Willow Creek Preserve

Area	Willamette Valley (Eugene)
Best time to visit	April and May
Blooming Now	Unknown
Elevation	400 feet
Trail Info	0.5 mile or less, no elevation change
	WILDFLOWER SEARCH
Dogs	PROHIBITED. Please respect this location by leaving your dog at home.

NOTE: The blue marker indicates the trailhead.

Description

Willow Creek Preserve is managed jointly by The Nature Conservancy and the City of Eugene. This native wet prairie habitat is home to more than 200 native plant, 100 bird, and 25 butterfly species.

Spring wildflowers at Willow Creek include several rare and endangered species: Willamette Daisy (Erigeron decumbens var. decumbens), Bradshaw's Lomatium (Lomatium bradshawii), and Kincaid's Lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii), which is the primary food source for the extremely rare Fender's blue butterfly.

Other spring wildflowers include: Common Camas (Camassia quamash), Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis), Willamette Valley Bittercress (Cardamine penduliflora), Oregon Saxifrage (Saxifraga oregana), and Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana).

For more information, visit The Nature Conservancy or the City of Eugene`s web sites.

Directions

From downtown Eugene, travel west on West 11th Avenue, and continue past the stop light at Bailey Hill Road. Turn left at the next light onto Bertelsen Road. Turn right at the 4-way stop onto West 18th Avenue. Drive 0.3 miles and look for a small parking turnout on the right (north) side of the road, adjacent to where the east fork of Willow Creek River flows under West 18th Avenue. The Preserve is on your left, to the south side of 18th Avenue.

Cross the street, and look for either of two orange signs indicating the entrance to the Preserve. However, the trail is not well marked, so please try to tread as lightly as possible. It is also extremely wet during the spring, so you should wear either hiking boots or (better still) rubber boots.

NOTE: Dogs are not allowed anywhere within the Preserve!

Trip Reports

Date	Submitted by
Reports from previous years
05/04/2008	Greg Lief
05/02/2007	Rory Nichols
04/14/2007	Greg Lief
04/04/2007	Rory Nichols

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'If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.' -- Vincent Van Gogh