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Hikes for Kids and Grandmas from the Catherine Creek Trailhead

 

nature trails, gorge hiking, hikes for kids, washington, spring hiking, columbia river, wheelchair accessible trails
Mt. Hood From Catherine Creek

This post will be the first in my series about our Spring Break trip to the Columbia River Gorge. I’m breaking our outings down into bite-sized chunks. Other posts in this series will include:

We used my parent’s home near Vancouver, WA as a base camp for our spring break vacation this year. On one of the sunny days that we had last week, we took my 94-year-old grandmother out for a drive up Highway 14 and the Washington side of the Gorge. I wanted to give her a change of scenery and let her see some flowers and wide-open views.

 

wheelchair accessible trail, washington hiking with kids, nature trail, spring flowers
Catherine Creek Trail, the Gorge, and Bench

The Catherine Creek Trailhead has a couple of different options for whatever level of hiking you want to do. The easiest is on the south side of the trailhead, where there is a paved nature trail that is wheelchair accessible. I was there last year at the end of April, and I was amazed at the numbers and kinds of flowers that were blooming. This year we were a bit earlier, and the flowers were just getting started.

washington wildflowers, hiking columbia gorge, spring flowers, catherine creek nature trail
Camas Flowers are Just Getting Started
spring wildflowers, columbia gorge hiking, catherine creek trail
Oneflowered Broomrape, Orobanche uniflora
Bitter-root, Lewisia rediviva, just starting to bud
Bitter-root, Lewisia rediviva, just starting to bud

 

Meadowlarks were constantly singing from the meadows north of the road. The sun was bright and warm – we were overdressed in our long pants and long-sleeved shirts. I was hoping Grandma would be able to walk down to the first bench only a few hundred feet along the trail, but she wasn’t feeling up for the walk on this day. I enjoyed the walk myself, moving quickly along, while looking at the flowers and taking in the view.

 

washington wildflowers, spring blooms, spring hiking, catherine creek trail
Death camas, Toxicoscordion venenosum
catherine creek wildflowers, washington hikes in spring
Cusick’s shootingstar, Dodecatheon pulchellum (?)

Aaron and the kids went on the trail to the north, up to the Natural Arch. When they came back, I heard tales of various lizards and butterflies. If they had wanted, they could have extended their hike to make a longer loop.

washington wildflowers, catherine creek trail
Lomatium sp. and Mt. Hood

 

I was a bit sad that Grandma was only up for a drive and sitting in the car with the windows open, but I know it meant a lot for her to go out for the day. There were other older ladies out with their companions, and I know it’s a popular place for those who have some mobility challenges. It really is a wonderful trail system, with several options for whatever your mood. Gabe said it would have been worth the drive if only for the lizards, Annika talked about the butterflies for days, and I got my fix of flowers.

If You Go:  The Catherine Creek Universal Access Trail has two loops.  One is about 0.75 mile, and one is 1.25 mile.  There are benches along the way to rest.  You won’t need a pass to park, but you’ll need to bring your own TP for the porta-potty, and you won’t find any other services there.  The Catherine Creek Natural Arch Trail gives you the option of a longer loop of about 2.5 miles, unless you only want to walk the 0.5 mile up to the arch, and then come back, as my family did.  There is poison oak in this area, so educate yourself and watch your children closely.  Ticks can also be a problem here.  Prepare for sun and wind, and enjoy the scenery!


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7 responses to “Hikes for Kids and Grandmas from the Catherine Creek Trailhead”

  1. […] ← Hikes for Kids and Grandmas from the Catherine Creek Trailhead […]

  2. darwinsbulldog Avatar
    darwinsbulldog

    My family and I just did Catherine Creek for the first time on Easter Sunday. Photos on my Facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/mdbarton/media_set?set=a.10154071506465249.1073741849.681695248&type=3

    1. Hiker Mama Avatar
      Hiker Mama

      Sweet! Thanks for sharing! Your kids are adorable!

      1. darwinsbulldog Avatar
        darwinsbulldog

        Welcome!

  3. […] about our trip to the Columbia River Gorge for Spring Break.  The first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead.  The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls. Future posts will […]

  4. […] first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead.  The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls.  The third was about camping […]

  5. […] first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead.  The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls.  The third was about camping […]

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