A nice place to get out in the forest practically in town.
There's an extensive trail network that is very well marked. There are some trails where there's more than one option to go to the same place where the trails are very close together. There are some "social trails" that are showing up where people decide to make their own trails. Too bad - they aren't in great spots.
There are trails through native oak trees. Look out for flying clowns, uh ... Acorn Woodpeckers. In the spring you can find trout lilies and tiger lilies and larkspur and many other wildflowers. It would be pretty easy to link a bunch of trails together for a ten mile hike without really retracing your path. A five mile walk is easy. An even easier walk is along the paved path from Oak Creek Drive to Reservoir Avenue, or you can access it from the Benton County Fairgrounds.
There's some very large madrone trees in places (Arbutus menzesii). I saw one that was 29" dbh. Very lovely.
From the top there are two vistas. One looks west towards Marys Peak. The other looks east-southeast towards the valley. Both vistas are nice.
It's not all great though. Expect a little noise because it's so close to town. Trains. Traffic. Machinery. It's there. But it is so close you can bike there easily from almost anywhere in town, and from most places in town there's bike paths to help you stay away from the cars. There's also some invasive species - holly, honesuckle, and of course blackberry. It's sad to see it, but perhaps a restoration will happen. There's also a native plant to be aware of because it's all over. Best to know what it looks like in winter if you don't stay right on the path. No surprise. Without fire on the landscape, poison oak just grows fantastic. Fire has been suppressed from the landscape, it's probably not a great idea to put it back on the landscape without some other restoration first like they've done on a path that leads from the Bald Hill system up to Fitton Green. You can actually hike up to Fitton Green, over the top, down Crestmont, and into Wren. Neat-O.
It can be a busy place especially when there's good weather and it's a weekend. Even mid-day mid-week you'll see plenty of other people. I'll be one of them. Wave when you see me. read more