Siouxon Creek Trail

Siouxon Creek Trail

A hike through a forest floor with the rotting remnants of old growth snags and deadfall all dressed up in moss.

Chinook Falls on Chinook Creek, in Southwest Washington.

This out and back hike is a great stroll up Siouxon Creek just west of Trapper Creek Wilderness in Southwest Washington. 

This bridge over West Creek is near the beginning of the hike through a lush second growth forest. Just beyond it were the first of several great campsites along the trail.

The trail is used  extensively by mountain bikers who enjoy the relatively gentle rise and fall of the trail as you ascend the valley. Cleo loves the puddles laced with their tracks.

Oregon Grape in bloom

Horseshoe Creek Falls  

The trail cuts deep into Horseshoe Creek crossing on a small bridge above a series of beautiful waterfalls. Just beyond them is a bench below with several goos campsites and views of these falls.

Falls on Siouxon Creek

 This Douglas fir has used an old snag for support as well as nourishment.

Wild Bleeding Heart or Dicentra formosa.

The trail follow the Siouxon Creek more or less. The water is crystal clear and makes you think this would be a great summer swim spot, albeit cold.

We were surprised to find snow. We quickly realized it was hail from the thunderstorms from the day before that had hit all over Clark County and Portland. We saw big Skunk Cabbage leaves that looked like they had been shot with a shotgun. We did not know it but there would be more thunderstorms later this day.

Hail from the day before.

What a great place to take lunch. The trail up Chinook Creek is worth the small trek. We watched five fathers and their boys ford her while eating our lunch.

This is just an amazing place full of dead rotting trees feeding the forest.

A side trail led up to a bit of a cave that looked cool from a distance but was actually more of a big dark overhang. Like us, enough people were interested to eventually result in a trail.

This out and back hike came in at 9.6 miles on the GPS. The lush healthy forest and the beautiful creeks with waterfalls makes it a great and relatively easy hike.