Oak Slough Trailhead
March 15, 2026
Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area, in northern Tehama County, is always a great hiking destination, and a particularly lovely area in which to see early-spring wildflowers, which is what we set out to do on the last Sunday before the vernal equinox. Imagine our shock and dismay to find that we were the fourteenth car to park in the small Oak Slough Trailhead parking lot off of Jellys Ferry Road! Apparently, half the county had exactly the same idea! No matter—we would just hike off trail. That’s one of the nicest things about this BLM recreation area: off-trail exploration is not at all discouraged.
Off-trail hiking is one of our very favorite things to do. This is where we see the coolest sights, like dwarf pearlwort, masses of babystars, little miner’s-lettuce, and gray foxes! Our hike that day took us to the northern boundary of the recreation area, which we followed east into a corridor that would eventually get us to Battle Creek Wildlife Area. But we did not go nearly that far. Instead, we climbed up a wash to a ridge where we had lunch, hiked down the ridge to another wash, and followed that back, almost to the trailhead. The few people we saw were no more than specks in the distance.
For a great synopsis of, and directions to, this particular access point into the Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area, please see Chris Harvey’s very informative article, Oak Slough Trailhead, Fall 2020. It may be a little too hot for most of us to hike in the height of summer, but the rest of the year, it’s spectacular. And there’s a bonus, too: the drive along Jellys Ferry Road is fabulous in the spring. Right now, between Bend and the Jellys Ferry bridge over the Sacramento River, there are puddles and carpets in shades of white through bright yellow. Gorgeous. But go now before this too-early heat dries it all up!
Clikapudi Trail
March 7, 2026
If you want to be wowed by a spectacular show of shooting-stars, now is the time to hike Clikapudi Trail! We went expecting to see the tail-end of pre-spring blooms, if any were left at all after some unseasonably warm winter days, so we were amazed to find shooting-stars in such abundance, many still budding out. We also found plenty of milkmaids and hound’s-tongue still in bloom—another two very early bloomers. Checker lilies and Indian-warriors were spotted here and there, as well as showy displays of pussy-ears! Overall, we logged over four dozen species in bloom.
Directions to and more details about Clikapudi Trail can be found on this blog at Clikapudi Trail, December 27, 2020. It is interesting to note how different the area is today from over five years ago, when that article was written. Most obviously, the lake is much closer to full! But the vegetation has also grown noticeably, and we are pleased to report that there has been some much-needed trail maintenance. The footbed is very nice, and repairs have been made to the several bridges, and new signage has been installed. Clikapudi Trail always makes for a nice hike, but it is especially nice right now. And the flowers are really popping! Take a hike and check it out! ~Laurie & Don Burk
Photo taken March 7, 2026, by Don Burk.