October 26:
Join us  for a morning of birdwatching along Palouse Creek. We will be taking a short walk through several unique areas of marsh, tall grass, young and old forest to look for a variety of birds that inhabit the area. The area provides opportunities to see wading birds in the same place as species that spend their lives in the deep woods. We welcome have new and experienced birders alike. The more the merrier. After a morning of birdwatching, we will have a discussion about the future of the area we’re hiking through. It is part of the Department of State Lands decision to sell 2700 acres of the Elliott State Forest to private land holding interests. Since this means it would be locked behind gates, we want people to come see the area before it’s inaccessible to the public. We’ll be meeting at 7:30 a.m. and carpooling from the parking lot of the Bay Bridge Inn, just north of the North Bend Bridge. If you can’t make the 7:30 departure time, these are the directions from North Bay Rd:
—Turn onto North Bay Rd. from Highway 101 and continue on North Bay Rd. for 3 miles.
—Turn Right onto Haynes Way and continue for 5.5 miles. The Road will be gravel for the last .75 miles.
—There you will see the turnout with our cars parked and the trail we are on.

November 2:
The Oregon Coast Range is a wet place this time of year, and with the rain comes a whole world of different things sprouting up from the ground. The fall mushroom season is a time to get out in the woods and see dozens of different species of fungus that grow in the variety of micro-climates on our public land. On November 2 we will be joined by a local mycologist from Fungi for the People for a hike highlighting our local fungi. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some of these along with some of our local gourmet favorites and rare and diverse species. We will be meeting at 10 a.m. and carpooling from the parking lot of the Bay Bridge Inn, just north of the North Bend Bridge. If you can’t make the 10 a.m. departure time, these are the directions from North Bay Rd:
—Turn onto North Bay Rd. from Highway 101 and continue on North Bay Rd. for 3 miles.
—Turn Right onto Haynes Way and continue for 5.5 miles. The Road will be gravel for the last .75 miles.
—There you will see the turnout with our cars parked and the trail we are on.