Adventures in Oregon: Dimple Hill
Gorgeous weather carried over from Saturday into Sunday, so after church we laced up our hiking shoes and hit the trail. We decided to explore Dimple Hill, which is known for offering up incredible panoramic views of Corvallis.
We started at the trailhead at Chip Ross Park and navigated our way along a very muddy trail, passing loads of other people (and dogs) who had the same idea. Luckily, the crowds thinned out once we turned off the Chip Ross loop and connected up with Dan’s Trail.
The hike itself was a very nice one, climbing gradually over three miles to Dimple Hill, gaining somewhere in the ballpark of 700-800 feet in elevation from the trailhead. Dan’s Trail was well-maintained and for the most part provided plenty of space to share the path with mountain bikes.
We reached the summit and the view totally lived up to the hype! We could see the entire valley stretching out before us.
With such a clear sky and little haze, we could see the snowy peaks of the Three Sisters off in the distance. Whenever I see these snow-capped giants along the horizon, I have to pinch myself – such an amazing site to see! I hope I never take it for granted.
We walked a little ways down Dimple Hill and sat down to take it all in.
Annie, Sasha and Ella joined us for the hike and they really did not understand the concept of resting. They were the very definition of restless! I guess they need to spend more time learning from Sawyer – he always gives the impression that he appreciates the view just as much as we do.
(Don’t let Sasha fool you in these photos – she remained still for approximately 2 minutes before trying to army crawl her way up the hill).
We could easily have lingered there until sunset, soaking in the view and trying to pinpoint which microscopic buildings we recognized.
However, we still had three miles to hike back to the car. We made the return trip a bit more swiftly as it was mostly downhill. By the time we reached the car, however, darkness was close on our heels and the last light was fading from the sky.
All in all, the hike is excellent (once you get past the mud in Chip Ross Park). It’s on the longer side (definitely plan on a couple of hours) but is a pleasant and peaceful meandering through the edge of McDonald Forest. And that view! Icing on the cake! We will definitely be revisiting it in the future! I can’t wait to see what spring brings as flowers start to blossom – I’m expecting it will be pretty spectacular!
Next up on the blog, I’ll finally share our visit to Heceta Head – one of the most beautiful places we’ve visited!
Other post in the Adventures in Oregon series:
