Tag: Oregon

2023 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 20, 2024
No Comments on 2023 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

As we did last year we’ve split our wildlife recap into two posts, feathered (post) and featherless. As with all our wildflower and wildlife posts any corrections or additions to our attempts at identifying what we’ve photographed is 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.

The highlight of the year was getting to watch a badger make its way down Central Patrol Road in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on 9/4/23.

Harvester ants – 5/29/23, Riley Ranch Preserve, Bend

Ant on penstemon – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Crab spider on a California harebell – 6/25/23, North Umpqua Trail, BLM Roseburg District

Bee – 9/3/23, Threemile Canyon, BLM Burns District

Bees – 7/8/23, Sand Mountain, Willamette National Forest

Sweat bee? and a beetle on a prickly pear cactus – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Beetle – 7/31/23, Garfield Peak Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Beetle – 7/29/23, Stuart Falls Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Beetle on a white mariposa lily – 8/14/23, Main Eagle Creek Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Beetle and another bug on spirea – 7/4/23, Rocky Top Trail, Santiam State Forest

Beetles on thistle – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Ladybug on a daisy – 7/4/23, Natural Arch Trail, Santiam State Forest

Common pill-bug – 6/25/23, North Bank Habitat, BLM Roseburg District

Beetle – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Beetle and a butterfly on buckwheat – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Grasshopper – 9/3/23, P Ranch, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Cricket – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Caterpillar – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Caterpillar – 7/1/23, Hummocks Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA

Caterpillar – 8/16/23, West Eagle Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Millipede – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Millipedes – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Eight-spotted Forester-Alypia octomaculata – 7/4/23, Niagra Heights Road, Santiam State Forest

Fireweed Clearwing Moth (Albuna pyramidalis) – 7/4/23, Niagra Heights Road, Santiam State Forest

Moth – 7/4/23, Niagra Heights Road, Santiam State Forest

Moths – 6/3/23, Buck Creek Trail, Husum, WA

Moth – 6/3/23, Buck Creek Trail, Husum, WA

Moth – 6/16/23, Trail 1890, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Moth – 7/4/23, Rocky Top Trail, North Santiam State Park

Moth – 6/25/23, North Umpqua Trail, BLM Roseburg District

Moth – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

Moth – 7/8/23, Santiam Wagon Road, Willamette National Forest

Sphinx moth – 8/17/23, West Eagle Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Fly and butterfly – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Boisduval’s blues? – 6/3/23, Buck Creek Trail, Husum, WA

Acmon blue? – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Eastern tailed blue? – 5/13/23, Graham Oaks Nature Park, Wilsonville

Butterfly in the Lycaenidae family – 5/2/23, Sterling Mind Ditch Trail System, BLM Medford District

Butterfly in the Lycaenidae family – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Butterfly in the Lycaenidae family – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Butterfly in the Lycaenidae family – 6/13/23, Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site, Joseph

Echo azures? – 5/4/23, Forest Road 011, Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest

Butterfly in the Lycaenidae family – 6/3/23, Buck Creek Trail, Husum, WA

Butterflies in the Lycaenidae family – 7/4/23, Niagra Heights Road, Santiam State Forest

Gray hairstreak – 6/11/23, Lewis & Clark Trail, Hermiston

Thicket hairstreak? – 7/8/23, Sand Mountain, Willamette National Forest

A hairstreak – 6/3/23, Buck Creek Trail, Husum, WA

Various butterflies – 6/16/23, Deep Creek Stairway Trail, Payette National Forest, ID

Lorquin’s admiral – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Red admiral – 7/23/23, Metolius River Trail, Deschutes National Forest

California sister – 10/8/23, Forest Road 041, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Painted lady – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

California tortoiseshell – 9/16/23, Fish Lake Trail, Mt. Hood National Forest

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – 8/14/23, Main Eagle Creek Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Hoary comma – 7/8/23, Sand Mountain, Willamette National Forest

Mourning cloak – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Common wood nymph – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Ochre ringlet – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Checkerspot – 7/29/23, Stuart Falls Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Checkerspot – 7/1/23, Boundary Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA

Snowberry checkerspot – 7/1/23, Boundary Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA

Edith’s checkerspot – 7/8/23, Sand Mountain, Willamette National Forest

Mylitta crescent – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

A crescent? – 5/13/23, Graham Oaks Nature Park, Wilsonville

Fritillary butterflies – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

A fritillary – 7/4/23, Rocky Top Trail, Santiam State Forest

A fritillary – 7/15/23, Forest Road 4610, Mt. Hood National Forest

Indra swallowtail – 5/4/23, Kerby Flat Trail, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Oregon swallowtail? with ladybug – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Swallowtail – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Western swallowtails – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Swallowtail – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

A sulphur – 9/9/23, Alta Lake Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Large marble – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Becker’s white – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Male margined white? – 8/29/23, Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park, Oregon City

Mountain parnassian – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Clodius parnassian – 7/29/23, Pumice Flat Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Silver-spotted Skipper – 6/14/23, Eureka Bar, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

A skipper – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

A skipper – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

A skipper – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

A skipper – 9/3/23, Threemile Canyon, BLM Burns District

Skipper on a sagebrush mariposa lily – 7/23/23, Metolius River Trail, Deschutes National Forest

A skipper – 9/3/23, P Ranch, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Duskywing? – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

Duskywing – 5/3/23, Waters Creek Interpretive Trail, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Dreamy duskywing – 6/12/23, Imnaha River Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Dragonfly – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

Dragonfly – 7/1/23, Hummocks Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA

Dragonfly – 7/15/23, Plaza Lake, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness

Dragonfly – 7/31/23, Godfrey Glen Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Dragonfly – 9/2/23, Idlewild Loop Trail, Malheur National Forest

Slug – 4/29/23, Canemah Bluff Nature Park, Oregon City

Snail – 4/15/23, Enchanted Valley Trail, Siuslaw National Forest

Rough skinned newt – 4/15/23, Cape Mountain, Siuslaw National Forest

Tadpoles – 9/9/23, Pacific Crest Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Western toads – 9/9/23, Pacific Crest Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Full grown western toad – 9/9/23, Pacific Crest Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Cascade frog – 9/9/23, Pacific Crest Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Pacific treefrog – 9/3/23, Threemile Canyon, BLM Burns District

Northern red-legged frog – 8/26/23, Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Cloverdale

Bullfrog (invasive) – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Western pond turtles – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Southern alligator lizard – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

Western fence lizard – 5/3/23, Waters Creek Interpretive Trail, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Sagebrush lizard – 7/22/23, Shut-In Trail, Deschutes National Forest

Pygmy short-horned lizard – 7/8/23, Santiam Wagon Road, Willamette National Forest

Gopher snake – 6/25/23, North Bank Habitat, BLM Roseburg District

Garter snake – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Rubber boa? – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Nutria (invasive) – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Beaver – 5/29/23, Riley Ranch Preserve, Bend

Yellow-bellied marmot – 7/31/23, Garfield Peak Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Gray squirrel – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Douglas’ squirrel – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Eastern fox squirrel? – 4/29/23, Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park, Oregon City

Columbian ground squirrel – 8/16/23, Tombstone Lake Trail, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Golden-mantled ground squirrel – 7/31/23, Garfield Peak Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Chipmunk – 8/5/23, McNeil Point scramble trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness

Pika – 8/5/23, McNeil Point Trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness

Rabbit – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Mountain cottontail – 5/29/23, Riley Ranch Preserve, Bend

Fawns – 7/31/23, Garfield Peak Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Doe – 5/20/23, Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Buck – 7/31/23, Rim Trail, Crater Lake National Park

Elk – 6/15/23, Buckhorn Road (FR 46), Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Horses – 9/3/23, Threemile Canyon, BLM Burns District

Bat -5/2/23, Sterling Mine Ditch Tunnel, BLM Medford District

Seals – 11/18/23, Siletz Bay, Lincoln City

Shell with inhabitant – 11/18/23, Nelscott Beach, Lincoln City

Starfish – 10/28/23, Short Beach, Oceanside

Trout – 8/16/23, Tombstone Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness

Fish – 6/16/23, Hells Canyon Reservoir, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Tags beaver, butterflies, Butterfly, deer, elk, hiking, Lizard, Oregon, Pika, snake, Washington

Hiking

2023 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 19, 2024
4 Comments on 2023 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

Last year we did something different and split our 2022 wildlife gallery into two posts, one feathered and one featherless. As with all our wildflower and wildlife posts any corrections or additions to our attempts at identifying what we’ve photographed is greatly appreciated. One last 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. 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.

