Garth Nature Area in Columbia, MO (Blog Hike #857)

Trails: Bear Creek Trail, Blue Ridge Trail Connector, et. al.

Hike Location: Garth Nature Area
Geographic Location: north side of Columbia, MO (38.98086, -92.33872)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: July 2021
Overview: A short, flat gravel loop around ponds and other wetland areas.
Area Information: https://www.como.gov/parksandrec/park/garth-nature-area/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=879678
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: In Columbia, take I-70 to Providence Road (exit 126).  Exit and go north on Providence Rd.  Drive Providence Rd. north 0.9 miles to Blue Ridge Road and turn left on Blue Ridge Rd.  Drive Blue Ridge Rd. west 0.2 miles to the traffic circle at Garth Ave.  Take the third exit from the traffic circle and drive Garth Ave. south 0.1 miles to the signed Garth Nature Area on the right.  Park in the large parking lot for the Nature Area.

The hike: Established only in 2007, tiny Garth Nature Area protects 52 acres on the heavily residential north side of Columbia.  Before it became a park, the site was the location of Columbia's sewage treatment facility.  One of the former wastewater lagoons was transformed into one of this park's wetlands, and part of this hike uses the old access road for the wastewater lagoons.

            As its name implies, the park remains lightly developed today, with 1.6 miles of trails, a picnic area, and an off-leash dog park being its only amenities.  Garth Nature Area is also a trailhead for the Bear Creek Trail, a 4.8 mile bike trail that connects to other City of Columbia parks including Cosmo Park and Albert-Oakland Park.  The hike described here goes out on the Bear Creek Trail, but it loops back past the wetlands using the Nature Area's other trails, thus sampling all Garth Nature Area has to offer.

Bear Creek Trail leaving the trailhead

            From the restroom building at the right (north) end of the parking area, turn left to start heading west on the wide gravel Bear Creek Trail.  Plastic posts mark distances on the Bear Creek Trail in quarter-mile increments.  Some side trails exit left into the collection of wetlands as the main trail treads close to the natural area's boundary on the right.  On the warm morning in early July that I came here, I did some good wildlife viewing that included a family of Canada geese, some turtles, some frogs, and a woodpecker.

Canada geese

            At 0.25 miles, the Bear Creek Trail exits left.  To take the longest loop through the Nature Area, angle right to begin the Blue Ridge Trail Connector, which is another wide gravel trail that leads to a trailhead on Blue Ridge Road.  Elevation changes are sufficiently small to be imperceptible throughout this hike.  The area's largest wetland lies to the left here, but the dense understory of honeysuckle permits no clear wetland views.

Bear Creek

            Near 0.5 miles, the Blue Ridge Trail Connector exits right to head out of Garth Nature Area.  Turn left to begin hiking another wide gravel trail that follows first the north and then the west boundaries of the Nature Area.  Bear Creek, a wide but fairly shallow prairie stream, makes an appearance on the right.  Some large oak trees live along Bear Creek and its tributaries.  Near 0.8 miles, you can take a short detour to the right on the Bear Creek Trail to reach a bridge over scenic Bear Creek.

Pond view near dog park

            As the Bear Creek Trail enters from the right and exits to the left, continue straight to head into the southern part of the Nature Area.  Some of the ponds in this part of the Nature Area are covered with green algae.  As the off-leash dog park comes into view on the right, look to the left for a short dirt spur trail that leads to the best wetland view on this hike.  A bench here invites you to sit, contemplate, and observe birds and wildlife.  The main trail soon returns to the south end of the parking area to close the loop and complete the hike.

Lake Cumberland State Resort Park: Lake Bluff Nature Trail (Blog Hike #856)

Trail: Lake Bluff Nature Trail

Hike Location: Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
Geographic Location: south of Jamestown, KY (36.92760, -85.04344)
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Date Hiked: June 2021
Overview: A loop hike with some steep areas offering good blufftop Lake Cumberland views.
Park Information: https://parks.ky.gov/jamestown/parks/resort/lake-cumberland-state-resort-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=876645
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: From Jamestown, take US 127 south 7 miles to the signed entrance road for Lake Cumberland State Resort Park on the left.  Turn left on the park road and drive the main park road 5.2 miles to its end at Lure Lodge.  Park in the large parking lot in front of Lure Lodge and the park's Activity Center; the trailhead is to the right (south) of the Activity Center's lower level.

