Last week, I asked for a few spring hiking tips during an interview with LeeAnn Kriegh, author of “Nature of Bend: A Field Guide to Plants and Animals.”

She pointed me to Whychus Canyon Preserve, a 930-acre nature preserve protected by the Deschutes Land Trust, known for its spring blossoms.

From the moment I arrived in the parking lot, there were signs of the land trust’s conservation efforts. The trailhead features a full-color map of the nature preserve, with information about the corridor and its wildlife habitat. Maps and brochures about the area were fully stocked when I visited on Saturday.

I picked up one of the brochures on the wildflowers and embarked on the 4.7-mile-long loop trail, known as the Long Canyon Route on the land trust’s trail map, or Whychus Rim and Creek Loop on AllTrails.com. The loop includes sections along the canyon’s rim and along the valley floor that hugs Whychus Creek.

From the trailhead, my husband, dog and I followed signs from the Rim Trail and then hung a right, hiking the loop counterclockwise.

Wildflower wonders

Wildflowers started to show their blooms just steps from the parking lot. First, I noticed the pencil-thin petals of prairie stars and a few canary-yellow goldfields, interspersed throughout the beginning of the hike. Then there was an explosion of goldfields, sometimes referred to as gold stars, with flecks of yellow and gold carpeting the land on either side of the path.

Not long after passing the groves of goldfields, I spotted my first sand lily of the season along the Rim Trail, soon followed by an explosion of sand lilies. The bright-white flowers have six yellow antlers in the middle. Blooms are typically visible during a short window in early spring and wither away by late May or June, according to Kriegh’s guidebook.

We also saw the purplish pink flowers of spreading phlox, also known as Hood’s phlox, and patches of Oregon grape along Whychus Creek.

While we planned to hike the full loop, we opted for the cut-through trail shortly after the scenic overlook, where we paused to appreciate the view about 1.3 miles into our journey. We hadn’t prepared for the warmer weather and in late April, the temperatures had risen into the 70s, which felt hot in the mostly exposed areas. After cutting off part of the loop trail, our total journey was measured 3.75 miles, with 446 feet of elevation gain.

Explore more

The trails at Whychus Canyon Preserve may be as short or as long as one prefers and also include the Meadow Trails and the Wagon Road Trail. The latter follows the historic Santiam Wagon Road, built in the 1860s to connect the Willamette Valley to the open rangelands of eastern Oregon and gold camps of eastern Oregon and Idaho, according to the Deschutes Land Trust.

The land trust offers close to 100 free walks and hikes, some of which explore Whychus Canyon Preserve, and cover diverse topics, including wildflowers, birding and geology. The outings and popular and many have waitlists. Online registration opens one month ahead of each event and the full list of offerings may be found at deschuteslandtrust.org/hikes.