For this year’s gallery the photos will be in date order, because why not?
Hermit thrush – 2/11/23, Council Crest Park, Portland

Pied billed grebe – 3/19/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Ring-necked duck – 3/25/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Bufflehead – 3/25/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Sparrow – 3/25/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Lesser goldfinch – 4/8/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Ruby-crowned kinglet? – 4/8/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Egret – 4/8/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Marsh wren – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Geese, I believe both cackling and Canada – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

California quail – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Northern shoveler – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Western meadowlark (Oregon’s state bird) – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Red-winged blackbird – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Ruddy duck – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Savannah sparrow – 4/13/23, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Rickreall

Gold-crowned sparrow – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Red-breasted sapsuckers – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Hummingbird (Rufous?) – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Orange-crowned warbler – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Dark-eyed junco – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Northern flicker – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Turkey vulture – 4/14/23, Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem

Warbler? – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Osprey – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Cormorant – 4/22/23, Dave Clark Riverfront Path, Albany

Red-winged blackbird (female) – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Green-winged teal – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s) – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Black phoebe – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Acorn woodpecker – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Hawk – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Mallards – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Chickadee (chestnut-backed?) – 4/22/23, Talking Water Gardens, Albany

Nashville warbler – 4/29/23, Canemah Bluff Nature Park, Oregon City

Bewick’s wren – 4/29/23, Canemah Bluff Nature Park, Oregon City

House finches – 4/29/23, Canemah Bluff Nature Park, Oregon City

Spotted towhee – 4/29/23 Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park, Oregon City

Common mergansers – 5/1/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, BLM Medford District

Bullock’s oriole – 5/1/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, BLM Medford District

American robin – 5/1/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, BLM Medford District

Greater yellowlegs – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Mourning dove – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Gadwall – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Killdeer – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Cinnamon teal – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

Anna’s hummingbird – 5/13/23, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood

American kestral – 5/13/23, Graham Oaks Nature Park, Wilsonville

European starling – 5/13/23, Graham Oaks Nature Park, Wilsonville

Wood duck – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Belted kingfisher – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

American goldfinch – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Spotted sandpiper – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Purple martin – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Common yellowthroat – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

American bittern – 5/23/23, Stigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Washougal, WA

Lark sparrow – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Horned lark – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Mountain bluebird – 5/28/23, Criterion Tract, BLM Prineville District

Black-headed grosbeak – 5/29/23, Riley Ranch Preserve, Bend

Lewis’s woodpecker – 5/29/23, Tumalo State Park, Bend

Magpie – 5/29/23, Tumalo State Park, Bend

Black-headed cowbird – 5/29/23, Tumalo State Park, Bend

Tree swallow – 5/29/23, Tumalo State Park, Bend

Pygmy nuthatch? – 5/29/23, Tumalo State Park, Bend

Lazuli bunting – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Yellow warbler – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Western bluebird – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Sandhill cranes – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Warbling vireo – 6/3/23, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Trout Lake, WA

Raven – 6/11/23, Lewis & Clark Trail, Hermiston

Eastern kingbird – 6/11/23, Lewis & Clark Trail, Hermiston

Caspian tern – 6/11/23, Lewis & Clark Trail, Hermiston

Geese – 6/11/23, Hat Rock State Park, Hermiston

Cliff swallows – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Hawk – 6/14/23, Imnaha Trail, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Common nighthawk – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Chipping sparrow – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Cassin’s finch – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Western wood pee-wee – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Western tanager – 6/15/23, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Red-eyed vireo – 6/16/23, Trail 1890, Hells Canyon Wilderness

Bushtit – 6/24/23, Rogue River National Recreation Trail, Wild Rogue Wilderness

Macgillivray’s warbler? – 6/25/23, North Umpqua Trail, BLM Roseburg District

Woodpecker – 6/25/23, North Umpqua Trail, BLM Roseburg District

Hawk – 6/25/23, North Bank Habitat, BLM Roseburg District

White-crowned sparrow – 7/1/23, Boundary Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Cedar waxwings – 7/1/23, Boundary Trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Ouzel – 7/22/23, Metolius River Trail, Deschutes National Forest

Sooty grouse – 7/22/23, Metolius River Trail, Deschutes National Forest

Canada jay – 8/5/23, Timberline Trail, Mt. Hood Wilderness

Wilson’s warbler? – 8/29/23, Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Cloverdale

Clark’s nutcrakcer – 9/2/23, Dry River Canyon, BLM Prineville District

Great horned owl – 9/3/23, P Ranch, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Western grebe – 9/3/23, Krumbo Reservoir, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Unidentified bird – 9/3/23, Krumbo Reservoir, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

White-faced ibis – 9/3/23, Cental Patrol Road, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Ring-necked pheasant – 9/3/23, Central Patrol Road, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Townsends solitaire – 9/4/23 Fryrear Canyon, BLM Prineville District

Rock wren? – 9/4/23 Fryrear Canyon, BLM Prineville District

Mountain chickadee – 9/4/23 Fryrear Canyon, BLM Prineville District

Black-backed woodpecker – 9/9/23, Pacific Crest Trail, Sky Lakes Wilderness

American pipit – 9/9/23, Devil’s Peak, Sky Lakes Wilderness

Golden eye – 9/16/23, Fish Lake, Mt. Hood National Forest

White-breasted nuthatch – 9/16/23, Fish Lake Trail, Mt. Hood National Forest

Stellar’s jay – 9/30/23, Big Creek Park, Newport

Red-tailed hawk – 9/30/23, Strom Boulder Ridge, Burnt Woods

Varied thrush – 10/9/23, Babyfoot Lake Trail, Kalmiopsis Wilderness

Seagull – 10/28/23, Oceanside Beach, Oceanside

Great blue heron – 10/28/23, Oceanside Beach, Oceanside

Red-throated loon – 10/28/23, Pacific Ocean, Oceanside

Bald eagle – 10/28/23, Tillamook Wetlands, Tillamook

Hawk – 10/28/23, Tillamook Wetlands, Tillamook

Hooded merganser – 11/18/23, D River, Lincoln City

Crows – 11/18/23, Siletz Bay, Lincoln City

Brown pelicans – 11/18/23, Siletz Bay, Lincoln City

Tags American Bittern, Bald Eagle, Bird, duck, goose, hawk, hiking, Oregon, warbler, Washington

Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge – 02/10/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 12, 2024
2 Comments on Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge – 02/10/2024

While we didn’t have another hike scheduled for February a decent forecast was too much to pass up. We were looking for something nearby (less than an hour from Salem) on the shorter side that would be more of a leisurely stroll than a hike. We decided it would be a good day to check out the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge . Originally added (2007) as part of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (post) the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 2013. Eight years later the refuge was opened to public use and now has approximately 2.85 miles of trail. The trails are currently open from Feb 1st through Nov 30th each year (note the 1.3-miles of natural surface is closed to hiking starting Sept 1st). Also of note is that during periods of heavy rains the access trail may become flooded, but the Refuge website has a link to the USGS Monitoring Tool where you can easily check to see if the creek’s level is over 7.5 feet.

The trailhead is adjacent to Brown Park in the city of Gaston, OR and includes two ADA parking spaces and a restroom. What it lacks is signage from Highway 47. The parking area can be accessed from that highway or via Onion Lane by turning South off of E Main Street/SW Gaston Road. A paved trail begins at an informational signboard where you can also pick up a brochure.

