There are many hiking routes in the area. We can hike through the forest on the Interior Plateau. We can hike up local hills from the valleys and we can hike through grasslands at lower elevations. Many of the lower elevation hikes go through open forests and open sagebrush grasslands and may climb into ponderosa pine, then Douglas fir forests. In the open grasslands and lower-elevation open forests, wildflowers and flowering shrubs can be spotted in early summer. From hikes in Kenna Cartwright Park, the Lac du Bois Grasslands, the open grasslands near Tunkwa Lake, and benchlands above the river valleys are some photos taken along the routes:
mariposa lily (Calchortus macrocarpus), meadow salsify (Tragopodon pratensis), aspen fleabane (Erigeron speciosus), milkvetch (Astralagus sp.), parsnipflowered buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides sp.), clustered broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata), wax currant (Ceres cereum), blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata), giant blazingstar (Mentzelia laevicaulis), horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens), and wire lettuce (Stephanomeria laeviculis).
They are shared here in a Google Photos slideshow (click the link to go to the album, or enjoy the images in this embedded album).
As the lower elevation areas heat up and the soils dry, there will be more late-summer species to observe, but we can hike at higher elevations to enjoy high forest and subalpine wildflowers.
