpetua (post) to the south.

Buckley Creek

We had to ford Buckley Creek which was only a couple of inches deep at most.

Semipalmated plovers

Western gull

Heading back north.

The path back up to the parking area at Driftwood Beach.

This was a quiet 2.1-mile walk on the beach. We only saw a couple other people and at Noon the parking lot was nearly empty.

The weather held up great for us. I think we drove through at least one rain shower every time we were in the car except between the Woodland and Lint trails, but we never got rained on. The four hikes came to just 6.9-miles with 425′ of cumulative elevation gain making it a good early season outing. With the exception of the 804 and Ya’Xaik trails these probably aren’t destination hikes, but they were enjoyable hikes and would be worth a visit if you were staying nearby or in the area and looking for a quick outing. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Waldport Area Trails

Tags 804 Trail, Crestline Park, Driftwood Beach State Recreation Area, Gerdemann Botanic Preserve, hiking, John Maré Woodland Trailhead, Lint Slough Trail, Lint Slough Trailhead, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Smelt Sands, Waldport, Woodland Trail, Ya'Xaik Trail, Yachats

Trip report

2024 Wildflower Gallery Part 2

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 7, 2025
1 Comment on 2024 Wildflower Gallery Part 2

This is part 2 of our annual wrap up of wildflowers we saw during the year on our hikes. (Part 1) I’ve tried to identify non-natives as well as indicate if this was our first time (that we know of) seeing a particular flower. We continue to work on learning to identify the flowers we see and remain a long way from being able to tell some of the different species apart, so any corrections or additional IDs are greatly appreciated.

The date and hike/trail of our observation is inculded.
Ocean spray – August 4th – Wizard Island (Crater Lake NP), OR

Olympic onion – June 8th – Cedar Butte, OR

One-sided wintergreen – July 25th – Minam River Trail, OR

Tapertip onion – July 21st – Granny View Overlook (Hells Canyon), OR

Ookow – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Orange agoseris – June 29th – Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Orange globe mallow- May 25th – Barnes Butte (Prineville), OR

An orchid – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Oregon bluebells – June 29th – Grasshopper Mountain Trail, OR

Oregon grape – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Oregon sunshine – July 13th – Nasty Rock Trail, OR

Pacific coralroot – July 13th – Joyce Lake Trail, OR

Pacific hound’s tongue – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Pacific waterleaf – May 12th – Cathedral Tree Trail, OR

Indian paintbrush – May 25th – Willow Creek Canyon, OR

Paintbrush – probably scarlet (Castilleja miniata) – August 18th – Cliff Creek Trail (Wallowa-Whitman National Forest), OR

Parry’s arnica – July 21st – Hat Point, OR

Patridge foot – September 13th – Pacific Crest Trail (Mt. Jefferson Wilderness), OR

Gray sagewort – July 21st – Granny View Overlook (Hells Canyon), OR

Pea-vine – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Pearly everlasting – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Woolly head clover – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Pennycress – July 23rd – McCully Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Penstemon – May 25th – Barnes Butte (Prineville), OR

Penstemon – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Pestemon – July 13th – Nasty Rock Trail, OR

Venus penstemon – July 21st – Granny View Overlook (Hells Canyon), OR

Globe penstemon – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

A phacelia – July 26th – East Peak (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Phantom orchid – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Phlox – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Pinedrops – August 3rd – The Pinnacles Trail (Crater Lake NP), OR

Pink pyrola – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Pioneer violet – April 13th – Wind Mountain, WA

Woolly goldenweed? (If so this was a first for us.) – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Prairie smoke – May 26th – Bull Prairie Lake, OR

Prince’s pine – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Purple dead-nettle – February 24th – Fernhill Wetlands, OR

Purpleflower honeysuckle – June 29th – Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Pussypaws – July 26th – Mount Howard, OR

Pussytoes – July 13th – Nasty Rock Trail, OR

Queen’s cup – June 22nd – Big Huckleberry Mountain, WA

Raceme pussytoes – June 29th – Grasshopper Mountain, OR

Rosy pussytoes – June 22nd – Big Huckleberry Mountain, WA

Ragwort – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Red clover – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Red flowering currant – April 13th – Wind Mountain, WA

Rhododendron – June 15th – O’Leary Mountain Trail, OR

Rockcress – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Rose campion (non-native) – June 19th – Buckhead Nature Trail, OR

Rosy bird’s-foot trefoil – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Sagebrush mariposa lily – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Salal – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Salmonberry – April 13th – St. Cloud Trail, WA

Sandwort – July 24th – Bonny Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Saxifrage – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Scarlet gilia – July 4th – Horsepasture Mountain, OR

Scouler’s bluebell – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Scouler’s corydalis – April 13th – Lower Archer Falls, WA

Scouler’s woollyweed – July 24th – Bonny Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Seaside bittercress – May 11th – Ecola State Park, OR

Self-heal – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Serviceberry – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Shooting star – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Silverleaf phacelia – May 25th – Willow Creek Canyon, OR