It was a little cloudier than we’d hopped as we set off on the paved path. We followed the path to a footbridge over Wapato Creek to the levee that partially surrounds the lakebed. We faced a choice of heading left for 0.6-miles or right for up to 2-miles. Another person had just turned left so we opted to go right.

We were a little confused by the sign on the left here stating the trail was closed. The website and signboard had said nothing about a closure and the gate at the far end of the bridge was open and others were already out on the levee. We assume they just hadn’t taken the sign down after the seasonal closure period.

Pointers on the levee.

Nutria (sigh). We had hopped it was a beaver but alas the whiskers give it away.

Geese, several species of ducks, and some shore birds.

From the bridge to the right the levee’s surface is good gravel. We took our time as we strolled south trying to discern which types of ducks we were seeing.
A great blue heron along Wapato Creek.

Great blue heron

Wapato Lake

Beaver lodge

Northern shovelers and an American wigeon

Of course we forgot to bring binoculars making it even harder to make out which types of ducks were out there.

Ring-necked ducks with an American coot in the background.

Ring-necked duck and northern shovelers

Reflections in Wapato Lake

There is virtually no shade along the lake which wasn’t an issue today but could be in the heat of Summer. There are however three benches along the levee allowing for a place to sit and watch the birds.

Lesser scaups

Ducks flying over the lake.

Old bridge over Wapato Creek. The gravel surface ended at this bridge.

After 0.7 miles of gravel the levee continued as a natural surface. The unevenness of the natural surface was a stark difference to the gravel.

We continued on the natural surface another three quarters of a mile to a gate at another old bridge. Across the lake we could see some tundra swans which were a first for us, and we startled a coyote that raced off through the brush along the lakebed.

The coyote running off through the brush.

Tundra swans

We decided to turn around at this bridge even though the levee continued. It appeared that the water was further away from the levee going forward and we hadn’t planned on going much more than 3-miles today.

We were hoping that the partly sunny skies that had been forecast would make an appearance as we made our way back, but that never happened. Nevertheless, we were enjoying trying to identify the different ducks and birds we were seeing.
Northern pintails and some green-winged teals.

American wigeons and a pair of green-winged teals.

There were a couple of times that blue sky seemed imminent.

Buffleheads

Iowa Hill (post) across the lake.

More buffleheads

Immature bald eagle

Sparrow

Horned grebe

Canvasbacks, another first for us.

Great blue heron on the osprey nest.

Ther heron on the nest.

When we arrived back at the bridge over Wapato Creek we stayed straight on the level and followed the gravel path north 0.6-miles to a gate where we turned around and returned to our car.

Mallards

Red-winged blackbird

Bald eagle

Nutria

Gaston from the refuge.

Green-winged teals

Northern pintails

Mostly American wigeons and green-winged teals

On the paved path back to the parking lot.

We wound up going a total of 4.8-miles (according to both our GPS units) which was a little further than we’d planned, but we got to see a lot of wildlife without much effort on the level trails.

This was an enjoyable visit and given its relative proximity to Salem one that we’ll likely revisit down the line. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Forest Park (Germantown Road to Newberry Road) – 02/03/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 5, 2024
1 Comment on Forest Park (Germantown Road to Newberry Road) – 02/03/2024

Warm weather and possible blue sky prompted us to head out for our February hike the first day we had off. While the very recent weather had been unseasonably warm the Willamette Valley, and especially the Portland area, was still recovering from January’s Winter storm. We had changed our planned January hike due to storm damage in Portland’s Forest Park and found ourselves looking to change our planned February hike now as well.

We had originally planned on visiting some wetlands west of Portland but flooding from the ice storm and heavy rains that followed had left some of those trails flooded. A quick check of the current trail conditions at Forest Park revealed that there were no closures/detours listed for the area of the park we had planned to hike the previous week so that became our Plan B.

We had hiked in the 5200-acre Forest Park on five previous occasions with each hike including part of the approximately 30-mile Wildwood National Recreation Trail. The trail begins in Washington Park’s Hoyt Arboretum (post) and ends at Newberry Road to the NW. Our previous outings had covered all but approximately 3.3-miles of the Wildwood Trail between the arboretum and Germantown Road (post). A 2022 visit to the Pittock Mansion via the Wildwood Trail (post) connected to the hike from Hoyt Arboretum and to a 2020 loop starting on Leif Erickson Drive from Thurman Street (post). A 2019 loop from the Lower Saltzman Road Trailhead (post) didn’t connect to any of the other hikes leaving a 1.3-mile gap in the Wildwood Trail between the Maple Trail and Nature Trail junctions, and a 2-mile gap between Firelanes 5 and 7A.

We were missing all of the Wildwood Trail between Germantown Road and Newberry Road though, so that was the goal of today’s hike. We decided to start at the Germantown Road Trailhead as opposed to the Newberry Road Trailhead which was a choice we would regret later. We were the third car at the Germantown Road Trailhead at 7:15am.
Some of the damage from the ice storm at the trailhead.

One of the nice things about Forest Park is the numerous loops that are possible off of the Wildwood Trail which allows one to avoid straight out-and-back hikes. There is a price for the loops which is paid in the currency of elevation gain. The route I’d planned for the day included three loops beginning at the trailhead where instead of taking the Wildwood Trail we took the Connector Trail to the Cannon Trail and followed it downhill to the Leif Erickson Drive North Trailhead.
Sign for the Connector Trail at the trailhead.

Cannon Trail

From the Leif Erickson Trailhead we crossed Germantown Road at the gate for Firelane 9 then hiked uphill along the shoulder of Germantown Road just over 100 yards to Firelane 10.
Firelane 9 across from the trailhead.

Firelane 10

We followed Firelane 10 downhill to a stream crossing then climbed to a junction with the Linnton Trail.

Unsurprisingly the recent weather had most of the stream beds flowing which we hadn’t witnessed on our other visits.

Heading up to the junction.

The Linnton Trail heads down a ridge to the Linnton Trailhead.

We turned left at the junction sticking to Firelane 10 which climbed back up to the Wildwood Trail. The 1.7-mile detour from the Germantown Trailhead came with an elevation loss of 375′ and gain of 550′.

We passed the Keyser Trail which rejoins Firelane 10 just a quarter mile ahead. We stuck to Firelane 10 which climbed very steeply in that quarter mile leading us to believe the Keyser Trail may have been a little more gradual as the map showed it bowing away from Firelane 10 before rejoining.

The first of only three trees that were still down over the trails we hiked. In the distance is a Wildwood Trail sign at the junction.

We turned right onto the Wildwood Trail and followed it for just over a mile to the BPA Road.

The trail repeatedly bows into the hillside to cross creek beds.

We passed three pointers for Newton Road and then crossed Newton Road along this section of the Wildwood Trail. We would be using Newton Road to make another small loop on our way back.

The Wildwood Trail crossing Newton Road.

Not all of the junctions have maps, but most of the major ones do to help keep hikers and runners on track (or to give them more ideas).

Climbing up to the BPA Road crossing.

The BPA Road heading uphill with the Wildwood Trail we’d just come up to the right.

We turned off of the Wildwood Trail here and took a right onto the BPA Road. After a brief climb the BPA Road dropped to a saddle where Firelane 12 joined from the left at the Fix-the-Hole plaque.

Firelane 12 on the left.

The middle of three plaques commemorating the 1999 acquisition of 73-acres that was in danger of being developed.

We turned left onto Firelane 12 and descended for half a mile to Firelane 15 near another unnamed creek.

Once again varied thrush 1 – Deryl 0. If I was keeping score, it would probably be something like 179-10.

Firelane 15 on the left ahead.

We turned left onto Firelane 15 and climbed over 230′ in 0.4-miles to the Wildwood Trail.
The small creek along Firelane 15.

Blue sky and powerlines above Firelane 15.

Wildwood Trail crossing Firelane 15.

We turned right onto the Wildwood Trail once again and followed it nearly 1.8-miles to its end at Newberry Road. There were no firelanes or side trails along this final stretch of the Wildwood Trail.

The fanciest bridge we crossed all day.

