hiking with kids – Page 4 – little feet hiking

Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is open after a 2 year closure! I love the new trail…the first mile takes you along the dike, so you get an amazing vantage point looking down. After the first mile, you can get deeper into the refuge and now hike over 4 miles! Today we saw a white pelican, a bittern, herons roosting, an osprey with babies, purple martens, a red tail hawk, an egret, and more. So excited to visit regularly and update my hike descriptions.

View of Larch Mountain (Oregon) from the Mountain View Trail

Parking was challenging on opening day, so try visiting on a weekday in the coming weeks. There is a lot of excitement about the new trails, which all have new names. Also, remember that the trails aren’t complete yet, so it will look like a bit of a construction zone in some places. Check out the new trail map and head on over!

Big thanks to Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards, Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other partners for making this happen! Check out this great write-up here.

When it’s raining/snowing/hailing, one of my favorite hikes is along the Bells Mountain Trail starting from Cold Creek Day Use Area (located in the Yacolt Burn State Forest in Southwest Washington). The western red cedar and Douglas fir trees protect you from falling precipitation and the creek is so lovely. There are several beach spots along the creek and a lot of native plants budding and blooming. You can learn more about this 3.6 mile hike and it’s western red cedar trails in my first book “little feet hiking.”