Looking across the Applegate at the old ferry crossing, Fish Hatchery Park (bobcat)

• Hikes to this destination:
  • Fish Hatchery Park Loop Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)

• Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Latitude, Longitude: 42.3597, -123.4198
• Elevation: 1005 feet

Description

At Station #14 on Fish Hatchery Park's Nature Trail, you'll get a view from a bench across the Applegate River to the forested Turtle Lane section of the park on the opposite bank. The area is a breeding location for western pond turtles. The female turtles find a nesting site between late May and early July and dig a hole to lay several eggs, which need to incubate for about 2 1/2 months. The nesting site may be a few hundred yards from the river, and the newly hatched turtles need to crawl that distance to the water.

The site is also near an 1863 ferry crossing on the Crescent City, California, to Grants Pass stagecoach route, which came up the Illinois River valley to this location.

More Links

• Fish Hatchery Park (Josephine County Department of Parks)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)