• Rating: Easy
  • Activity: Hike
  • Distance: 1 mile
  • Time:

Trees do fantastic things on this bite-size loop deep in the park’s dewy, northern interior. Just before the 26-mile mark of the Wildwood, a hollowed-out fir can fit pint-size nature-lovers inside its belly. Nearby, inspect a large stump festooned with Frisbee-size mushrooms. A few steps farther, a fir’s roots rise out of the dirt like a house on stilts and create a tunnel to scamper beneath. For a crescendo, pass by a maple whose clutch of trunks resembles the tentacles of a giant squid. Like we said—fantastic.

SUGGESTED ROUTE: From NW Newton Road parking lot off of Skyline Blvd, follow Newton Road and turn right on first path to Wildwood Trail. Head south on Wildwood. Turn right on Firelane 10 to return. (Round trip: about 1 mile)