Trail and Road Descriptions
Trails
1. Hopkins Trail
This trail traces our northern property boundary, paralleling Grouse Hollow Road from Hopkins Hall to Low Gear Road. Hopkins Trail provides access to the Cedar Grove Picnic Shelter and the Amphitheater, with drinking water and a restroom nearby.
2. East Loop Watershed Trail
An easy trail that crosses Little Buckner Creek just downstream from a former beaver pond, then follows the stream to another creek crossing where skunk cabbage abounds in early spring. Here, the trail continues on an old roadbed, past a junction with the Little Buckner Trail; ending at the “Vented Ford” stream crossing near Up Creek Road.
3. Middle Loop Watershed Trail
This section of the Watershed Trails network skirts
our southern property boundary beneath a shady
grove of large western redcedar; then rejoins Little
Buckner Creek amidst a red alder stand. It runs
between Up Creek Road and the junction of the
West Loop Watershed Trail and Down Creek Road.
4. West Loop Watershed Trail
The end of Down Creek Road is the beginning of
adventure into one of the wildest portions of
Hopkins Demonstration Forest. This trail extends
to the west, rising above Little Buckner Creek for
scenic views, and connecting with the Uneven-Age
Trail and Down Creek Road.
5. Uneven-Age Trail
Connecting the far west end of Grouse Hollow Road
with the West Loop Watershed Trail; the Uneven-
Age Trail takes hikers around the southern perimeter of the Uneven-Age Management Demonstration, where multiple age-classes of mixed-conifer trees are grown together in the same stand.
6. Red Alder Trail
Circling the Red Alder Demonstration Area north of
the caretaker’s residence near our main parking lot:
access to this trail is beside the Welcome Center and runs behind the Mill House; or along the entrance driveway to Hopkins. The Red Alder trail connects with the Hardwood Trail, providing access to Post Road.
7. Hardwood Trail
The Hardwood Trail connects the Red Alder Trail
with Post Road. Along the short trail, several
common broadleaf species of trees and underbrush
grow that are very colorful in spring and fall.
8. Little Buckner
Little Buckner Trail takes hikers on a climb to the
southeast corner of a 2015 regeneration harvest that was planted in 2016. Planted primarily with
Douglas-fir, the red alder lined riparian buffers were
planted with Western red cedar. Scattered on the
slopes are several relic stumps from old growth cut
long ago plus the recent stumps of cedar and
Douglas-fir both planted in 1978 or from naturally
regenerated after past harvest in late 1920’s.
9. Redcedar Trail
Tracking along the side slope between Up Creek and
Grouse Hollow roads, the Redcedar Trail goes through the middle of a 2020 timber harvest. The forest was replanted in 2021 with a mix of Douglas-fir and Western redcedar that will create the 3rd rotation in this even-age management approach. The trailheads for Redcedar Trail are on the north side of Up Creek Road at the Watershed kiosk and near the Vented Ford crossing of Little Buckner Creek.
10. Douglas-fir Trail
Walk from the Ponds Trail to Grouse Hollow Road.
Find the trailhead just south of the ponds, or at the Thinning and Pruning kiosk. The trail passes through a stand of Douglas-fir planted in 1977 that is now part of our Thinning and Pruning Demonstration.
11. Shortcut Trail
This trail follows along the edge of two different site
preparation applications, and seedling stock-types used in our Reforestation Demonstration, to make a quick connection between Grouse Hollow Road at the bus turnaround, and Low Gear Road to the northwest.
12. Pacific Madrone Trail
Climbing up over a dry and rocky hillside, this short
trial passes through some white and ponderosa pine before reaching a small cluster of Pacific Madrone at the top.
13. Ponds Trail
Short network of loops off Up-Creek Road with a
lot to see, the Ponds Trail connects to the Molalla
Log House, original fire pond and wetland restoration pathway before tie back into Down Creek Road or the Douglas-fir loop.
14. Molalla Log House Trail
Passing through the Thinning and Pruning Demonstration Area this trail goes by the historic Molalla Log House and contents to the Ponds Trail and wetlands.
Roads
Grouse Hollow Road
This all weather, gravel road is the mainline access
and haul road running through the middle of the
property and a variety of demonstration areas. It
continues past a gated grass covered dirt road that
provides summer access only.
Low Gear Road
An all-weather, gravel road that that runs through an even-aged management demonstration area. It begins and ends at one of Hopkins’ first harvests in 1991before entering an area planted by the Hopkins
family in 1977.
Up Creek Road
Running along the north edge of Little Buckner Creek’s riparian zone the western half is a 3-season gravel ‘legacy’ road mixed with hardwood and conifer requiring measures to limit road related sediment from the stream before turning into a dirt summer only road as the eastern half pulls away from the creek.
Down Creek Road
Providing access to the fire/wetland ponds a portion of this road is all weather before turning to a summer only dirt road past the pond turnoff.
Carlson Road
Creating a 3-season, graveled connection road from
Grouse Hollow to Up Creek, Carlson provides access
to both young and older forest types of Douglas-fir,
redcedar, and pine.
Post Road
A summer only, grass covered dirt road that winds
through a 20-year-old stand of Douglas-fir with
hardwood pockets of big leaf maple the fir are finally outcompeting the ‘untreated’ invasive Himalayan blackberry.