Spring Family Hikes Near Vancouver: Wildflowers, Waterfalls and Trails for Kids
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It’s safe to say that most of us look forward to spring every year. After a long winter, it’s uplifting to see the area wake back up with warmer temperatures, budding trees, blooming flowers and migratory birds arriving. Spring is a fantastic time to get outside with your family. There are so many nearby hiking trails suitable for kids of all ages, as well as pregnant mamas and small children! Read on for tips on where to hike and how to do it safely.
How do you prepare for a spring family hike?
With all the excitement of spring, it is important to remember that there are some extra safety considerations when hiking with kids this time of year. There are also some special ways that you can connect your family to the changing season.
When hiking with kids in the spring, I like to:
● Plan for quickly changing weather. Check the weather the morning of your hike, but make sure you have extra layers for rain, wind or a sudden hailstorm if there is any uncertainty in the forecast.
● Embrace puddles and mud! Kids love both these things, so plan accordingly with rain boots and layers or just bring a change of clothes for the ride home.
● Watch out for ticks and poison oak. While these are both more prevalent in the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge, you can still encounter them in Clark County. The best way to avoid both is to stay on the trail, know what poison oak looks like and do a tick check when you get back to your car and then again at home.
● Keep bellies full! Snacks and water are must-haves for any outing with kids.
● Keep it short if the weather is less than ideal. It can still be cold and rainy in spring, but you can get outside for a shorter period of time and closer to home. Be prepared to quit while everyone is still having fun and warm/dry.
● Avoid damaged areas during heavy rain and high winds. Some trails in the Columbia River Gorge were damaged during recent weather events. These areas remain unstable in times of heavy rain or high winds. Have a back-up plan, keep an eye on the weather and follow all trail/road closure signs.
● Take advantage of later sunsets. Consider an after-dinner hike nearby or bring a picnic dinner so you can eat at the trailhead.
● Keep kids engaged.
○ Print out a spring scavenger hunt off the internet to keep kids engaged. Did you know you can print for free at our local libraries with a library card?
○ You can also find native plant and bird field guides at your local library. Using these on the trail can help kids learn about what they are seeing in real time.
○ Keep an eye out for rainbows!
● Leave no trace! In addition to staying on trails, please do not pick wildflowers you encounter. Many are rare and struggle to re-populate due to slow growth or complicated pollination.
● Maintain reasonable expectations and have fun!
Where To Hike – Spring Family Hikes Near Vancouver
I have many favorite trails for spring hiking with kids, but I’ve picked a few that are great for families.
NatureScaping Wildlife Botanical Gardens and CASEE Trails – 11000 NE 149th St, Brush Prairie, WA 98606
One of the best places to find blooming wildflowers locally is the NatureScaping Wildlife Botanical Gardens. You can find blooming flowers here year-round, but the best flowers bloom April through September. During these six months, you’ll find a huge diversity of native and non-native flowers, as well as the pollinators that love them. Here, there are ten different gardens, all with different themes and features.
It is not too much distance to wander through these gardens, so I like to add a hike through the adjacent CASEE property, owned by the Battle Ground School District. To walk this property, find the gravel path by the greenhouses and follow the trails through the arboretum, around the two ponds and into the native PNW forest. Once in the forest, keep an eye out for native flowering plants like wood sorrel and trillium. At the ponds, keep an eye out for frogs, turtles and lots of birds. Walking through the gardens and through the CASEE property ends up being about a mile.
The low-barrier trails here are great for kids and adults of all ages and abilities. In the forest, there are some roots in the trail that may be difficult for some, including those with strollers. Make sure to keep kids away from the greenhouses and please don’t pick the fruit in the orchard or any flowers in the gardens. There are no toilets available, but there are many kid-friendly businesses about two miles away. No recreation passes or fees are required.
Salmon-Morgan Creeks Natural Area – NE 161st Ave, Brush Prairie, WA 98606
The Salmon-Morgan Creeks Natural Area is a refuge for many local families. Situated in the middle of a neighborhood, this amazing cedar and fir forest is a relatively flat trail for experiencing spring. When you visit, be sure to look for trillium flowers, wood sorrel, fern fiddleheads, bleeding heart flowers and other native plants. Keep an ear out for great horned owls as well.