Why is the trail way down there when the road is up above on the far hillside?

Woolly bear

Climbing to Newberry Road just to say we made it to the end of the Wildwood Trail.

Newberry Road Trailhead.

After a brief break at the trailhead we headed back. We stuck to the Wildwood Trail passing both Firelane 15 and the BPA Road. Just under 4-miles from Newberry Road we arrived at Newton Road were we turned right and left the Wildwood Trail.

Another sub-par bird photo, but it took us quite a while just to spot this woodpecker who was way up in the treetops (and mostly in the shade).

Crossing Firelane 15.

Another blurry bird. This one a wren, one of many we heard but the only one we were able to spot.

Uprooted trees along the Wildwood Trail.

Newton Road to the right of the Wildwood Trail.

We turned uphill onto Newton Road and followed it just over half a mile to the Newton Road Trailhead where we paused to use the facilities.
Mile marker along Newton Road.

Douglas squirrel

One of several small habitat restoration study areas along Newton Road.

The Newton Road Trailhead in the distance.

After our break at this trailhead we followed Firelane 10 at the far end of the parking area 0.2-miles to the Wildwood Trail.

It was just over three quarters of a mile on the Wildwood Trail from Firelane 10 to the Germantown Road Trailhead.
One of only two benches we saw all day.

Cars parked along Germantown Road in the distance.

According to the Garmin our hike was 12.2 miles with approximately 2200′ of elevation gain. A good challenge for us this early in the year. (Our feet were not too happy with us.)

Despite the challenge it had been a nice hike with excellent weather, and while Forest Park is much busier than many of the trails we visit it never really feels too crowded.

While our experience on the trails had been good we arrived back at our car to find that people had parked along a fence behind us in the parking lot which didn’t leave us enough room to back out from between the cars on either side of us. We hadn’t expected anyone to park there because of the lack of room, but we should have known better. We spent the next half hour or so waiting for the owners of any of the three cars parked around us to return and set us free. (Although the SUV parked on our right was most likely going to be in the same predicament we were.) Fortunately the people that had parked directly behind us returned and we were able to escape. There have been other times I worried about having the car get trapped, but until today it had just been my own paranoia. Hopefully we will choose our parking spots more carefully in the future. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Northern Forest Park

Tags BPA Road, Cannon Trail, Connector Trail, Firelane 10, Firelane 12, Firelane 15, Forest Park, Germantown Road Trailhead, hiking, Leif Erickson Northern Trailhead, Linnton Trail, Newberry Road Trailhead, Newton Road, Newton Road Trailhead, Oregon, Portland, Wildwood Trail

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Corvallis to Sea Trail (Sugar Bowl Creek Segment) – 1/27/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 29, 2024
No Comments on Corvallis to Sea Trail (Sugar Bowl Creek Segment) – 1/27/2024

Our 2024 hiking year has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. We try and get a hike in on New Years Day, but I was dealing with COVID for the first time. Then an ice storm arrived just as I was feeling up to hiking. With the final weekend of January being our last chance to get a January hike in we resolved to head out regardless of the weather if it was at all possible.

Heading into the month our plan had been to visit Forest Park in Portland to hike a section of the Wildwood Trail that we haven’t before, but the ice storm hit Portland hard resulting in lots of downed trees so we were in need of a Plan B. While no ice or snow was forecast, an atmospheric river was heading in which carried the possibility of bringing several inches of rain between Friday and Sunday so we were looking for an appropriate hike. Fortunately, we recently became members of the Hike Oregon website and one of the members only hikes there is a section of the Corvallis to Sea Trail. The hike was also listed as a good rainy-day hike, so it seemed like the prefect Plan B. The Corvallis to Sea Trail, or C2C Trail, is a 60-mile route connecting the city of Corvallis, OR to the Oregon Coast at Ona Beach State Park (post). Much of the trail is on roads which may be abandoned or gated and others open to vehicle traffic. For more information on the entire trail please visit the C2C Trail’s official website.

Our intent was to start our hike by parking at “The 4-way”, a 4-way junction of logging roads atop a hill on Shot Pouch Road. Google Maps labels this as the “C2C Trail Sugar-Bowl Kiosk” located approximately four and a half miles south of Burnt Woods and U.S. Highway 20. When we arrived at the 4-way though we discovered that there had been some very recent logging activity which had torn up the shoulders where cars would park leaving muddy ruts all over. In addition, in the final tenth of a mile of Shot Pouch Road mud was piled high enough in the center that it scrapped the bottom of our Subaru as we passed over. Not being comfortable parking near the 4-way we retreated four tenths of a mile back down the hill to the intersection of Shot Pouch Road and Shot Pouch Trail Road where there was enough of a shoulder for us to pull off and park.

The C2C follows Shot Pouch Trail Road for approximately 4-miles then turns up Shot Pouch Road to the 4-way so we were still starting on the actual trail.

From our parking spot we crossed Shot Pouch Creek on Shot Pouch Road and hiked back up to the 4-way.
Just before the bridge over Shot Pouch Creek is a spur trail for water which is reportedly scarce along the entire 60-mile route.

A swollen Shot Pouch Creek.

Following the trail/road up to the 4-way.

This was one of a handful of similar structures in the area. So far we haven’t found any information on their history.

Nearing “The 4-way”. Just ahead is where the Subaru bottomed out slightly.

The 4-way

We took the center road at the 4-way which led downhill to a kiosk and yellow gate.
Trail marker with the kiosk and part of the gate in the distance.

After filling out a card at the trail register we passed the gate and continued downhill on what at first was a very rocky old road.

Cloudy and wet morning as expected.

The rocks on the first stretch were not a pleasant surface to walk on but it wasn’t too long before we left the rocks behind.

Small cascade along a side creek.

A decent rain shower had passed overhead while we were on the really rocky road, but after that conditions improved and we encountered no more significant precipitation. It was however unseasonably warm with temperatures in the mid 50s. The combination of the warm weather and wet conditions seemed to have brought all the rough-skinned newts out to explore.
The first of the newts we spotted. They blend well with the leaves so we tried to really keep our eyes open to avoid accidently stepping on any. Over the course of the hike we saw several dozen and who knows how many we didn’t see.

The trail was well marked wherever an old roadbed split off and where the Sugar Bowl Creek Trail segment split off from the roadbed a little over a mile from the kiosk.
C2C Trail marker along the left-hand (downhill) fork.

This was the only significant blowdown we encountered on the hike and the tree here was a fairly easy duck under.

The Sugar Bowl Creek Trail segment leaving the old road. This was the only portion that was true singletrack along the Sugar Bowl segment. Here the trail passes through a portion of the Siuslaw National Forest.

The Sugar Bowl Creek Trail switchbacked downhill to the East before turning back to the SW in the Sugar Bowl.

The trail eventually rejoined the old roadbed.

Actual blue sky.

Arriving at Mary’s Peak Road.

Signage along Mary’s Peak Road for the C2C.

We followed Mary’s Peak Road just over a mile to another kiosk and gate near Harlan Road where we turned around.

This particular newt was not about to move out of Heather’s way.

A side creek flowing toward Sugar Bowl Creek.

Sugar Bowl Creek was never visible from the C2C but it was out there somewhere.

The Harlan Road Gate and kiosk.

The uphill hike back was a little warmer than we were prepared for, and it didn’t help that we were needlessly wearing raingear which doesn’t breathe.

Coral fungus

Unnamed creek

Back on the rocky roadbed below the 4-way.

Back at the gate and kiosk.

Aside from getting a little sweaty the hike was great. We didn’t see anyone else all morning and the lack of rain was a pleasant surprise. While there isn’t anything along this part of the C2C that is going to blow you away visually it was indeed a perfect rainy winters day hike. With our starting point the roundtrip hike was 7.2 miles with a little over 700′ of elevation gain.

It felt great to finally get our 2024 hiking year underway. We’re looking forward to seeing where our wanderings wind up taking us this year. Happy Trails!

