Escure Ranch - Towell Falls — Friday, Apr. 25, 2025

This was my second daylong hike at Escure Ranch in the past week. My goal is to explore as much of the area as possible. I parked at the bridge on Jordan-Knott Road where it crosses Rock Creek for both hikes. Maps show a gap of private land between the bridge and Escure Ranch to the west, but I was informed recently that access is possible because of a land purchase, eliminating the gap. But this access is along the north side of Rock Creek. The south side is still private land.

I used this starting point instead of the old ranch homestead because my goal was to explore the northern and central parts of the area. I started my hike following Rock Creek and soon came across a flock of pelicans. Vegetation is still just coming up and I found game trails and cow paths to make walking easier in a lot of stretches. As the vegetation grows, hiking may not be as easy.

Came across a waterfall I didn't know about - Breeden Falls. My map shows Breeden Road crossing here, and there's a bridge and road, but I've yet to see a vehicle on it. Breeden Falls looks as pretty as Towell Falls, which is the main destination for most hikers at Escure Ranch.

Both times I made my way to the top of coulee walls overlooking Rock Creek and headed west and south. Great scenery along here. On my second visit, I made my way to Perch Lake, Wall Lake and Turtle Lake, which I noticed, unlike the first two lakes, had a bunch of turtles. It was fun locating these lakes using a paper map and my sense of direction. Not having a device makes this a fun challenge.

Catching sight of a badger used to be a rare thing, but on my two hikes, got good looks three times. Saw a couple coyotes that weren't too far away, and as always, a ton of mule deer. I got ambitious and walked a long way to explore some stands of cottonwood trees at the southern end of Escure Ranch which really stick out on this nearly treeless landscape. Separated by roughly a quarter mile, the three stands of cottonwoods each had a resident owl with a very white head and mostly white body with brown spots. Got some good looks—I thought maybe it was a snowy owl, but after reading they're fairly rare here, it might be a different type.

Had to pick up the pace to get back to my car. Hiked to the ranch buildings at the camping area, crossed the bridge over the creek and then climbed the ridge between Rock Creek and Jordan-Knott Road, heading north. Took different, but parallel routes on my two hikes through here. It's very pleasant late afternoon/early evening hiking. My explorations both times were all day endeavors. Since the Escure Ranch/Rock Creek Recreation Site is so big, I believe I'll be doing more.