The trail can be muddy in wet weather, especially down by the creek. You can hike up to 1.75 miles within the natural area, and you can also drive down the road to add on a walk in the adjacent Gordy Jolma Family Natural Area. When driving through the neighborhoods, please maintain a slow speed, watch out for kids and do not block any driveways. There are no toilets available here, but you can find some at the nearby Battle Ground Community Library. There are no fees to park.
Lucia Falls Regional Park – 21803 NE Lucia Falls Rd, Yacolt, WA 98675
Lucia Falls Regional Park is one of our favorite places to hike in spring. April and May bring wildflowers like camas lily, as well as a spring run of salmon that jump the picturesque waterfalls. The main 1.25-mile trail is stroller-friendly and mostly flat. This trail was a favorite back when I was pregnant with my daughter! Bring a native plant guide to see if you can identify these pretty flowers: saxifrage, fawn lily, western meadowrue, camas, sea blush, prairie star, bleeding heart, monkeyflower and Hooker’s fairy bell.
Practice “leave no trace” principles by staying out of the river (to protect the fish), staying on the trail and not picking wildflowers. There are flush and portable toilets available at the trailhead and along the trail. There is no pass required to park.
Tarbell Trail – GPS coordinates: 45.792985, -122.302054
One of my favorite places to hike in the spring in Clark County is on the very eastern edge of it. The Tarbell Trail is located in the Yacolt Burn State Forest, but it’s technically still within county limits. The access roads are gravel near the trailhead, but the wildflowers and views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier make the drive worth it.
The easiest way to experience this long trail is to start from the marked Tarbell Trailhead. At the trailhead, walk past the signboard and some picnic tables before coming to a trail junction. Stay left to continue hiking uphill on a rocky trail. My daughter has been hiking this trail since she was itty bitty, so it is suitable for all ages. You do need to watch your footing in places and be prepared for a steady uphill at the beginning of the hike.
As you hike, you move in and out of patches of different ages of trees and cross a forest road here and there. This trail goes on for miles, but I find that the first mile of the hike is best for wildflowers and volcano views. Hike as far as you want and then head back the way you came! This trail is popular with horseback riders and mountain bikers, so keep an eye and ear out for them. A WA Discover Pass is required to park, and there is a vault toilet at the trailhead.
Sams Walker Trail – Skamania Landing Rd, Stevenson, WA 98648
This flat, gravel 1.1 mile loop trail is located 33 miles from Vancouver and is full of wildflowers in the spring. Local conservation organizations have done a ton of work here to restore native wildflower meadows. My daughter and I volunteered here a few years ago planting flowers like self-heal, blanketflower, Douglas aster, goldenrod and yarrow. These family-friendly volunteer work parties still occur at Sams Walker. Contact Friends of the Columbia Gorge for more information.
The trail takes you through wildflower meadows and patches of mature trees, and you get excellent views of the Gorge mountains. Birds also seem to love this place, so be sure to download a bird song app on your phone before visiting. You do have to cross train tracks to reach the parking area, so keep that in mind for noise and access. A Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Interagency Annual Pass is required, and you will need to secure your pass before leaving cell service (it is spotty here). The trailhead does have a vault toilet.
Catherine Creek – Old Highway 8, Lyle, WA 98635
The Catherine Creek Recreation Area has hiking options for all abilities. Located 72 miles east of Vancouver, this area is a hot spot for spring wildflowers. Some of the trails were impacted by a fire in 2025, and that does make hiking the 2.1 mile dirt/rock loop more challenging due to a now-bridgeless creek crossing. Instead, you can hike 0.3 mile on the clockwise loop to the creek crossing and see the amazing Catherine Creek Arch. After turning around, you could hike back to the trailhead and then hike almost the rest of the loop counterclockwise before turning back to the trailhead.
Alternatively, you could add on the accessible 1.25 mile Catherine Creek Interpretive Trail. This paved trail is great for strollers, pregnant mamas and littles! Ticks, rattlesnakes and poison oak tend to be more common in this part of the Gorge, so make sure you stay on the trail and not reach into any rocks. Just to be sure, it’s always good to check for ticks after your hike! The trailhead has portable toilets, and there are no recreation passes required. Consider hiking on a weekday to avoid weekend crowds.
For more suggestions on spring hiking with kids around Vancouver, Portland, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge, visit www.littlefeethiking.com.
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