Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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Olallie State Park

south of North Bend, Washington

visited 21 August 2021

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Olallie is one of our largest state parks, with many trails to explore a short drive outside of Seattle. I hiked the Cedar Butte trail with a friend on a gray and slightly rainy day.

The first part of this hike is on the Palouse to Cascade State Park Trail, which will probably be a project for next summer.

A metal sign reading “CEDAR FALLS” in black lettering, mounted on two dark wooden posts beside a gravel path in a lush green forest. The trail curves away through deciduous and evergreen trees, with ferns, fallen leaves, and undergrowth on the forest floor.

Cedar Falls · On the old railroad grade. Was there a station here?

A gravel forest road curving away through a dense evergreen forest, lined with tall moss-covered conifers and lush green undergrowth of ferns and grass. The overcast light gives the scene a cool, damp atmosphere.

We stopped along the trail for a view of Boxley Creek. The old railroad bridge gives a nice view of the creek and a small waterfall:

A rocky forest stream churning with whitewater over a gravel-and-cobble bed, flanked by dense green undergrowth and tall evergreen trees in a lush wooded ravine. A corrugated metal culvert and small signs are partly visible at the right edge amid the foliage.

Boxley Creek

The turnoff for the Cedar Butte trail is … shall we say … subtle? We almost missed it.

A brown “CEDAR BUTTE” trail sign and a small directional arrow marker nailed to a moss-covered tree trunk in a lush green forest, surrounded by sword ferns and dense undergrowth.

Dark, exposed tree roots sprawl across a forest floor covered in fallen pine needles, small stones, and patches of green moss, forming a web-like pattern over the brown ground.

A weathered, cracked log lies diagonally across a forest floor carpeted with bright green moss, scattered twigs, pine needles, and small leaves at Olallie State Park near North Bend, Washington.

A brown wooden trail sign reading “NO BIKES! NO HORSES!” in carved lettering, bolted to a lichen-covered tree trunk in a green forest. Blurred ferns, trees, and foliage fill the background.

And, behold, the (foggy) view from the top of Cedar Butte!

A misty, overcast view from a forested hillside overlooking a tree-covered valley, with low clouds clinging to a distant ridge and conifers and leafy branches framing the foreground.

A forest clearing carpeted in rust-orange needles and wood chips, with exposed tree roots winding across the ground, surrounded by tall conifer trunks and lush green undergrowth in a misty evergreen woodland.

A misty forest overlook with tall conifer trunks in the foreground framing a hazy, cloud-filled valley view, the ground covered in fallen pine needles and low green shrubs and ferns.

A narrow, winding dirt trail cuts through a lush green conifer forest, lined on both sides by dense low shrubs and tall evergreen trees reaching toward a bright, overcast sky.

A lush temperate rainforest with low, moss-draped branches arching across the frame and a carpet of green undergrowth beneath tall trees. A narrow dirt footpath cuts through the ferns and leafy ground vegetation in the foreground.

A fallen, lichen-covered log with a broken, splintered end lies diagonally across a mossy forest floor dense with low green undergrowth, broken twigs, and fallen needles at Olallie State Park in Washington.

A narrow, reddish dirt footpath winds through a dense evergreen forest, bordered by lush green low-growing ground cover and tall, moss-flecked conifer trunks at Olallie State Park, Washington.

For more information:

Cama Beach Historical State Park

Grayland Beach State Park

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Olallie State Park

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