Ginkgo Petrified Forest in the Rocky Coulee is part of the Ice Age floods. It perches over west of the Columbia River. Moreover, the finding of petrified wood in the early 1930s led to the design of the state park as a national historic preserve.
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Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park at a Glance
Access: Rocky Coulee Recreation Area
Round Trip: 4.5 miles
Elevation Range: 580′-1520′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park Backcountry
We took the rookie out on his first hike on Sunday. Then today, we made a quick trip to Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, an excellent novice hike. We’ve only seen one other hiker of all six times here.
The term “petrified forest” is slightly misleading. But before I learned about the park, I had expected to see petrified trees throughout the area. But the most we’ve seen so far are sagebrush, the river, and basalt cliffs.
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Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Center
The visitor center is the place guests see and feel petrified wood. Moreover, one can also learn about the history of the petrified forest and view the mighty Columbia River. The wealth of tree species here is North America’s most diverse petrified forest.
There is also the interpretive trail to marvel at the mineralized ginkgo, walnut, and spruce trees. But I’d always pictured buses of tourists fighting to get a glimpse. So I’ve held off on visiting it to this day; perhaps next time!
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Hiking to Sternberg Point
We enjoyed the Columbia River above the basalt rocks. Roaming would make the walk more interesting, and we were never far from the main trail. Views stretched north to Sunland Park and south to Sentinel Mountain, past Vantage Bridge.
Without moving up to the ridgetop, west views were virtually nonexistent. Even then, it still wouldn’t be high enough to see Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area. Terrain variation is too slight to want to go higher, and we’ve only taken the ridge on the return.
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Sternberg Point Views
We tend to walk through Point 1438 down to Sternberg Point. The turnaround point south of “Hole in the Wall” views Frenchman Coulee. I may have misspoken in other posts, but we could also see Vantage Bridge here.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t windy this time, so we stayed in the calm breeze for a long time. The only sounds around came from the overhead hawks. We could hear noises of semi-trucks revving engines across the river if loud enough.
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Outro
As before, we walked southwest to the ridgetop at 1600′ and went south. Soon, we left the path at Park Point by the road bend. The sun later made a cameo as clouds faded, revealing our recent trip to Ryegrass Mountain.
Before long, we headed southeast and joined the main trail back to the car.
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