The hike: Constructed in 1952 for power generation and flood control, the Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River forms 65,530-acre Lake Cumberland, the 9th largest man-made lake by water volume in the United States.  The lake is 101 miles long and over 1 mile wide at its widest point.  Over 1500 houseboats float on the lake, and the area has become a popular summertime weekend getaway for people in the Midwest and the southeast.

            Perched on the lake's north shore is 3117-acre Lake Cumberland State Resort Park, a major recreation destination in the heart of southern Kentucky.  In addition to lake access, the park features 2 lodges, 20 cottages, a 129-site developed campground, a disc golf course that I reviewed in the Parking Full Time Disc Golf Reviews, a playground, some picnic areas, and 2 main hiking trails.  The Lake Bluff Nature Trail described here forms a loop around the developed part of the park.  While this hike is not the hardest in the region, some steep areas combined with some primitive trails meant I took nearly 3 hours to complete this hike.  With that warning, note that there are several bailout options you can use to short-cut the loop in case the difficulty becomes overwhelming.

Trailhead beside Activity Center

            From the information board beside the Activity Center's lower level, the trail descends some wooden steps and crosses the first of several small streams on short wooden footbridges.  Metal interpretive plaques embedded in low concrete bases describe common plants in this forest, which include some large beech trees, some oaks, and some paw paw bushes.  The hillsides in this area are very steep, and after the initial descent the narrow trail assumes a sidehill course with a small inlet of Lake Cumberland downhill and to the left.

Hiking sidehill trail

            Soon the lake inlet turns into a creek, and at 0.5 miles the signed spur trail to the campground store exits right.  Angle left to descend and cross the creek on a longer wooden footbridge.  Next the trail curves left to head back out toward the lake as it climbs the opposing ridge.  This climb is gradual at first, but it gets quite steep just before reaching the crest of the ridge.

Reaching the ridge crest

            Just shy of 1 mile, you reach a T-intersection at the crest of the ridge.  We will eventually turn right to continue the main loop, but first turn left to hike a short spur trail to a rocky overlook that gives your first good Lake Cumberland view.  Although some trees partially obstruct the view, this east-facing overlook allows you to peer out over the lake's main channel, and it gives you some idea of just how large this lake is.  Boats will likely be zooming around in the water, so take a few minutes to see what you can see.

Lake Cumberland's main channel

            Back on the main loop, the next 0.7 miles is my favorite section of the loop: it assumes a rolling course through mature forest atop the bluff with the lake 150 feet below you to the left.  I did some nice wildlife viewing here that included a deer with her fawns and a raccoon.  After dropping and rising steeply to pass through a ravine, the trail curves right to head away from the lake.

Hiking atop the bluff

            2 miles into the hike, you reach the first of three park road crossings that occur within the next half mile.  At all three crossings, wooden signs that say "Nature Trail" and yellow aluminum rectangles mark where the trail crosses the road and re-enters the woods.  Overall, although occasionally the path on the ground is faint, this trail is well-marked.

Re-entering the woods after road crossing

            After crossing the park's campground road, the third of the three aforementioned road crossings, you begin a long descent in and around another heavily wooded ravine.  At 2.8 miles, the trail curves left to begin following an old road and head for the park's Pumpkin Creek Lodge.  The park's cottages can be seen uphill to the right.  The hillside is very steep here, but the old road makes for a wide sidehill trail and relatively easy going.

Narrow trail behind lodge

            Just past 3 miles, you reach a trail intersection.  The trail going right climbs directly to the parking area in front of Pumpkin Creek Lodge while the official Lake Bluff Nature Trail goes left to circle around the back of the lodge and reach the same parking area.  This section of official trail is steep, narrow, eroded, and borderline dangerous: a slip would send you tumbling down the steep hillside toward Lake Cumberland.  While I managed to navigate the official trail without serious incident, I think it would be best to close that section of trail and reroute the official trail to the front of the lodge.

View over park's boat dock

            Regardless of how you make it to the parking lot in front of Pumpkin Creek Lodge, the trail heads up the north side of the lot before crossing the boat dock access road.  A final brief stint in the woods brings you to the park's disc golf course in a thinly forested area along the Lure Lodge access road.  The sight of your car in the parking lot downhill to the right tempts you to skip the final section of the Lake Bluff Nature Trail, but hikers who keep following the aluminum trail markers will be rewarded with an outstanding view over the park's huge boat dock from a rocky bluff some 150 feet above the water.  After taking in this view, head down to the parking lot that contains your car to complete the hike.  While you are here, the park's disc golf course also starts near this trailhead, and I had a nice time walking around the sunny and hilly disc golf course after I finished my hike on the Lake Bluff Nature Trail.