Flickr: C2C Trail -Sugar Bowl Segment

Tags Burnt Woods, C2C Trail, Corvallis, Corvallis to Sea Trail, Hike Oregon, hiking, Oregon, rough skinned newt, Shot Pouch Road, Sugar Bowl, Sugar Bowl Creek Trail, Sugar Bowl Segment, The 4-Way

California Hiking Oregon Washington Year-end wrap up

Progress Report – 500 “Featured Hikes” – January 2024 Update

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 1, 2024
17 Comments on Progress Report – 500 “Featured Hikes” – January 2024 Update

In 2019 we posted about our goal to complete 500 “featured” hikes from William L. Sullivan’s “100 hikes” guidebook series. The following year we finished the first of the five guidebooks (post) and followed that up by completing two more in 2021 (post). That left us with just the Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon/Northern California books to complete. In 2022 we managed to make significant progress on the hikes to the south by checking off 28 featured hikes from the southern book, but just 6 featured hikes in the eastern book (post). That left us with a reasonable shot at completing the southern book in 2023.

We began the year with the remaining 19 southern hikes on the calendar along with 8 more eastern hikes. As is usually the case things did not go exactly as planned. Two of the hikes we’d planned during our first trip to Grants Pass in May were inaccessible due to lingering snow, but we were able to push them both back to later dates and complete them later in the year. We completed our 99th and 100th featured hikes on 10/09/2023 (post).

Then on our first tip to Eastern Oregon in June resulted in our deciding to switch the version of Sullivan’s book from the 3rd edition to his more recent “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition. (The edition numbers reset when Sullivan changed the title from 100 Hikes/Travel Guide simply to 100 Hikes.) The switch was prompted by us not feeling comfortable with, or having the time to make, the drive to Dug Bar (post). Dug Bar had been removed as a featured hike in the newer 1st edition, along with a few others, so making the switch allowed us to avoid that drive. The tradeoff was needing to return to Steens Mountain in SE Oregon to hike one of the new featured trails at Threemile Canyon, a mere 350 miles from Salem. At least that trailhead was located along a paved highway though. We rearranged some hikes in both 2023 and future years to move up the new featured hikes and were back on track. We wound up completing 10 featured hikes instead of 8 from the eastern book, but after subtracting the 6 former 3rd edition featured hikes that we’d completed, and adding one new featured hike that we’d already completed we ended the year up only 5 from the end of 2022 (84 vs 79).

Here is where we now stand at the end of 2023, having been on 484 of the 500 featured hikes:

100/100 – “100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades” 4th Edition 2012 (post)

100/100 – “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Oregon Coast & Coast Range” 3rd Edition 2009 (post)

100/100 – “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” 4th Edition 2018 (post)

100/100 – “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” Edition 4.2 2021 (post)

84/100 – “100 Hikes: Eastern Oregon” 1st Edition 2015

With just 16 more hikes to check off to complete our goal we are on track to finish the final hike in August 2024 somewhere in the Wallowa Mountains. Happy Trails!

Tags 100 Hikes, hiking, Oregon, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Mt. Tabor, Mt. Talbert, Scouters Mtn., & Hidden Falls Parks – 12/16/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 19, 2023
No Comments on Mt. Tabor, Mt. Talbert, Scouters Mtn., & Hidden Falls Parks – 12/16/2023

For our final outing of 2023 we headed to Portland to visit some Boring volcanoes. Not to be confused with boring, the Boring Volcanic Field which consists of more than 80 small volcanic vents and associated lava flows dispersed throughout the greater Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Several of the resulting cinder cones are home to parks providing hiking opportunities and we planned on visiting three of these along with a city park with a 15′ waterfall.

We began our morning at Portland’s Mt. Tabor Park. We parked in in the lot next to the Mount Tabor Visitors Center and set off toward the playground.
The playground behind and to the right of the signboard at the Visitors Center.

We were attempting to follow, as closely as possible, the route described by Matt Reeder in “PDX Hiking 365”. (His hike has a different starting point but loops through the parking area where we were starting.) After a little confusion near the playground we located the red trail and followed it to the Mount Tabor Stairs where we turned right.
The red trail continuing on the far end of the playground.

Mt. St. Helens from the playground.

On the red trail.

The Mount Tabor stairs extend from the park border up to the summit.

Summit restrooms

The restrooms were reopened in 2017 after being renovated.

Mount Tabor summit

Mt. Hood from the summit.

Downtown Portland

At the southern end of the summit, near the former site of a statue of Harvey W. Scott (and later a bust of York), we headed downhill on a steeper trail.

At a wide junction we turned right onto the Red Trail and passed above Reservoir No. 1.

At Reservoir Loop Road we veered left staying on the Red Trail climbing up and over Poison Oak Hill. The trail then dropped back down to the loop road near Reservoir No. 5.

Mallards

We walked along reservoir road to a small building then crossed the road and headed down a long flight of stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs we turned right on the Green Trail and followed it past some tennis courts before turning uphill. We stuck to the Green Trail as it neared the parking area and followed it back behind The Crater before arriving back at the Visitors Center.

We forked right at this junction sticking to the green pointers.

Arriving at The Crater.

Coming around The Crater near the Visitors Center.

This was just over a two-mile loop with approximately 350′ of elevation gain.

From Mount Tabor we made the nine-mile drive to the Sunnyside Road Trailhead for the Mount Talbert Nature Park.

We set off on a gravel path that descended to a metal bridge over Mount Scott Creek.
Mount Talbert from the path.

Mount Scott Creek

Beyond the creek the forested trail began to climb Mount Talbert. We passed a junction with the Cedar Park Trail joining from the left and after 0.4-miles arrived at a T-junction with the Park Loop Trail.

The Park Loop Trail junction just uphill.

Mount Talbert is an Oregon Metro park which meant well marked junctions complete with small maps.
Note that the map at the Park Loop/Sunnyside Road Trail junction mis-identifies the location with the “You Are Here” star located at the Park Loop/Summit Ridge junction.

We turned left onto the Park Loop Trail and followed it further uphill to the actual Summit Ridge Trail junction.

We turned right onto the Summit Ridge Trail and followed it up and over the wooded summit to the West Ridge Trail.

Arriving at the West Ridge Trail junction.

We turned right again and followed the West Ridge Trail as it traversed the hillside brining us back to the Park Loop Trail.

Rejoining the Park Loop Trail.

We completed the loop and turned down the Sunnyside Road Trail to return to our car to complete this 2.5-mile (and 700′ gain) hike.
Mt. Adams was visible through the web of small branches.

A snowy Mt. Adams.

Back at the Sunnyside Road Trail.

From the Sunnyside Road Trailhead it was just a 3.5-mile drive to the parking area at Scouters Mountain Nature Park.

From the parking area we set off on the paved Shelter Trail toward the summit.

After just 0.2-miles we arrived at the shelter and a great view of Mt. Hood.

The benches throughout the park contained various nature sculptures, this one is “Moss Group”.

After admiring the mountain we made a small loop on the summit then continued on our larger loop by taking the Boomer Trail at the southern end of the summit downhill and looping around the East side of the mountain to return to the parking area.
On the Boomer Trail.

The Boomer Trail turned left at the bottom of these stone steps.

Another Metro trail map and pointers.

The Boomer Trail, named for Mountain Beavers which are sometimes called boomers, crossed the entrance road before climbing back up to the parking area.

This was an impressive root system.

A less obstructed view of Mt. Adams. (Mt. St. Helens was also briefly visible from this section of trail.)

Slightly clearer shot of Mt. Adams.

Back at the trailhead.

This was just a 1.3-mile loop with 200′ of elevation gain, and it was still early enough that we could easily fit one more stop in. From Scouters Mountain we drove another 4.5-miles to Hood View Park

At the far end of the parking area we followed a service road down to SE 162nd Ave and followed it right to its end at a sign for the Hidden Falls Nature Park.

Mt. St. Helens from the service road. Mt. Hood was also visible to the right through some fences around the ball fields.

