Trail Talk is a monthly column by Clayton Gillette about hiking the Jacksonville Woodlands trail system. For more information, please visit the Jacksonville Woodlands Association website at www.jvwoodlands.org. 
By the time folks read this, January’s snow in Jacksonville will be a memory. One could argue that Forest Park never looked better, especially after the gray days of late December. Who would have thought that “Ski Jacksonville” would be a thing? Yet, there was that nice snowpack and miles of […]
A recent October day, rainy and blustery like so many other October days this year, found me traveling along Cook and Green Trail, a Forest Service Trail that abuts the Red Buttes Wilderness just over the California border above Applegate Lake. Unlike many trails in other areas, […]
Aldo Leopold, in Sand County Almanac, tells of exploring once-developed areas that have been reclaimed by wilderness. And surprisingly, it’s not all that long after humans have left the area. Here, around Jacksonville, we find wild areas of a similar nature. Where our predecessors had mining ditches, houses and barns, roads, […]
Trail Talk – October 2016
A recent fast-pack adventure through the Strawberry Mt. Wilderness made me appreciate the well-maintained trail system of Jacksonville’s parks all the more. Steeple-chasing through downed timber on overgrown trails that disappear into brush fields becomes a bit work-like. A follow-up trip into Sky Lakes saw more of the same. So here’s […]
It’s summer…a great time to sneak out in the coolness of dawn and dusk for a walk in the woods. Be assured that you’ll find many other forest critters doing the same. So where in Forest Park are you least likely to run into other hikers or bikers? Certainly, as you […]
Forest Park is unlike most city parks in that there aren’t amenities like flush toilets and playgrounds. As the name implies, it is a park in the forest, and is designed to be a place where folks can enjoy a walk (or run or bike) in the woods. […]
Ok. So you’re a first-time visitor to Jacksonville’s Forest Park. Yes, you’ve heard the talk about Jacksonville’s claim to being the “Hiking Capital of Southern Oregon,” and you want to experience the trails in the Jackson Creek Watershed. Where to start?
As you drive up Reservoir Road […]
No longer a line item in most governmental budgets, trail maintenance for hiking trails across the US has become the responsibility of the user groups. It’s not always an onerous task; indeed, it’s healthy work in the out-of-doors, a wonderful diversion from time spent in stale gyms, […]
A wiser man than most once observed that if one can’t see the forest for the trees, then maybe one should focus on just one tree and the forest will come into view in all its splendor. And that is the essence of living in the moment…being aware of the one thing you can see, […]
Winter finds Forest Park subdued and enticing. The crackling crunch of summer’s madrone leaves, followed by the deep rustle of ankle-deep big-leaf maple and oak leaves is a distant echo. Blooms of the forgotten spring sleep under a carpet of forest litter and snow, yet swelling […]
One thinks of recreation in Jacksonville with a strong bias toward wining, dining, shopping, and concert-going. Yet, for the outdoor enthusiast, there’s a wide choice of areas for hiking and running away from crowded areas. Most folks know of the Britt Trails, but across Highway 238 to the west and north, […]