27 min
Overview
Bald Hill is a 755-foot prominence in the bucolic southwestern outskirts of Corvallis where oak woods rub against cattle pastures. The acreage here was purchased by the Greenbelt Land Trust in 1990 and turned over to the City of Corvallis in 1993. In 2013, the Land Trust bought the neighboring Bald Hill Farm, and a trail connector was established between the Bald Hill area and Fitton Green via Mulkey Ridge. A network of trails weaves over and around Bald Hill itself, including a paved bike trail that follows its eastern edge. Views from the summit extend west to Marys Peak in the Coast Range and, in spring, wildflowers such as camas, hawthorn, columbine, Nootka rose, and Tolmie's mariposa are in full bloom. Keep to the trails, however: the poison oak is dense and ubiquitous. Cross Oak Creek on a footbridge and turn right at an information kiosk. The trail along Oak Creek passes along the fenced pastures of Bald Hill Farm. Walk over a footbridge with the creek to your right and a fenced meadow dotted with oak and ash trees to your left. Before you reach a green gate at a gravel farm road, go left on a trail that runs along next to the road between fences. In the spring look for great camas and buttercup blooms here. Reach the Mulkey Ridge-County Connector Trail Junction and go left (The Mulkey Ridge Trail extends about 2 1/2 miles to Fitton Green and thence to Cardwell Hill Road (See the Cardwell Hill-Fitton Green Hike). A wide, straight path leads along a large field blooming with buttercups in spring and enters a dense oak/ash swale. Cross several footbridges, including one over Mulkey Creek, and reach a junction with a map of Bald Hill area trails. Go right here on the Oak Savanna Trail (The off-leash dog area is to your left). The trail rises through open meadows shaded by twisted gnarly oaks dripping with mistletoe and lichen. Poison oak is all around. Turn uphill at a sign acknowledging a land purchase by the Greenbelt Land Trust and reach a junction. Keep right here and head uphill on the West Summit T
Trail Stats
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134 m
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Photos
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