A wide path led somewhat steeply downhill a third of a mile to an impressive bridge over Rock Creek and a view of Hidden Falls.

The large area to the right didn’t offer much of a view of the falls, but the view from the bridge was great.

We continued past the bridge a short distance along Rock Creek before turning around when the path veered away to climb up into another neighborhood.

The Oregon Hikers Field Guide describes a 4.1-mile loop that visits some other parks while also passing through several neighborhoods. We were content with seeing the falls and headed back making this just a 1.2-mile out-and-back with a couple hundred feet of elevation gain. For the day we logged 7.2-miles and 1475′ of cumulative elevation gain. It was a nice relaxing way to end our 2023 hiking season. Happy Trails and Merry Christmas!

Tags Happy Valley, Hidden Falls, Hidden Falls Nature Park, hiking, Hood View Park, Mount Tabor, Mount Talbert, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Tabor Park, Mt. Talbert, Mt. Talbert Nature Park, Oregon, Oregon Metro, Portland, Rock Creek, Scouters Mountain, Scouters Mountain Nature Park

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

D River, Nesika Park, and Cutler City Wetlands – 11/18/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date November 20, 2023
1 Comment on D River, Nesika Park, and Cutler City Wetlands – 11/18/2023

Back on January 1st we kicked off our 2023 hiking year by visiting several trails in Lincoln City, OR (post). During that outing we kept seeing signs referring to the Lincoln City Trail Challenge. A little post hike research revealed that the challenge involved trails in eight of the city’s open spaces, the five we’d visited that day plus The Knoll which we’d visited in 2021 (post) and two hadn’t visited, Nesika Park and Cutler City Wetlands. The actual challenge is to find the trail challenge signs at each open space and snap a selfie, but we rarely ever take a selfie, and we didn’t have a picture of the sign from The Knoll. That didn’t stop us from wanting to at least visit the final two challenge locations, so when a brief window of dry weather presented itself on one of our days off we headed to Lincoln City to do just that.

Given that the two remaining locations provide less than a mile and a half of hiking we consulted the Oregon Hikers Field Guide for additional ideas and landed on their Nelscott Beach Hike. This approximately eight-mile hike would visit a lake, the D River (Once recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records as the worlds shortest river.), and Siletz Bay.

We began the hike at the D River State Recreation Site.

Before heading onto the beach we walked inland, crossing Highway 101 at a stop light, then passed over the D River and turned right into Hostetler Park.
The highway from the parking lot.

The D River from the highway bridge. The river flows between Devil’s Lake and the Pacific Ocean and at high tide has a length of approximately 40 yards.

Hostetler Park.

At the far end of the small park was a sign for the D River Open Space and a short trail leading to a long boardwalk.

We followed the boardwalk to a campground at Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area.
Several interpretive signs were located along the boardwalk.

One of the interpretive signs.

Nearing the campground.

We turned right at the campground entrance and followed the campground road to a paved (and flooded) path to a moorage.

Orange cones, and a cat, at the far end of the path.

We were able to follow the path far enough to see the moorage and a small portion of the lake.

We returned to the campground road and looped back around to the entrance booth and the boardwalk then hiked back to the parking lot and headed down to the beach.
Program area in the campground.

View North from the beach.

Cascade Head (post) in the sunlight behind God’s Thumb.

Seagulls at the mouth of the D River.

We headed South along the beach for nearly three miles to Siletz Bay where we turned inland across from Salishan Spit (post). It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was perfect and there was little to no breeze. We spent the majority of time watching pelicans glide just above the ocean while the occasional seal would pop it’s head up in the surf. There were also a number of ocean birds floating offshore, mostly surf scooters but there were some others mixed in.

There were of course plenty of seagulls present.

There weren’t very many ocean rocks along this stretch of beach.

Surf scooters

Loon, probably a common loon.

Baldy Creek

The largest group of offshore rocks were near the Inn at the Spanish Head.
The inn on the left with the rocks extending into the Pacific.

Cormorants and seagulls

This was a big tree that we were able to walk under.

A short distance beyond the Inn at the Spanish Head are some stairs leading down from 44th St. Here the beach widens as it nears the bay. We turned inland toward the stairs and followed paths through the brush and driftwood.

Salishan Spit across the Siletz.

Asters on the beach.

Pelicans on the left and seals on the right at the end of Salishan Spit.

Pelicans and seagull

Seals and a seagull

We walked along the bay to the Taft Dock for a short break before heading back.

We stopped briefly on our way back to watch the wildlife on the spit.

Drying off

On our way back we noticed that some pelicans had joined the cormorants and gulls on the rocks near the Inn at Spanish Head.

Pelican mouths are a sight to behold (righthand side).

Cascade Head and God’s Thumb both in the sunlight now.

After reaching our car we made the 0.8-mile drive to Nesika Park. The park is part of the trail challenge and home to sign #8. There is only room for a couple of cars at the end of the gravel road which was fine given we were the only car there at 11am.

While there is a trail through a small, forested area, the entire outing was just 0.3 miles out-and-back. We did however get a photo of the Trail Challenge sign near the Nesika Park Story Circle.

The Story Circle

Trail Challenge sign #8.

The trail ends at SE 3rd St (no parking available).

After accomplishing our goal here we hopped back into the car and continued South on Hwy 101 to find the Cutler City Wetlands Trailhead.

Here there were three other cars and a few more trail options.

While there are more trails to choose from here the total milage is just about 1.25 miles. We opted to loop around the outside with detours to the Salt Marsh Overlook and Pond’s Edge.

To the left is the very short spur to the Salt Marsh Overlook which was too overgrown to really see anything.

Interpretive sign at the overlook.

A noisy little hummer near the overlook.

There was pretty good signage at the main trail junctions.

Boardwalks helped cross the wet areas.

Pond’s Edge spur trail.

At the edge of the pond.

We hadn’t expected to see any blooming rhododendrons.

Arriving at the signboards at the start of the loop.

This was a nice area and a pleasant hike, but by sticking to the outside trails we missed seeing the Trail Challenge sign. I briefly thought about wandering through the center searching for it, but since we didn’t get a picture of the sign at The Knoll even if I found it, we wouldn’t have a full set. Maybe someday we’ll get actual pictures of those last two but for now we’re satisfied with having visited all these unique little parks/open spaces.

In all the days mileage came in at 9.3 with no more than 50′ of total elevation gain.

Today’s hikes are highlighted. The others are from our January outing.

Late Fall and Winter are great times to visit the Oregon Coast and today was no exception. Happy Trails!

Flickr: D River, Nesika Park, and Cutler City Wetlands

Tags Cutler City Wetlands, D River, D River State Recreation Area, Devil's Lake State Recreation Area, Devils Lake, hiking, lincoln city, Lincoln city trail challenge, Nesika Park, Oregon, Oregon Coast, salishan spit, siletz bay

California Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Crater Lake Area Grants Pass Area Hiking Klamath Mountains Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Marble Mountains Medford/Ashland Area Mt. Shasta Area Mt. Theilsen/Mt. Bailey Area Oregon Red Buttes Wilderness Rogue-Umpqua Divide Roseburg Area Salmon Mountains Scott Mountains Siskiyou mountains Sky Lakes/Mountain Lakes Area Trinity Alps Trinity Divide

Southern Oregon & Northern California

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date November 6, 2023
9 Comments on Southern Oregon & Northern California

Several years ago we set a goal for ourselves to hike all 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes…” series of guidebooks (post). In 2020 we completed the first of these books covering the Central Oregon Cascades (post). We followed that up by completing a pair of books in 2021 starting with Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Oregon Coast and Coast Range” 3rd edition (post) followed up by “100 HIkes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” 4th edition (post).

Generally speaking in order to check a hike off our list we need to have hiked a substantial portion of Sullivan’s described hike or visited the main attraction(s) he identifies for the hike. For 66 of the hikes we followed the books described route. For the other 34 hikes various factors contributed to us not completing all of each featured hike. For some we started at a different trailhead, others had portions of trail(s) closed when we visited, and several had longer options that would have required multiple days to complete. In some other cases we did slightly different routes, sometimes by accident.

