Elk Creek Trail

October 13, 2019

It has been a while since we last posted a hike, but we have definitely been out hiking a lot.  We crossed the 400 mile mark a few weeks ago and are now on track to hit 500+ miles by the end of the year.  A lot of our hikes have been familar local ones over the last month or two, but since it is Autumn, we had to post some pictures of our most recent hike of the Elk Creek Trail which we did this past Sunday.

Time for another great Autumn hike!

We have a listing of our favorite trails or places to hike for Autumn and try to get in as many hikes as possible at this time of year to take the beauty that is Autumn.  Elk Creek is one of those trail and it was a nice 8 mile hike by vast meadows now turned to Autumn colors with many trees doing the same.  Blue sky, sunshine, beautiful day!

Elk Creek at the first side trail.

One of many meadows now turning to Autumn colors

We took a break at the 7 Mile Bend area along Elk Creek which was our turnaround point, but Katie was not allowed to take a plunge into the creek due to having had a bath recently.  

View along the Elk Creek trail - an old paved road.

On our return trip we stopped by a few of the apple trees along the trail and picked a dozen or so to take home --- they were small, but delicious!  A nice way to finish off a great hike in Autumn.

Small but very delicious apples for the picking!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Elk Creek Trail

May 19, 2019

Since the weather was forecasted to be cool with rain coming (and boy did it) in the afternoon, we took Katie and drove out past Shady Cove to the Yellow Rock TH of the Elk Creek Trail for a morning hike. This former paved-road-now-turned-trail, extends 5 miles from TH to TH, but today we only hiked out to the 4 mile marker and then took a side trail out to the Seven Mile Bend area along Elk Creek.  Here we took a nice break enjoying the creek and the blue sky filled with big white clouds, while Katie took a few dips into the creek and then rolled in the sand and rocks.  In all we covered 8.1 miles and thanks to the cooler temps, the paved trail was not hot.  We did see some wildflowers for the first time this year like Stonecrop, Field Morning Glory, Bell-Shaped Catchfly, and Slender Clarkia.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

At the trailhead parking area

One of the large meadows along the trail with blue sky and white clouds.

Seven Mile Bend where we took a break.....

....while Katie took a bath, chewed sticks, and rolled in the sand  & rocks.

As the day progressed the clouds increased.

Swallowtail Butterfly enjoying the flowers

Lupine

Salsify with a bug photobombing.

View of Elk Creek from first viewpoint off trail

Elk Creek Trail

October 15, 2017

Autumn is so beautiful, yet so short.  With sunshine abounding and no rain in the forecast, we got out once more to see the colors and experience Autumn, this time along the Elk Creek Trail just outside of Shady Cove.

Time to hike!  Check out the Autumn blue sky in the background.

Since the trail is really an old road, we usually hike the Elk Creek Trail either in Spring when the wildflowers are blooming or in Autumn to see the changing of colors. Since this is part of the "peak" color time in Southern Oregon, we were looking forward to an Autumn color show.

A look across the first bridges at the start of our hike

Let the color show begin!

We started our hike at the Yellow Rock TH where there are restrooms, picnic tables and plenty of room for parking.  After crossing the first two bridges, we began hiking along the road where we encountered our first of  many cows on the hike.  It is evident that cows roam freely through this area as you have to keep an eye on the trail to avoid the many cow pies along the way.  But this is the first time we have actually had cows along the trail while hiking. Katie was not sure about them, but they posed no problems for us as they either ran away or just stood and stared at us.

The first group of cows we came across....a mother with twins

At one point along our hike, we actually saw a moving cow pie.....wait, a what?  Oh that's right, it was a turtle (not turdle) that was going across the trail and looked like a moving cow pie.

Our "moving cow pie" turtle

The trail at Elk Creek now has mile marker signs along the way which are new since the last time we hiked.  Those markers do not start till 1.5 miles into the hike.  Not sure why, but maybe they figure if you don't hike at least 1.5 miles you don't care about mileage.

New mile marker signs along the trail - every half mile 

Still some apples on the fruit trees along the trail

We turned off that trail around the 3.5 mile mark and hiked over to the Seven Mile Bend area along the creek where we encountered more cows and took a break.

The cows at Seven Mile Bend area

Looking down stream from Seven Mile Bend

Series of cascades at Seven Mile Bend

We then hiked along to rejoin the road trail at the 4 mile marker and hiked backed to the trailhead.  We did see lots of folks/families on our hike back who were out enjoying the Autumn colors along the trail, in the meadows and in the surrounding hills.

Hoping to get out a few more times before this short season is over.  Be sure to get out and enjoy it too!
One last note -- if you prefer biking, the paved trail at Elk Creek is a wonderful option to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Elk Creek Trail

October 3, 2015

If you live in the Southern Oregon area and want to get out and enjoy an Autumn hike but don't like going uphill and downhill or prefer paved trails over dirt and mud, then Elk Creek Trail is your type of trail. The Elk Creek Trail just came into being last year and is an old paved road that parallels Elk Creek.  Along the way you pass by various large meadows and groupings of trees.  We hiked here last Spring and in late Autumn last year, but had not made it back in 2015.  So we decided to spend part of a day enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather and seeing what improvements had been made to the area this past summer.

Perfect Autumn weather for a hike!

Before even reaching the trailhead we experienced the newly paved entrance road leading to the Yellow Rock TH. Also from the parking lot area we could see that they also replaced the cement road over an inlet stream at the start of the trail and replaced it with another nice wooden bridge for bikes and pedestrians.

The new bridge at the very beginning of the trail

The trail stretches 4.7 miles between trailheads which makes for an enjoyable 9.4 mile bike ride or allows you to hike along the road and choose your turnaround distance or time. There are a few side trails along the way that lead down to Elk Creek, providing views of the creek and allowing you to take breaks along your hike.

The first side trail view of Elk Creek

As we hiked along today we did see some Autumn color in the trees, but we would suspect that in another couple of weeks the colors will be much more prevalent.  The various meadows have changed over to their Autumn colors already and Elk Creek is very low due to the lack of rainfall and snow this year.

One of the large meadows along the Elk Creek trail

Those trees along the edge of the meadow are just starting to change into their Autumn attire.

We hiked out 3 miles today from the trailhead and then took a side trail down to Elk Creek for a break.

A panoramic view of Elk Creek where we took out break

It was so nice to enjoy the sunshine, blue sky, puffy white clouds and hear the breeze in the trees with the sound of the creek.  Made us almost want to stay there all day. Katie of course plunged into the creek and enjoyed getting wet.  That alone made her day!

How can Katie love jumping into a creek but not love baths??

Someone is having a good day!

Be sure to get out and enjoy this short colorful season of Autumn before it is gone.......take time to enjoy life!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol