When we came to Liberty Lake Regional Park we were just looking for a place that would be near Coeur d'Alene so that we could visit with Marlene and her family and be close to Spokane so that we could use the airport to fly to Cincinnati for Mike and Kelly's wedding. What we didn't expect to find was a great hiking trail. But here it is, the Liberty Lake Loop Trail, which does not circle the lake but climbs up into the surrounding forest to an elevation of 4,720 feet.
The landscape where Liberty Lake Regional Park sits was once rich wetland until it became a ranch and the wetlands were drained for agriculture.When the ranch became a park, Ponderosa pines, cottonwood and aspen moved into the drained wetland. The cottonwood and aspen attracted beavers who built dams and created ponds and the wetter soils caused the pines to die. But, a new wetland is now forming, creating wildlife habitat and improving water quality in the area.
The Coeur d'Alene Indian word for beaver, our old friend, is hnmulshench. Before they were trapped into near-extinction, there were over 2 million beavers in Eastern Washington. Beavers are clever problem-solvers, skilled builders, and talented engineers - and the mascot of California Institute of Technology, Caltech.
Along the trail, evidence that beaver have been at work.
A tree felled by beaver that is adjacent to a dam that is causing water to back up and cover the land.
One of the main attractions of the trail are the red cedar trees. Here Frederick is standing in a grove of cedar trees that are majestic in size.
What a wonderful legacy for the people to enjoy.
Further along the trail we continued among the cedars.
Fortunately there was a sign because the waterfall was pretty much dried up.
Just a trickle of water at the falls and...
a cascade near the mid-point of the trail.
The first half of the trail was classic elevation gain through switch backs, but the last half follows an old logging road that is a great route for mountain biking. At the mid point we met Dale who had ridden up on his bike and was resting before he returned to the trail. He lives in Liberty Lake and was able to tell us a bit about its history.
On the way down there were some open views and we could tell that the smoke was not as bad today as it was yesterday.
About 3/4 of the way around the loop we met Galen Denio. He is of French and English heritage and at one time his family lived in Deerfield, Massachusetts. We had a most interesting conversation with him about the geology of Eastern Washington and the ice age floods.
Shortly after we left Galen these equestrians came by, enjoying the trail. The third horse in the picture was just a yearling and was wearing only a halter with no lead. He followed along; probably one of the other horses was his mother.
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