Knobcone Pine Trail @ Jacksonville Forest Park

March 3, 2019

After hearing from local hiking friends Boots on the Trail that the Jacksonville Forest Park had some new trails, we decided to venture out on a sunny Saturday and see if we could find and hike these new trails.  We parked at the P1 parking area and picked up a new map to find 3 new trails either made or "to be made: Knobcone Pine, Rattlesnake, and the Arrowhead Pass trail - which includes the China Ditch area of the park.

The new wildlife viewing shelter at the reservoir.

Katie enjoying the leftover snow!

We decided to head out and try the Knobcone Pine trail since it wasn't too far out in the park and it would also lead us to Granite Falls which we wanted to see.  With all the recent rain and then our snowstorm last Tuesday, we figured the falls and creeks should be full of water.  As we made our way by the Historic Jacksonville Reservoir we came across a new (at least since the last time we hiked here) wildlife viewing shelter which is a great addition, and got to see the P1A parking area being made which will increase parking capacity and also feature restrooms.

On to a new trail!

View along the Knobcone Pine trail of a Knobcone Pine Tree

Madrone bark chips on snow -- looked like chocolate shavings on ice cream

After working our way along the Norling and Siskiyou trails, we came to the sign for the 1-mile long Knobcone Pine trail.  We also came across lots of leftover snow which added beauty to the hike and made for a much slower hike.  Glenn failed to look at the description of this new trail which was rated as "Difficult" since it climbs around 600-700 feet in that one mile, but regardless, it is a great trail with amazing views and will have 2 viewing areas that are currently cleared but not built.

Hiking along the snow filled trails.

Granite Falls - Most water we have seen!

View of falls from other side with sign in view.

We then connected to the Pipsissewa trail and hiked down to Granite Falls.  Most of the year Granite Falls is either dry or barely a trickle, but today there was a descent amount of water and we took time to enjoy this rare view of Granite Falls.

A full and beautiful Jackson Creek

Small waterfall on Jackson Creek

View of Norling Trail on our return hike.

We made our way down the hill and over to the Norling Trail just below the Canyon Falls Trails and enjoyed seeing all the water in Jackson Creek as we made our way back to the parking lot.  A nice snow-filled 5.9 mile hike that took us 3 hours due to the snow and climbing.  On our next trip here we hope to work our way out to the Arrowhead Pass loop trail which is a 1.5 mile loop and will require around 6-7 more miles to get there and back.  This may be a 10+ mile hike in the near future.  If you can, get out to the Jacksonville Forest Park and explore any of the 32 trails available for hikers and bikers.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Jacksonville Woodland Trails

January 16, 2017
5.2 miles

We had originally planned to start our 2017 hiking with a "First Day"  hike.  However the year started with record snow, rain, snow, wind, snow....well you get the picture.  Yes Southern Oregon did not feel Southern at all for the first few weeks of January.  So our "First Day" hike became a "Birthday" day hike as we celebrated Glenn's birthday by stretching our legs for the first time in 2017.

Time to get hiking in 2017!!!!

We had thought about the Elk Creek trail, but heard reports that there was still 3-6 inches of snow.  Then we thought about hiking at Stewart State Park, but it was a longer drive and we heard of recent cougar sightings plus it is at a higher elevation than Elk Creek, so who knows what snow and ice awaited us there.  So we chose a lower elevation multiple trail hike at the Jacksonville Woodland Trails and still found snow!!

Katie celebrates the snow by making snow puppies.

We parked by the Jacksonville Library and used the Britt Festival entrance as we started down the Sarah Ziegler trail and found it covered in ice and snow. While beautiful, it was slow going.  Jackson Creek was full and flowing fast from recent rains and the snow melt, so we enjoyed seeing and hearing the creek as we started our hike.

Some portions of the trails were still completely covered in snow.....

....while other trails were visible and surrounded by snow.

Jackson Creek running full and fast.

We then went up the Jackson Forks trail, took a connecting trail to the South View trail, and made our way along the Sugar Pine trail.  Most of these trails were snow free with some mud, but when the sun came out with blue skies, we forgot about any trail issues.

Icicles along the Bebee Woods trail

We eventually made our way past the Chinese diggings and hiked the Bebee Woods loop.  It was here that we saw our first deer of the day.  After hiking through a neighborhood segment, we hiked up the Grove Woods trail and saw a large group of deer that were not too sure about Katie, but stayed put so that we could get pictures and enjoy their beauty.

We finished our hike by going down one side of the Beekman Canyon Loop and through some more neighborhoods till we arrived back at our car.  Even the Beekman House suffered some damage from the recent storms as a tree was blown down and had to be removed.

Tree damage at the Beekman House

It felt good to get out and finally start hiking in 2017.  Hope you will follow along throughout the year and better yet, that you take some time to get our and enjoy a walk or hike yourself.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

P.S.  For those of you who live in the Southern Oregon area, we found two more blogs that provide great info and pictures of local hikes.  They are vanmarmot.org and oregonnater.wordpress.com.  Both have been added to our blog page and we hope you will take the time to check them out.