Tronsen Ridge is a great wildflower hike and it's an excellent time to go, especially if you like Tweedy's Lewisia (a little is still to bloom, some is fading, there is a lot in bloom, photo 1). There are a huge variety of flowers blooming including: the fields of prairie smoke, bitterroot, lots of lupine, sitka and Wenatchee valerian, western clematis (photo 2 with a crab spider waiting for a pollinator), lots of snowbrush, a few species of larkspur and penstemon (photo 3), harsh and scarlet paintbrush, some thick areas of balsamroot remain (in a half mile section the balsamroot leaves were being decimated by a small plague of bigheaded grasshoppers, these plants live for decades, I'm sure they'll be back), showy Jacob's ladder, Columbian lewisia, thread-leaf phacelia, and many, many more. The views are outstanding and ever-changing on this ridge-running trail. I'm always amazed at how few people are on this amazing trail, we saw 4 hikers and 0 dirt bikers on this sunny Saturday. The trail was extremely popular with the butterflies (photo 4). Controlled burns were performed last year. This didn't degrade the trail in the least. I'm guessing there will be mostly lupine in these spots, it will be interesting to watch. Many of the old stumps burned completely leaving holes with tunnels where the roots were. Links to my preferred route and parking location.
Type of Hike
Day hikeTrail Conditions
Trail in good conditionRoad
Road suitable for all vehiclesBugs
Bugs were not too badSnow
Snow free
Comments
Bob and Barb on Tronsen Ridge
Thank you so very much for your usual good report and beautiful photos! We can no longer do this hike which was one of our favorites so it was good to see the trail vicariously through your report and photos!
Posted by:
Bob and Barb on Jun 08, 2025 09:49 PM