Luckiamute Landing State Natural Area 9/2/2015

[CampinCarl]

Opening Image:

I had the day off on the 2nd, so I took the kids to a new-to-me hike close by for some wanderings along the Willamette River at Luckiamute Landing State Natural Area just south of Buena Vista. Didn't see another soul the whole 4 mile hike. A nice place for wandering flat, shady, silent trails under the cottonwoods and hanging out at the river. If you're paddling you can pull in here at a boater's only campsite and likely experience the peace and quiet all to yourself. The discovery of a geocache was a pleasant surprise; upon looking at the geocaching map after arriving home, I am determined to be more prepared next time! We didn't see any large fauna, but my kids did great finding grasshoppers, a centipede, some gnarly river bug, and birds scattering to and fro over the river.

Some more pics:

[Paul2]

Nice! I went geocaching there about 5 years ago.

[miah66]

Your gnarly bug is a stonefly, a favorite fish food.

[bobcat]

Nice to see a report on this area. It's a great kid's hike!

[kelkev]

Probably my favorite "close to home" place to hike.

[CampinCarl]

Thanks for all the kind comments, folks!

Probably my favorite "close to home" place to hike.

It definitely jumped up my list for places within 30 minutes of home. If I had to rank top 10 places to hike with my kids within 30 minutes of Salem I'd go:

1. Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge
2. Luckiamute Landing
3. Shellburg Falls
4. Spring Valley State Park
5. Joryville County Park
6. Bonesteele County Park
7. Ankeny Wildlife Refuge
8. Minto Brown Island Park
9. Croisan Scenic Trail in South Salem
10. Tie - Bush Park and Riverfront Park (urban hiking )

Of course, Silver Falls State Park would be ranked #1 if it was a smidge closer. There are also a few places I haven't made it to yet with the kids (Willamette Mission, Spongs Landing County Park, Keizer Rapids Park, Stayton Wilderness Park).

[sprengers4jc]

Thanks! We have an aging pup who still wants to get out but can't do the miles and EG like she used to. We just hit Willamette Mission on Wednesday and have done Champoeg in the past. We'll add your faves to our list as well.

[Zia]

I was just looking at this one not too long ago since it's nearby. Thanks for the report and photos. Might be a good place to start training my new pup to hike with me.