A friend & I drove to Telford Recreation Area to do a little exploring on a cold but incredibly sunny Saturday in February. This BLM Recreation Area has three trailhead access points and 11,000 acres to explore. The area is also adjacent to both DNR parcels and the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area for additional exploration, although we didn't cross over to the DNR or Fish & Wildlife land during this hike.
We started at the southernmost trailhead and did a 4.75 mile loop hike from the TH on Telford South Road. The parking area has room for several vehicles and a kiosk with a sitemap. We followed a combination of cattle paths, game trails, and occasional old farm access roads to create our big loop; there are no official/marked trails here. The landscape is wide open and fairly easy for exploration, but some map/compass skills are advised. Our route took us through giant sagebrush, open grassy areas, past a few big pines, near vernal springs with aspen groves, and even to an old abandoned farm.
After we completed our loop on the south, we crossed Highway 2 and traveled to the northernmost TH to explore that side of Telford. We parked in a small widespot near the main road, but discovered there is a more developed parking lot down a little access road. It was wet & muddy today, so until it dries out our roadside parking spot by the green gate is probably the best starting place. We walked down to the parking area, and then to the edge of the property before striking out crosscountry to follow fencelines and hike to any interesting feature that caught our eye along the way. This part of the Recreation Area has a lot more pine trees and open grassy areas, but also includes sagebrush and a few vernal ponds with aspen. We hiked 4.67 miles in a big loop on this side of the Recreation Area, and there's so much more to explore for next time!
This recreation area will definitely be worth a return trip once the wildflowers get started. Even this early, we could see that there will be a lot of arrowleaf balsamroot and bitterroot blooming here in the coming months.
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