The area covered by Sullivan in this book, as the title suggests includes parts of Southern Oregon and Northern California. It contains his southernmost featured hike, Caribou Lakes. In general the area covered in Oregon begins just North of Roseburg extending East to Highway 97 (with the exception being Klamath Falls which is included in his Eastern Oregon book), South to California, and West to Marial on the Rogue River. In California the area extends south to the Trinity Alps Wilderness, West to the Siskiyou Wilderness, and East to the Mount Shasta Wilderness.

The hikes inside the red lines represent the location of the featured hikes.

In addition to the three wilderness areas in California mentioned above the featured hikes included visits to the Marble Mountain, Castle Crags, Russian, and Red Buttes Wilderness areas in California. Wilderness areas in Oregon included the Red Buttes (OR & CA share this wilderness), Kalmiopsis, Wild Rogue, Soda Mountain, Mountain Lakes, Sky Lakes, Rogue-Umpqua Divide, Boulder Creek, and Mt. Thielsen.

In addition to the 15 designated wilderness areas there were hikes in two National Monuments – Oregon Caves & Cascade-Siskiyou, and Crater Lake National Park.

#1 North Bank Ranch-Hiked 6/5/2015 6/25/2023

#2 Fall Creek Falls-Hiked 6/13/2022 8/7/2022 6/25/2023
Fall Creek Falls
#3 Little River Waterfalls-Hiked 8/7/2022
Yasko Falls
#4 Boulder Creek-Hiked 9/7/2020

#5 Twin Lakes-Hiked 6/14/2022

#6 Fish Lake-Hiked 9/3/2022

#7 Buckey and Cliff Lakes-Hiked 9/3/2022

#8 Umpqua Hot Springs-Hiked 6/13/2022

#9 Toketee and Watson Falls-Hiked 6/13/2022

#10 Lemolo Falls-Hiked 6/13/2022

#11 Cowhorn Mountain-Hiked 9/15/2016

#12 Miller and Maidu Lakes-Hiked 8/1/2012

#13 Tipsoo Peak-Hiked 10/2/2014

#14 Thielsen Creek-Hiked 8/8/2020

#15 Mount Thielsen-Hiked 9/23/2012

#16 Diamond Lake-Hiked 9/5/2020

#17 Mount Bailey-Hiked 8/12/2012

#18 Boundary Springs-Hiked 6/13/2014

#19 Park Headquarters-Hiked 7/31/2023

#20 Garfield Peak-Hiked 7/31/2023

#21 Discovery Point-Hiked 9/19/2022

#22 The Watchman-Hiked 8/12/2012 7/31/2023

#23 Wizard Island-Hiked 8/1/2023

#24 Mount Scott-Hiked 10/2/2014

#25 Plaikni Falls and The Pinnacles-Hiked 7/30/2023

#26 Crater Peak-Hiked 7/30/2023

#27 Annie Creek & Godfrey Glen-Hiked 7/30/2023 7/31/2023

#28 Union Peak-Hiked 9/17/2022

#29 Upper and Lower Table Rocks-Hiked 6/9/2017 (Lower) & 5/26/2022 (Upper)
Lower Table Rock

View from Upper Table Rock
#30 Lost Creek Lake-Hiked 6/9/2017

#31 Takelma Gorge-Hiked 10/15/2020

#32 Natural Bridge-Hiked 10/16/2020

#33 Union Creek-Hiked 10/17/2020 9/20/2022

#34 Abbott Butte-Hiked 10/17/2020

#35 Hershberger Mountain-Hiked 10/16/2020

#36 Muir Creek-Hiked 5/27/2018

#37 Rattlesnake Mountain-Hiked 9/6/2020

#38 Seven Lakes West-Hiked 9/9/2023

#39 Seven Lakes East-Hiked 9/9/2023

#40 Blue Lake Basin-Hiked 9/18/2022

#41 Mount McLoughlin-Hiked 8/27/2016

#42 Fourmile Lake-Hiked 8/26/2016

#43 Sky Lakes via Cold Springs-Hiked 9/24/2022

#44 Sky Lakes via Nannie Creek-Hiked 9/24/2022

#45 Fish Lake-Hiked 10/7/2018

#46 Brown Mountain Lava Flow-Hiked 8/28/2016

#47 Lake of the Woods-Hiked 10/7/2018

#48 Mountain Lakes-Hiked 8/25/2016

#49 Soda Mountain-Hiked 6/3/2015

#50 Pilot Rock-Hiked 7/29/2017

#51 Mount Ashland Meadows-Hiked 6/3/2015

#52 Lithia Park-Hiked 6/2/2015

#53 Bandersnatch Trail-Hiked 6/17/2022

#54 White Rabbit Trail-Hiked 6/17/2022

#55 Grizzly Peak-Hiked 6/5/2015

#56 Roxy Ann Peak-Hiked 5/30/2022

#57 Wagner Butte-Hiked 6/4/2015

#58 Siskiyou Gap-Hiked 6/16/2022

#59 Jack-Ash Trail-Hiked 5/27/2022

#60 Sterling Ditch Tunnel-Hiked 6/10/2017 5/2/2023

#61 Jacksonville-Hiked 6/8/2017

#62 Enchanted Forest-Hiked 6/11/2017

#63 Observation Peak-Hiked 6/15/2022

#64 Collings Mountain-Hiked 6/8/2017

#65 Applegate Lake-Hiked 6/8/2017 5/29/2022

#66 Red Buttes-Hiked 10/27/2015

#67 Frog Pond-Hiked 6/18/2022

#68 Azalea Lake-Hiked 10/26/2015

#69 Sturgis Fork-Hiked 10/7/2023

#70 Grayback Mountain-Hiked 10/9/2023

#71 Oregon Caves-Hiked 10/30/2015

#72 Mount Elijah-Hiked 10/7/2023

#73 Sucker Creek-Hiked 10/26/2015

#74 Tanner Lakes-Hiked 10/8/2023

#75 Bolan Lake-Hiked 10/8/2023

#76 Polar Bear Gap-Hiked 7/1/2022

#77 Raspberry Lake-Hiked 7/3/2022

#78 Devils Punchbowl-Hiked 7/2/2022

#79 Rough and Ready Creeks-Hiked 5/12/2017

#80 Babyfoot Lake-Hiked 10/9/2023

#81 Eight Dollar Mountain-Hiked 5/4/2023

#82 Illinois River Beaches-Hiked 5/4/2023

#83 Grants Pass Nature Trails 5/3/2023

#84 Rouge River Trail East-Hiked 5/1/2023

#85 Rogue River Trail West-Hiked 6/24/2023

#86 Paradise Lake-Hiked 6/28/2016

#87 Sky High Lakes-Hiked 6/29/2016

#88 Campbell Lake-Hiked 6/27/2016

#89 Paynes Lake-Hiked 7/24/2017

#90 Russian Lake-Hiked 8/24/2022

#91 Hidden & South Fork Lakes-Hiked 8/26/2022

#92 Trail Gulch Lake-Hiked 8/25/2022

#93 East Boulder Lake-Hiked 8/23/2022

#94 Kangaroo Lake-Hiked 7/23/2017

#95 Deadfall Lakes-Hiked 7/25/2017

#96 Caribou Lake-Hiked 7/27/2017

#97 Castle Lake-Hiked 7/26/2017

#98 Castle Crags-Hiked 7/26/2017

#99 Black Butte-Hiked 7/28/2017

#100 Mount Shasta Meadows-Hiked 8/22/2022

In our minds this was by far the most challenging area to finish even though we did so before completing Eastern Oregon. The difficulty with Eastern Oregon mostly revolves around distance from Salem and the size of the area covered. The Southern Oregon-Northern California area is smaller and the hikes not as far away, but it involved a lot of trails that frankly don’t see the level of maintenance that most of the other areas receive. While we’ve encountered rough trails, all over poison oak is much more prevalent down south which doesn’t invite pushing through overgrown tread or bushwacking around obstacles. This area has also been hit harder by fires over the last couple of decades leaving extra work to reopen them as well as remove additional blowdown as the dead trees fall over. When the conditions were good though the scenery and diverse plant and wildlife made for some spectacular hikes. There are many that we’d love to do again and several non-featured hikes that we have in our future plans, so we aren’t done with area yet. Happy Trails!

