34 min
Overview
The 130-acre Miller Woods Conservation Area was donated to the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District by Frieda Miller in 2004. About 28% of the land is composed of pasture and hay fields, with the remainder shady secondary woodland and conifer plantations with a few old-growth Douglas-firs still standing. The park is now used by the McMinnville School District as an outdoor education site. A 2015 thinning project has opened up the understory in some of the more densely wooded sections and, in time, a more natural forest canopy will develop. The loop described essentially takes you around the perimeter of the property on the Outer Loop after an initial visit to Otter Pond: You will cross the large meadow and drop down to Berry Creek before ascending to the forested K.T. Summit and then returning above the headwaters of a Berry Creek tributary. Note that dogs are not permitted, and there is a suggested $5 use fee, which you can also pay online. Walk east out of the parking area under two large oaks with birdhouses, and come to the junction with the Outer Loop. Instead, head down across the pasture on the Education Loop to the Otter Pond. Here, you can view the cattails, and then circle around the pond to return up the hill to the junction near the trailhead. Keep up along the small creek, and switchback to a bench. The trail works through a copse of oaks and then turns down the open pasture to pass a vegetable garden on the right. You can see a line of bluebird boxes ahead of you in the grassy expanse. At a junction in the field, turn south (right) and follow the trail where it enters a Douglas-fir plantation. Pass the junction with the Oak Summit Trail, and make several switchbacks down, passing through a stand of alders. Then hike a descending traverse in a carpet of Oregon grape and wild ginger. Next, switchback down twice to pass large western red-cedars above Berry Creek. Hike above the creek, and then switchback up twice. The trail proceeds along a slope above a fenceline. Cross two boardwalks in an
Trail Stats
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170 m
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Photos
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