Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  S5. Hike #16 - Peavy Arboretum (McDonald Dunn Forest) Starting Location:  parking lot at Peavy Arboretum Point of Interest :  forest scenery Distance : 4 miles (lots of trails available) Difficulty : Moderate due to steepness Bathrooms:  porta potties at parking lot Parking : plenty of parking, several small lots EV Chargers :  no We've been here before, in Feb 2024, but the weather was so good, and this is close to home, and the leaves are changing color. Our group of 8 started out walking uphill along a service road, with trees arched over us, dropping colorful leaves. The road is in great shape, but a constant incline for over a mile. We eventually left the road for the Powder House trail. This trail is smaller, but still in good shape, although the wet leaves could be slippery. We were here in the afternoon, and the light was fantastic, setting off the color of the leaves. Lots of interesting places and views along the way, including this small ...

 S5. Hike #15 - Fitton Green Natural Area, Bald Hill Starting Location: Allen Throop Loop Trailhead Point of Interest :  Views of South Willamette Valley Distance : 1.5 miles, many trails available of various lengths Difficulty : easy to medium, trails in good shape, some steep Bathrooms:  porta potty Parking : small gravel lot EV Chargers :  No This is a tale of 2 hikes. We started with the Allen Throop Loop, part of the Fitton Green and Bald Hill Natural Areas. There are lots of trails, so you do need to pay attention to what trail you are on. They seem to be marked well enough. The trail is easy, and the views are amazing. We drove up to the trailhead, and this trail was only about 1.5 miles, it went by very quickly. The other trails in the area that connected were longer than we wanted to go, so we ended up driving down to the Bald Hill Natural Area. Bald Hill is more established, and busier, with bikers and joggers, as well as other hiker/walkers. Some...

S5 Kayak #4 - Santiam River from I5 to Buena Vista Starting Location:  I5 Rest Area at the Santiam River (accessible from either side.) Point of Interest :  Beautiful River scenery Distance : Just over 8 River Miles Time on float: about 3 hours Bathrooms:  Plenty at the Rest Area! Parking : Lots of parking. Trailers may need to drive back over to the rest area EV Chargers :  no Rentals:  no This was our first time on the Santiam. We've heard about this float, and finally decided to try it. The hardest part? It was just the 2 of us, and taking 2 cars would mean an extra hour of driving between the put in and take out area. Luckily, we talked our son into coming with us to drive the truck back to Buena Vista! So off we went. The boat ramp is concrete, and gently sloped. There is some parking nearby, on gravel, but with a trailer it would be hard. However, there is a rest area nearby with plenty of trailer parking. It's a short walk to the boat ramp. I could ...

  S5 Hike #14 - Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge Starting Location:  parking lot at Ankeny Hill Nature Center Point of Interest :  hiking, education, Distance : depends on trails. Difficulty : easy, flat Bathrooms:  nice bathrooms at Nature Center Parking : yes, paved, and other parking at trail heads EV Chargers :  No I've come across this Refuge on a "shortcut" to I-5. It's just a few miles from I-5, and the Buena Vista Ferry. There's a short hike of less than a mile at the Nature Center, and then you have to drive to a trailhead. The short trail at the Nature Center winds through some wetlands, and connects some building which are used for education purposes, like field trips. There are nice views and a variety of plants which are labeled. While this is a good place to start, if you want to hike, you'll need to drive to a trailhead. So we went to the Pintail, Egret Marsh Boardwalk trailhead. There's a nice boardwalk that winds through a pretty dense ...

  S5 Hike #13 - Big Tree Boardwalk - Rockaway Beach Starting Location:  parking lot off Hwy 101 Point of Interest :  Large Cedar Tree, boardwalk, nature Distance : 0.5 miles each way Difficulty : easy, and accessible Bathrooms:  portapotty Parking : yes, but small lot. Some parking on side of road EV Chargers :  No This is the only sign you get for this hike. It's just after Twin Rocks, before Rockaway Beach. I was lucky enough to get here when it was raining. Pretty hard. I did have my hiking gear, minus my rain pants. So I got pretty wet. However, this is a pretty hike though a dense forest. The boardwalk goes the entire distance, and was in great shape. Honestly, I was almost as interested in the craftmanship of the boardwalk as I was with the sights along the hike. There is a small offshoot of the board walk that goes to an observation platform, but all I could see was underbrush. There were picnic tables, however. When you do get to the tree,...