Took our almost-four-year-old out to burn off some energy. The walk didn’t really have a destination, but we cobbled together five miles between the various trails, and she proclaimed it a fun day.
Road: about half mile gravel stretch is in good shape; potholes are relatively small and/or filled in.
Trailhead: on a cloudy Sunday, one car at 9 AM, two at 1 PM. We only ran into people about six times in the four hours we were there. Bathroom clean and stocked, including hand sanitizer.
Bugs: bugs were a big annoyance! Oddly enough, more in the woods than by the lake. They did help keep the kid moving, though! She was buzzing along pretending they were in a race with her.
Trail: most of the loop trail was wide, with vegetation cut back several feet on both sides. The only lake access was right near the beginning, a small offshoot to the left. The Moss Lake trail was pretty - a little more woodsy, which I enjoyed - but because of the woodsiness, views of the lake were glimpses through the trees. There’s a short stretch of the northeastern part of the loop that is outside park boundaries. We saw joggers coming in and out and not any no trespassing signs except the park boundary, so we walked through. The only no trespassing signs we came across later were blocking offshoots, not the loop section itself.
Plant highlights: lots of ripe blackberries and thimbleberries. We had just learned about stinky bob in her plant book the day before, and she was excited to find it all over the place (though that’s a bit unfortunate, since it’s invasive!)
All in all, we had a nice day, but it didn’t particularly stand out to me as compared to other small nature areas, so I don’t know that we’ll make the long drive for another visit. Off to keep exploring!
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