Many of my favorite summer childhood memories revolve around evening picnic adventures with my family. My dad would come home from work at the end of the afternoon, bringing dinner with him from town (Kentucky Fried Chicken was a memorable favorite), and we would drive up the winding mountain road just behind our house, enjoying the views as we climbed looking out over the Olympic Mountain range and the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Olympic National Park has a camping and day use area at the top of Blue Mountain called Deer Park, where we would follow a trail to a high mountain meadow to enjoy our dinner with the deer and wild rabbits for company. There were big rocks for climbing around on and a few stray snow patches on the shady side of trees that could keep my brother and I occupied for hours. Sometimes my grandparents would be visiting and we would bring them along too. It was a good family activity.
At the beginning of the summer, I decided it was a good time for just such a picnic to celebrate my birthday. I asked Corey to pick out a spot that was close by with good views of the Cascades, and he said he knew just the place. I brought sandwiches home from my favorite deli after work, and we headed up to Castle Rock.
The drive to the trailhead wasn’t terribly long from our place, and the hike was only a little over a mile, so it was very manageable at the end of the day.
Hot pastrami from Falling Sky Delicatessen paired with a cold beer and views of the Three Sisters with my family on a June evening was the best birthday dinner I could have asked for.
The area at the top is the site of an old lookout, and it’s easy to see why. The McKenzie River valley is visible below with a clear view from Blue River to the Three Sisters peaks.
With lots of big rocks to climb around and explore for the kids, it was very reminiscent of my brother and I scrambling around up on Blue Mountain. We hung around enjoying the views for a while before heading back down the mountain to the cake awaiting us at home. It was a perfect picnic adventure.
Here is a link to the USFS page for the Castle Rock Trail:
And a link to William Sullivan’s Oregon Adventures page:
Joyeux Anniversaire!
Fantastic views and those sandwiches look delicious.
Thank you! It was a great way to celebrate!