Milltown State Park-Wildflower Walk- May 3, 2025

Participants: Steve Schombel, Ed Monning, Katie Renick, Zack Irwin, David & Julie Kahl

This was a trip that showcased some of the problems that come with hiking new areas, where protocols are still being developed. There doesn’t appear to be any “main parking lot” for Milltown State Park, I thought that what they call the Gateway Parking Lot, just across Hwy 200 from the big truck stop, was the main parking lot, but our people ended up parked at other major parking lots throughout the park. We also had a variety in how the area and the roads showed up on different map apps, adding to the confusion. Through the miracle of modern technology -cell phones- we got everyone to the Gateway Parking lot. This was just an easy, close place to park and carpool to the actual trail head on 9th St. in West Riverside. In the past we had to park on the side of the road by houses, but today we found gates permanently open so we could park in a lot in front of the red building the trail entrance is behind. So, we wouldn’t have needed to carpool after all. I lead the vehicles there, but David and Ed went ahead, and forgot to make a turn and found themselves at a place that seemed like the trail head. Ed had some time restrains and as David and I talked on the phone, they were sure they were in the right place and were just going to start hiking. They found themselves hiking along a fence that they could see no end to, and went back to Ed’s truck, to come over to the real trail head. Meantime, we had started hiking up the road. For the first mile/1.61k the road climbs the side of the ridge, then above Lewis’ Overlook, opens out into grassy meadowy slopes. We were almost there when Ed and David caught up with us. No one wanted to go down the hill to the over look, too brushy -ticks. At a switchback in the road are some old FS powder sheds. Some went to investigate them. Ed needed to head back out, and we stopped to have lunch. Katie and Zack wanted to go on more -it was a go as far as you like hike. On the way up from the parking lot, not very far up, there is a trail that takes off to the left and looks like it follows the brow of a ridge -very steep brow. They ended going up the road more than a mile to meet with the brow trail, and followed it back down. It was very steep -one of those trails that’s better to go up than come down, Katie commented. Katie had tried a tracking system that ended up not working but Zack did a successful tracking:  (https://caltopo.com/m/BNMDK04)  Possibly the first post of this particular route on map sites. There was a second single track trail, shown on Zack’s map, that goes up a gully from the road, and runs between the brow trail and the road. This is not the best type of terrain to be hiking around in close to 80 degree temps, it was hot. We saw a lot of arrow leaf balsam root, parsleys, a Jacob’s Ladder, kinnikinnic and high up on one bank, a blush of pale orange that was probably paint brush. We may have seen more flowers if we had gone off the road, at the overlook. Birds that showed up on the bird app were spotted towhee and Cassin’s finch. Heard magpies and saw vultures. A beautiful day to hike with intrepid explorers. Julie Kahl