While I do not own a dog, I enjoy hanging out with them and their owners. I don't usually work on Fridays so I'm going to start exploring local short, not very steep (less than 5 miles and 500 ft elevation gain) trails, within about 30 min of Olympia on Fridays. Most of these trails are dog-friendly and little kid-friendly. If you are in good shape, you are welcome to come and hike at your own pace even though I will lag far behind you. If you are in not-so-great shape, you're also welcome to come and you'll be in good company. ;-)

Rainbow Falls State Park was first developed for recreation as a community park in the 1900s and its central feature is the Chehalis River, which passes through a pair of rocky outcroppings to form a low falls. There is also a historic (but recently restored) suspension footbridge crossing the river just downstream of the falls, granting a nice view of them, and a fuchsia garden near the ranger station. There are 3 miles of trails total, but we'll do an outer loop that's probably a little more than a mile. If anyone would like to add a little bike excursion, the park also has access to a 7-mile section of the Willapa Hills Trail, a converted railway, between Rainbow Falls and Pe Ell. The Willapa Hills Trail runs between Chehalis and Raymond along the Chehalis and Willapa rivers for a total of 56 miles.

To get there, take I-5 south to Exit 77 (SR 6W to Pe Ell/Raymond) and go west on SR 6 for about 18 miles to the park entrance on the right. Look for me next to my white Ford Escape Hybrid with the bumper stickers.

UPDATE: Checked out the park today. The falls are small but beautiful! The river flood wiped out the old suspension footbridge and the newer road bridge from SR 6, and on the riverbanks you can still see how bad it must have been. The main park (including the BATHROOMS) is accessed via River Rd and Leudinghaus Rd, which is well-signed but involves crossing an old single-lane steel bridge. The entrance to that back route is about 16 miles from I-5 on SR 6. The *trail* access, however, is opposite a small roadside parking area about 2 miles further up SR 6, where the bridges both used to cross the river. The parking is on the right, marked by some old moss-covered stone pyramids, and a crosswalk painted on the roadway. On the other side (the south side) of SR 6 there is a little covered bench and a faded sign for the park, leading to the area with the trails. There are several loops, and it looks like we'll be able to do 1.5-2 miles total with about 200 ft elevation gain (by my guestimation). There was some deadfall scattered about, and the trails look a little disused in places, but nothing too bad.

To sum up: We will meet at the parking area beside SR 6 at about 18 miles from I-5, NOT at the park entrance as it now stands, so PASS BY the signs for the entrance to Rainbow Falls State Park that you encounter at about 16 miles from I-5 on SR 6. An updated map: http://www.parks.wa.g...