STEIGERWALD LAKE NATIONAL REFUGE

Around 30 minutes’ drive from Gresham, the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge sits right off State Highway 14, just east of Washougal, Washington. With five miles of trails, this refuge offers a wonderful hiking experience.

I recently spent around three hours to see most of what the area has to offer, namely the three distinct trails available to explore.

If you arrive at the main entrance off Highway 14, you will start your journey on the Mountain View Trail, which will connect you with the Refuge River Trail. Hiking in, you will have breathtaking views of the refuge’s floodplains, Mount Hood, and the Columbia River. Along the trail there are multiple benches on which to take a rest.

The Refuge River Trail runs east-west along the Columbia River, offering beautiful views. This trail runs for three miles and is connected to an additional parking lot and Captain William Clark Park on the west side of the refuge. Following the trail east will lead you to a connection to the Wildlife Art Trail, and walking a bit more east will lead to you another viewpoint overlooking the river. Throughout this trail and the Wildlife Art Trail are many beautiful wooden bridges over the floodplains and other smaller bodies of water.

Spurring off the Refuge River Trail is the Wildlife Art trail, a one-mile trail that has sculptures, benches, and cutouts of animals dotted along it. One important note is that in order to protect wintering waterfowl, a portion of the trail is closed from Oct. 1 through April 30, annually.

Since this is a wildlife refuge, there are other rules to follow. On the Mountain View and Wildlife Art trails, only pedestrians and service dogs are allowed. No other pets, or vehicles of any type, are allowed. There also is no jogging on these trails.

However, visitors using the Refuge River Trail may have leashed dogs, horses, bicycles, and can jog, as well.

Along with those rules, it is important throughout the refuge to not to deviate from the trail as this may harm the habitat and surrounding ecosystems.

This park can’t be fully described with only words. If you have the time, I heavily urge you to visit and check out this hidden gem of a park yourself.