In April we returned to hike the Barnes Lake Trails in Barnhartvale.      This is a regular route which we hike twice a year.    The trails are part of a horse-and-hiker area with no motorized access.    The trails are marked and there are maps provided at the link below.    We usually hike the outside trails in a larger loop (9.6 km).   the lower slopes are through open grasslands and the upper slopes are through douglas fir forests with glaciated hills, ridges, and gullies, but all with moderate slopes.

The trails are a combination of double tracks and single tracks and marked with numbered trails.   There are informal side trails to meadows, sometimes with spring ponds to explore.

Most of the forested trails are single tracks that wind through the open forest with moderate climbs.

Along the outer loop is Killdeer Pond.    After a summer of drought and a winter of lower snowfall numbers, the pond was already quite low.
The final part of the trail was across the grassland hills with a few tall ponderosa pines.

This a favorite and recommended loop.   More information (links):

• Barnes Lake Trails Information 
• Barnes Lake Trails YouTube Video
• There are more articles on these trails on this website, found by using the Search Bar.