Count the trillium! This is lovely woodland hike thru old growth forest alongside little streams, mossy trees and woodland wildflowers. We started off the lower loop trail, access this one across hwy #20 The is a sign and the trail is easily visible from the entrance to the park. This adds a nice mile or so to your hike, it is easy and the trail is in better shape than it used to be. There are some benches scattered about and a picnic table at the west end by the park boundary. There is supposed to be a view of the river, but it was a no view viewpoint, fogged in. The fog burned off as we crossed back over the road and began hiking the Evergreen Loop. I've done it counterclockwise many times, but today we mixed it up and did it clockwise. After the high point, the trail drops down to a bridge across the creek with a nice snack bench. Besides trillium, there were skunk cabbage, yellow wood violets, spring beauty and vanilla leaf getting ready to bloom. For something different, I enlarged the blossoms of the skunk cabbage and trillium so you can see the reproductive parts, remember your high school botany?  All trails in good shape and loo open. For the Earth Day celebration, meet at the picnic shelter at 11 AM on 4/26 for the Trillium Count! This would be fun for kids of all ages! 

A good day for solitude on the trails at Rockport- we did the Sauk Springs and the Skagit View on the south side of Hwy 20 then crossed back over to the north side to hike the Evergreen and West Loop trails.  Only saw a few hikers as we headed out of the park.   Lots of trillium in various stages, along with bleeding hearts, forget-me-nots and yellow violets.   Then we drove to Howard Miller Park and hiked along the trail overlooking the skagit river.  Nice views looking across the skagit

Good facilities at Rockport State Park -- Facilities were being renovated at Howard Miller

Did both the ADA loop and the Evergreen loop. Solid snow on the ADA loop but easy to walk on without spikes.
Someone put ornaments on of the trees in that section and I didn’t have anything to bring them with me without breaking them but they’re starting to fall and it’s a hazard for the ecosystem. It’s so frustrating when people do that..
Needed spikes on a little section on the top of the loop where it was icy and steep. Snow was intermittent and icy the rest of the way but easy to cross. Very pretty!!

I actually only did the short trails across the street from Rockport, but wanted to say they are worth checking out after your bathroom break. From there I went to Bacon Creek Road and promptly parked my car and simply walked the forest road a couple miles. It was exactly what I was looking for; solitude and beauty and not too hard. Now if you read any of the other TR’s for this snowshoe, you will find something completely different! But you don’t have to do hike it Big Dog style— it makes a lovely normal person snowshoe. Though I really didn’t need them (maybe 7 inches deep at highest point I went) but I’m sure that has already changed. For more info and story go to slowesthiker.com or click link below. Oh, you can also follow me @Kellbell.500

ps if you go to story and think you know what the prints were, comment!

I'm a big fan of Rockport State Park and I'm here to tell you you should be too.  It really is a gem that's hiding in plain sight and offers some lovely old growth hiking.  Although it's a bit of a drive for us it's well worth the trip this time of year.  In a few months time I'll hopefully be whizzing past to hike in the high country of the North Cascades but until then RSP is more than worthy of your hiking attention.  We arrived at the park mid-morning which was a tad too early with our arctic cold nights, as approaching Concrete Highway 20 was starting to look suspiciously black and slick.  So we drove the last ten miles to the park's still empty parking lot low and steady with fingers crossed and arrived safely.  Bathrooms are first rate and heated too, such a treat. 

For our full on park sampler hike we took the perimeter Evergreen trail then the west side of the Interpretive Loop trail, then using a short connector we crossed Highway 20 to hike the Skagit View and Sauk Spring loops in the south section, before crossing back and finishing back at the parking lot.  The other main loop is the Fern Creek trail, which we didn't have time for.  All told that brought our total to around four and a half miles, perfect for a half day hike.  I had grabbed my poles leaving the house thinking bridges might be icy but all the bridge crossings had grippy wire mesh so no issues at all.  No mud either as the ground is pretty frozen.  Trails are well marked at junctions and there were maps at the kiosk, handy as there are a few service roads and other connectors to throw you off if you're not paying attention.  Saw just one other person.  The park is full of some really majestic old mossy trees and there's just a bit of grade to climb to the high point before you gently meander back down following the little creek, this part is my favorite.  The interpretive trail is gravel topped and you can do just that loop for around a mile and a half with little kids or for hikers with mobility challenges.  It also has some of the biggest trees both upright and fallen.

The loops on the south side were pleasant with minimal grade change.  I've included a picture of the view/no view from the end of the Skagit View trail.  You can almost see the river and there is a nice picnic table there too if you want a warm spot to sit a while.

Back at the car by lunchtime we extended our day by driving up to the county park for a picnic in the car lunch overlooking the river, and then up to the road side viewing park to look for eagles.  The forest service were there and we used their scopes to spy on one on the far side of the river.  Coming home we drove the back roads of the Skagit Valley stopping at Fir Island to look for more wild-life.  Our final eagle count was 11!