Columbia Hills State Park - Horsethief Butte — Sunday, Apr. 8, 2018

After setting up camp at Horsethief Lake CG in Columbia Hills SP,  we drove the short distance to the Horsethief Butte TH. A large group of climbers from Oregon was leaving as we arrived. There were several hikers enjoying the very windy, but beautiful afternoon. Balsamroot,  yellow desert parsley, manroot (wild cucumber), Oregon grape, death camas, prairie stars, fiddleneck, and miner's lettuce were some of the flowers blooming. We entered the butte from the South side and explored some of the trails inside. The hike to enter the butte is short, but there are many side trails which take you around the North and the South side of the butte, trails south and west to views of the Columbia River, Horsethief Lake and CG with Mt Hood  appearing on a clear day, and the Columbia Hills to the North. After our hike, we drove the Dalles Mountain Road to check on the balsam root and lupine bloom at Dalles Mountain Ranch and it looks like the peak bloom is 10 days to two weeks away! Columbia Hills SP is a great place to visit when the balsam root and lupine are at their peak.