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Oceanside, Short Beach, Tillamook Wetlands, and Anderson Hill – 10/28/23

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 30, 2023
1 Comment on Oceanside, Short Beach, Tillamook Wetlands, and Anderson Hill – 10/28/23

A cold snap arrived in conjunction with the final hike of our official 2023 season leaving us with a decision to make about where to go. One of the great things about living in Western Oregon are the hiking options. We were debating between heading to Government Camp near Mt. Hood to see some of the new snow that the system had brought with it, or to the beach where things would be a little bit warmer. In the end we decided that we weren’t quite ready for a Winter wonderland yet, and highs in the low to mid 50s sounded a little more appealing than highs in the low to mid 30s. The beach it was where we had some unfinished business at Oceanside.

We had attempted to hike the beach at Oceanside earlier in the year on a different multi-stop day (post), but had saved it for the final stop only to find the area so crowded that there was no place to park. We wouldn’t be making that mistake again so this time it was stop number one on the itinerary. We had no issue finding a parking spot this time arriving just as the Moon was disappearing behind Three Arch Rocks.
From left to right: Storm, Finely, and Shag Rocks.

Three Arch Rocks is one of two designated wilderness areas along the Oregon Coast Managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife as a wildlife refuge the 15-acre wilderness area was the first designated refuge West of the Mississippi and is one of only a few wilderness areas entirely closed to entry by the general public.

From the parking lot we took the stairs down to the beach and headed north toward the Tunnel which leads through Maxwell Point to Tunnel Beach.
Cape Lookout (post) to the south.

Maxwell Point

View from beside Maxwell Point.

The Tunnel was built in 1926.

The Tunnel from Tunnel Beach.

Three Arch Rocks from Tunnel Beach.

We hiked North along the beach passing a rocky point to Agate Beach before turning around where that beach ended at a cliff a little more than a third of a mile from the Tunnel.
The end of Tunnel Beach. At higher tide it’s not possible to get around the point here.

Getting closer to the end of Tunnel Beach. This set of ocean rocks are part of the Oregon Islands Wilderness, A string of of over 5,600 rocks, reefs, islets, and islands lying within three miles offshore mirroring almost the entire length of the Oregon coast from Tillamook Head to the California border. Like Three Arch Rocks this wilderness is also closed to the public.

Bald eagle on top of one of the rocks.

Seal

Agate Beach

Cape Lookout from Agate Beach.

After reaching the cliff we headed back to the Tunnel and then continued South along the beach 2.3-miles to Hodgdon Creek across from Netarts Spit (post).

An assortment of sea birds.

Maxwell Point and Cape Lookout

Sun starting to hit the Three Arch Rocks.

Sand dollar

Cormorants. There was a steady stream of flocks of birds heading south along the coastline.

Footbridge over Fall Creek.

Fall Creek

Frosty leaves near Fall Creek.

Great blue heron in a tree above Fall Creek.

Happy Camp

Hodgdon Creek

Seagulls and common mergansers near Hodgdon Creek.

Buffleheads

Netarts Spit

Happy Camp from our turn around point.

We returned the way we’d come and then drove North on Cape Meares Loop Road just under a mile and a half to a pullout across from a sign for Short Beach.
Three Arch Rocks and Maxwell Point now in full Sun.

A local built the staircase leading down to Short Beach and it is about as “Oregon Coast” as a staircase could be.

The beach only extends a short distance to the South.

The sea stack and Short Creek Spillway to the North.

We headed North along the cobblestone beach which isn’t the easiest surface to hike on, especially when they are wet and slightly frosty. On the positive side the cobblestones added some great sounds to the ocean as the waves tossed them about then rolled them over one another as the waves receded.

Starfish

The sea stack

Cape Meares (post)

I didn’t notice the little waterfall along the cliffs below Cape Mears until I looked at the pictures.

Red-throated loon

A third of a mile from the stairs we reached Larsen Creek Falls.

Apparently at low tide it’s possible to reach the cliffs below Cape Meares, but the tide was coming in and it also appeared that some sliding had occurred at some point, so we turned around a tenth of a mile beyond Larsen Creek Falls.
The area ahead in the shade is where things started looking a little sketchy.

These two beach hikes came to a total of 6.6-miles, 5.5 at Oceanside and 1.1 at Short Beach. From Short Beach we drove to Tillamook to try the Tillamook Bay Wetlands hike which I’d found as I was looking through the Oregon Hikers Field Guide. We parked at the Goodspeed Road Trailhead. The field guide entry showed this as a 3.6-mile loop following dikes through wetlands between the Wilson, Trask, and Tillamook Rivers. We were immediately confused due to the field guide mentioning a map and metal gate at the Goodspeed Trailhead but there was neither at the signed parking area.
Apparently there used to be a metal gate here instead of a the rope/chain.

We were pretty sure we’d followed the driving directions though so we stepped over the chain onto the grassy dike and began following it through the wetlands.

Bald eagles in the tree tops.

Bald eagles

The map in the field guide showed an elongated loop following what Google Maps and the GPS showed as the continuation of Goodspeed Road to the Wilson River then along that river to the Tillamook River where the route looped back along it then the Trask to Sissek Road. The dike we were on though reached a slough where it turned sharply South.
This is where the dike/path turned South. Our best guess is that there has been additional wetland restoration since the entry in the field guide and some of the dikes that the guide route followed have been removed.

We didn’t come up with our theory about what was going on until after we got home. While we were hiking we kept checking the GPS map/track and comparing it to the map in the field guide. We still weren’t sure if we really had started in the right spot given the lack of a metal gate and map at the trailhead or if we’d missed a turn somewhere. We continued to follow the dike system which looped around and after just over a half mile the GPS showed that we were on Sissek Road (now a grassy dike).
We weren’t getting across that.

Somewhere out that way, beyond the slough, was the Wilson River.

Now heading East toward Sissek Road.

At this point we had left Sissek Road which used to extend straight from Goodspeed Road where the signs and rope/chain is in this photo (ahead to the right at the 90-degree turn).

The dike system brought us to another signed parking area we’d pass on the way to the Goodspeed Road Trailhead. This one is just past a one-lane bridge over Hall Slough.

At this point we were sure we’d started at the correct trailhead and were now convinced we’d missed a turn somewhere near the start of the hike. First we tried walking a grassy track South from this parking area which brought us to another muddy slough, but not before spotting an egret and a great blue heron.

We backtracked to the parking area and then hiked Goodspeed Road back to the trailhead where I began searching for a different route.
Hawk above Goodspeed Road.

One path led down to Hall Slough ending in mud at it’s bank.

A second path led north on what the GPS showed as a former road but it was too overgrown and flooded to make it far.

We wound up doing just 1.9-miles here including the out-and-back explorations.

It was a fine little hike and we saw a nice little variety of birds, but it was a little disappointing not to be able to see any of the rivers. We had one last stop planned, another short hike I found in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide, the Anderson Hill Loop . The trail begins at Anderson Hill County Park to the right of a metal picnic table.

The 1.2-mile reverse lollipop loop gains just 130′ as it climbs to a power line corridor on Anderson Hill. The view from the power lines is of course limited due to the power lines, but the trail was in good shape and the forest was nice making for a decent little outing.

Junction with the spur trail to the power line corridor.

Footbridge and stairs leading back up to the picnic table.

The four hikes came to just 9.7-miles and 270′ of cumulative elevation gain and included ocean views, waterfalls, forests, wetlands, and ample wildlife.

It was a beautiful day weather wise and great way to end our season. We’ll scale back our hiking for the next 5-6 months, but we plan on getting out at least once a month until our 2024 season kicks off. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tillamook Area Hikes