The beautiful fall weather is still hanging on, and it made for a beautiful visit to the Rose Creek Nature Preserve. It is located 10 miles north of Pullman and took a little less than 30 minutes to get to. We drove straight through Albion and then another three miles on a gravel road to reach the preserve.
I don't know much about this preserve, so here is an excerpt from their website describing it.
"The Rose Creek Nature Preserve is the best example of the distinct
quaking aspen-black hawthorn-cow parsnip community type of its kind
remaining in the endangered Palouse meadow steppe ecosystem. The 22-acre
preserve is bisected by Rose Creek with a plant community of native
bunchgrass species in the upland, and a lush community of species such
as Fendler’s waterleaf, and purple trillium in the wet meadow."
I didn't know how to identify any of the plant life, so that was lost on me, but the kids really enjoyed exploring the area. There is a groomed trail throughout the preserve. It was a little bit confusing to find the correct place to go, because the trail starts out covered in gravel. And then there is a place where the trail branches off and become dirt, but there is no signage explaining the different trails. Thinking the much wider and better maintained gravel trail was the correct trail, we continued to follow it. However, it ended up at a private residence. We backtracked and tried out the dirt trail, which ended up finally taking us on the northern loop. Despite the initial confusion, we did finally hike everywhere we had wanted to. The preserve is not very large and it is possible to hike the extent of it in less than half an hour. Perfect for a bunch of kids who were more interested in leaves and rocks and dirt than getting in a lot of mileage. :)
I enjoyed exploring it and I am glad we went, but we will probably not visit it again. The uniqueness of the location was not something we could really appreciate because we just didn't know enough about it. I wish my grandpa was there and could've identified and explained the ecosystem and different grasses! There are similar experiences that are closer, so we'll probably stick closer to home for a quick hike and collecting leaves.
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Exploring the preserve with good friends! Love their Pokemon sweatshirts. And Yeva's Elsa dress - very appropriate for hiking!
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Finally getting to the top of the loop
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At the top of the loop it was on top of a hill, and the view was really beautiful.
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The kids loved the bench they found in the middle of the hike.
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| Closer shot of them on the bench |
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The only wildlife we saw the entire hike was a bunch of gnats. But I'm sure other times of the year have more activity!
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A bridge is so exciting to the kiddos!
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