St. Cloud — Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

We hiked the loop around St. Cloud Park and picked some ripe blackberries. The National Forest Service maintains this park and the park rangers told us their budget had been cut. The park is filled with apple trees that are in need of pruning. The grass is in need of mowing and the trail in the park is narrow, flat, visible but overgrown with weeds in some areas. The forest service rangers suggested forming a "Friends of St. Cloud" volunteer non-profit organization to get the park back in shape. My husband was stung twice by bees while picking berries. We suspect he stepped on an underground bee den. My dog and I hiked on a narrow path down by the river below the park to a stream with a dam built by beavers where the path ends and is under water. St. Cloud is a great, quiet place to picnic and bring your pups for an easy walk.