Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  Ellendale Creek Loop Starting Location:  Yellow Gate, park on side of road about 2 miles up Reuben Boise Road Point of Interest  :   views Length of hike:  4.8 mile loop Level :  Moderate - well kept trails, some steep elevation Bathrooms :  No Parking :  Side of road EV Chargers:   No We've done this hike a few times, since it is close to where we live. It's also fun to see how the land looks different each time.  We always take the horse trail at the beginning that is steeper than I remember. Lots of short rests. The gravel road does wander to the same place, but this trail goes through the forest, which is a different look than most of the hike on a gravel road. The weather was amazing. End of January and not only is it sunny, but warm. I was comfortable in my tshirt. The trail was dry too. The view at the top is always amazing, unless it's all fogged in. It's also about the halfway point, so a good place to rest and have a sna...

Season 6. Hike #2 - Luckiamute State Natural Area Starting Location:  North Trailhead (Trail Map) Point of Interest :  wildlife habitat, hiking Distance : 4 mile loop with campground trail Difficulty : Easy. Flat, a bit muddy after rains, but passable Bathrooms:  Permanent bathroom at South end, porta potty at North Trailhead Parking : small lots EV Chargers :  No We liked our last hike so much, we came back so we could hike the trail to the rafters' campground, and bring our dog.  Dogs are permitted off leash, except for nesting times, April - July. The trail to the campground is wide and flat. There were some puddles, and low areas, but easy to go around.  The weather was clear and cold. There was still ice on the trail where there was shade. The campground is mostly a wide open space with a few picnic tables and raised BBQ grills. The ranger mentioned that they bring a porta potty out here for the summer. It was worth the hike to come out here...

  Season 6. Hike #1 (First Day Hike) - Luckiamute State Natural Area Starting Location:  North Trailhead (Trail Map) Point of Interest :  wildlife habitat, hiking Distance : 2 mile loop (4 with campground trail) Difficulty : Easy. Flat, a bit muddy after rains, but passable Bathrooms:  Permanent bathroom at South end, porta potty at North Trailhead Parking : small lots EV Chargers :  No This was our 3rd First Day Hike, and while looking at the long list of available First Day Hikes, we saw this one that was pretty close to where we live, and we had never heard of it before. We ended up getting there early, which was good, since there are 3 driveways marked as part of the state park, and we came from the South, so the 3rd time was the charm. Don't go to the middle driveway...that's the ranger offices. The North and South Nature Areas are separated by private land, for now, so there's no trail from one to the other. We had 2 rangers with us for this hi...