7/30/2023 0 Comments Base flood elevation corvallis![]() We were able to keep our feet dry on the gravel surfaces. The trail had gone from gravel to wet grass and our feet were getting pretty damp which helped make the decision to turn around.Ĭottonwood with red flowering currant, Oregon grape, and Indian plum blooming in front. Since we knew that we would be able to make the Blue Heron Trail into a loop we followed it a half mile from the junction, making a sharp right near the 0.4-mile mark and decided to turn around. The good news was that my heading down to this spot had caused a great horned owl to move trees which allowed both Heather (on the other section of the Blue Heron Trail) and myself to spot it. I had gone down to the flooded section to see if there was possibly a way across without having to wade but there wasn’t. The flooded area where the loop would end. The fainter track on the right heading downhill was flooded just 100 feet or so away. The start of a possible loop using the Blue Heron Trail. We turned back and returned to the junction with the Blue Heron Trail. We followed this grassy track for a third of a mile back to the swollen Lake Creek where, during low water, the Turtle Loop would turn right along the creek and loop back around.Īnother sign out in the middle of the water. We followed the dike a quarter of a mile to another junction where the Turtle Trail made a hard right and descended from the dike into an open area where several rabbits were busy having their breakfast. We turned right onto the Turtle Trail and as we got onto the dike we could see that the area below, where a loop shown on the Oregonhikers page joined back up, was likely flooded. Here the Blue Heron Trail began and finished a theoretical loop using the left most forks and the Turtle Trail split off to the right along a dike.īlue Heron Trail to the left and Turtle Trail on the right. It was approximately another quarter mile from the blind to a 4-way junction. The Blue Heron Trail followed the boarder of the refuge and some private farmland. There wasn’t a whole lot to observe from the blind since the morning fog limited visibility. We stayed straight and visited the Observation Blind before setting off on the Blue Heron Trail. Note the sign on the far side vs the closer sign barely sticking up out of the water.Ī quarter mile from the picnic table the Snag Boat Bend Loop turns left at a junction. ![]() Just under 0.2 miles from the picnic table, during low water, is said to be a path that makes it possible to connect the Snag Boat Band and Turtle Loop Trails. The trail makes a hard left at the picnic table passing along the water. Oddly there wasn’t much, if any, water in this pond despite other areas later being flooded.Īfter the short boardwalk section the trail became a combination of grass/mud as it followed a swollen Lake Creek toward the Willamtte River.Ī third of a mile from the trailhead is a picnic table overlooking a former channel of the Willamette River that is now an oxbow lake filled by Lake Creek. The Snag Boat Bend Loop Trail begins as a boardwalk that passes over the North Beaver Pond. Not sure how “official” the writing is on the map, but it wasn’t wrong about the Turtle Loop being “closed” (high water). The unit has several miles of trails although the amount accessible fluctuates due to flooding. This 341-acre unit is located a across the Willamette River to the East of the 5,325-acre refuge. Our first stop was at the Snag Boat Bend unit of the William L. We had originally planned a wildflower hike for this weekend, but they are running at least two weeks behind so we turned to a pair of wildlife hikes instead. The delayed arrival of Spring weather has begun affecting the timing of the hikes that I’d planned for us this year.
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