Mellow hike through a lush valley

Statistics

0 - 1

hrs

115

m

115

m

4

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Easy

Description

The Norling Trail is a mellow, easily-accessible hike in Jacksonville's Forest Park.

While there are several different access points for this trail, the trailhead noted here is the lowest and easiest trailhead to access in the park. The hike begins by passing a small pond and following a small creek toward a second parking lot.

After passing the second lot, the trail twists through a beautiful woodland as it follows the creek.

While you won't get any long-range views on this hike, that's not really the point.

Instead, you'll get to enjoy the depths of the Southern Oregon forest and the lush valley.

In comparison to some nearby areas that are very dry and hot, the damp, cool creek bottom offers a delightful change of environment. Keep your eyes peeled for signs for the Norling Trail to stay on track, or if you prefer to explore, take a turn off onto a different trail.

Forest Park is filled with tons of trail options (some would say too many).

You can take several different spur trails, or instead of just hiking an out-and-back on Norling, you could form a loop with another nearby trail.

The Ol Miner's trail makes for a good loop option, or the Rail Trail on the other side of the valley will offer a similar loop.