Dalton Lake Hike

Overview

Dalton Lake lies at the north end of the City of St. Helens, separated from the Columbia River by a narrow band of cottonwoods. The area was long neglected and is heavily infected with invasive plants like English ivy, Armenian blackberry, and reed canarygrass, as well as human litter. The creation of the Dalton Lake Nature Preserve in 2019 initiated efforts to control these pests and restore the area. For example, a weir was constructed at the outlet of Dalton Lake to adjust water levels and “drown” expanses of reed canarygrass to engineer suitable habitat for native wapato. From St. Helens, you can connect with the small trail system in the nature preserve via the Rutherford Parkway, a paved bike track. The Rutherford Parkway, marked by a kiosk and sign, parallels the railroad tracks and Highway 30 and also serves as a pipeline corridor. On your right, there’s a mobile home neighborhood, while on your left a line of vegetation, including Oregon ash, alder, hawthorn, bitter cherry, and blackberry separates the bikeway from the railroad. Past the fenceline, you’ll enter a woodland of Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, and western red-cedar. An unmarked trail on the right enters these woods. Follow this trail into woods infested with ivy but with plenty of native species in the understory. Trillium and violet will be blooming here in the spring. Bear left at a junction, and then take a trail leading right to a high basalt bluff overlooking Dalton Lake. In addition to scanning the forest cover for song birds, the lake hosts Canada geese, mallards, wood ducks, scaups, shovelers, pied-billed grebes, and cormorants. Continue on the forest loop and descend the bluff, where you’ll find a trail leading right to the lake shore. The trail then loops up to a utility corridor which supports a growths of thimbleberry, waterleaf, and nettles. A longer spur trail takes you down to the water’s edge again. Here you might be able to spot a beaver lodge – these large rodents are very active in the area. Return to the utility corri

Trail Stats

Photos

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