Silvery raillardella (new to us) – August 4th – Crater Lake National Park, OR

Sitka mist-maidens – April 27th – Wahkeena Trail, OR

Skunk cabbage – May 11th – Ecola State Park, OR

Slender phlox – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

mall-flowered woodland-star – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Small bluebells – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Snowberry – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Solomonseal – April 20th – Jackson Bottom Wetlands, OR

Oregon oxalis – April 13th – Lower Archer Falls, WA

Spirea betulifolia – June 22nd – Big Huckleberry Mountain, WA

Spiraea douglasii – July 6th – Independence Riverfront Park, OR

Spiraea splendens – July 25th – Minam River Trail, OR

Spotted coralroot – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Spreading dogbane – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Spreading stickseed? – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Star-flowered false solomonseal – June 8th – Cedar Butte, OR

Starflower – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Stonecrop – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Wormleaf stonecrop – July 13th – Nasty Rock, OR

Strawberry – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Streambank globe-mallow – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Sub-alpine mariposa lily – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Sugar sticks – July 4th – Olallie Trail, OR

Swamp onion – July 24th – Bonny Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Chicory (non-native) – August 18th – Cliff Creek Trail (Wallowa-Whitman National Forest), OR

Sweet coltsfoot – April 27th – Wahkeena Trail, OR

Tall bluebells – June 29th – Grasshopper Mountain Trail, OR

Tansy ragwort (non-native) – July 6th – Independence Riverfront Park, OR

Tasselflower brickellbrush – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Thimbleberry – April 20th – Jackson Bottom Wetlands, OR

Thistle – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Thistle (non-native) – July 6th – Independence Riverfront Park, OR

Greene’s thistle (Cirsium inamoenum) – July 26th – Mount Howard, OR

Threadleaf phacelia – May 25th – Barnes Butte (Prineville), OR

Tiger lilies – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Dalmation toadflax (non-native) – May 25th – Willow Creek Trail (Madras), OR

Tolmie’s mariposa lily – June 19th – Deception Butte Trail, OR

Toothwort – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Trillium – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Twinberry – April 20th – Jackson Bottom Wetlands, OR

Twin flower – July 4th – Olallie Trail, OR

Valerian – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Vanilla leaf – June 1st – Cook Hill, WA

Variable-leaf collomia – June 8th – Cedar Butte Road, OR

Vetch – May 28th – Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Vine maple – April 13th – Lower Archer Falls, WA

Violet – March 6th – Dorris Ranch (Eugene), OR

Violet – July 25th – Minam River Trail, OR

Canary violet – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Hookedspur violets – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Wallflower – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Wallowa paintbrush – July 25th – Minam River Trail, OR

Washington lily – July 4th – Olallie Trail, OR

Western buttercups – March 16th – Middle Fork Willamette Path (Eugene), OR

Western clematis – August 19th – Pine Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Western featherbells – July 13th – Nasty Rock Trail, OR

Western Labrador tea – July 25th – Minam River Trail, OR

Western meadowrue – April 27th – Angel’s Rest Trail, OR

Western snakeroot – August 4th – Wizard Island (Crater Lake NP), OR

White mariposa lily – July 24th – Bonny Lakes Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Bushy blazing-star (Mentzelia dispersa) – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Tough-leaved iris – March 30th – Mulkey Ridge Trail (Corvallis), OR

Wild onion (Tolmie’s?) – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Wild roses – May 28th – Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Willowherb – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Wintergreen – July 13th – Nasty Rock Trail, OR

Possibly woolly groundsel – July 24th – Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Yarrow – June 22nd – Big Huckleberry Mountain, WA

Yellow bell – May 26th – Madison Butte, OR

Yellow columbine – July 22nd – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Yellowleaf iris – June 15th – O’Leary Mountain Trail, OR

Yellow sweet clover (non-native) – Hurricane Creek Trail (Eagle Cap Wilderness), OR

Youth-on-age – June 8th – Kilchis Forest Road, OR

Zigzag groundsmoke – August 3rd – The Pinnacles Trail (Crater Lake NP), OR

Unceremoniously the last flower seen was the non-native Queen Anne’s Lace at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge on October 18th.
Invasive Queen Anne’s Lace lower right corner.

I’m sure we saw more varieties than we are able to identify, but even with our limited knowledge I’m confident we easily topped 300 by years end. The five best wildflower hikes we took in 2024 by date order were:
Madison Butte, OR – 5/26/24 (post)
Cook Hill, WA – 6/1/2024 (post)
PCT to Big Huckleberry Mountain, WA – 6/22/24 (post)
Olallie Trail to Horsepasture Mountain, OR – 7/04/24 (post)
Bonny Lakes, OR – 7/24/24 (post)

We look forward to seeing what kind of variety 2025 will bring. Wildflowers will start popping up in January when the grass widows make their appearance at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge with many others to follow. Happy Trail!

Tags hiking, Oregon, Washington, wildflowers