Today I ended up doing two hikes instead of one to make up for the hike I missed last Wednesday. Unfortunately, because I'm a giant dork, I forgot my camera so there are no pictures to post! My original plan was to hike Beacon Rock since I've been trying to do that for a week now but I delayed it again. The weather report called for thunderstorms so I figured walking up a metal staircase to a high point in the gorge was probably a bad idea. And besides, I want to have a clear view if I'm going to put in that much effort!
I decided to go to North Santiam State Recreation Area a half hour outside of Salem on OR-22. It was a pleasant drive and a nice park, but really I think I would only use it if I lived in Salem. I don't recommend driving all that way solely for this park, but then again I'm not a fishing enthusiast and apparently the fishing is AWESOME here. There was a three mile loop trail that followed the perimeter of the park that I went on. It wasn't very well maintained and there were three or four places where I had to wade or jump across creeks that went over the trail. This gave the trail a very rustic and authentic look and was a very nice hike. There were plenty of birds to check out and the Santiam River is extremely scenic. The trail itself was very narrow and I'm glad I wore sturdy shoes as I lost my footing in the mud a few times.
On the way back into town I realized that I was going to hit Portland traffic right around three so I was trying to think of some way to take up time when I saw the sign for Willamette Mission State Park. I had read about this park in my guide and was interested, I guess I just didn't realize it was so close. This park was a find! This was the site of the first mission to Oregon started by Jason Lee in 1835. It is split in half by what I think was an offshoot of Mission Lake, which used to be part of the Willamette River until the flood of 1861 diverted the path of the water and created the lake. On one side of the water was a 2.5 mile loop where there was a habitat restoration project in progress. It was actually really nice because the area was divided into 10 lots and each lot had a different type of native plants growing. There were informational signs for each lot and apparently the largest Black Cottonwood in the entire country grows here. It was a very nice walk and combined with the other trail it was just about the right amount of walking for me for the day.
I was heading out of the park when I realized there was another road so I took it out of curiosity and discovered that the park was actually on the other side of the water! There were multiple day use areas with picnic tables, volleyball nets, horseshoe pits, camping and RV sites, and even a horse camping area. It was giant! As I was driving around I saw a sign that said "historic mission viewpoint and ghost house" so I figured I would drag my tired legs around the corner and check it out. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a ghost house? Anyways I assumed it would be right around the corner but since there were no maps I just followed the trail. Well, I got to that point where I was like, geez this is taking forever but I can't imagine it being much longer, and then some. There were various intersections for the trail and I managed to get really turned around. When I finally came out on the other side I was at another campsite but no where near my car or the ghost house! It was very frustrating. I found my car though and realized after picking a map up at the gate that I had wandered about another 2.5 miles. It seemed to take forever (even though in reality it was only a little over an hour) and I was very tired at the end of it. Luckily it managed to push me back long enough to miss rush hour and I made it back home with no problems.
The second part of Willamette Mission State Park was remarkable! It was full of beautiful songbirds and just a peaceful place. I would definitely go back there for a day picnic or something since it's only about an hour from Portland, and I have to go find that ghost house! It also had group picnic areas and plenty of facilities. I would only suggest picking up a map at the entrance if you wanted to explore the trails.
It's a GHOST house! You won't find it!
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