Hiking Edgar Evins State Park

Though I've had my eye on this park for over a year now, it was only this past Saturday when I finally executed my plan and explored approximately ten miles of hiking trails at Edgar Evins. The Millennium and Merritt Ridge Trails combine to create an eight-mile loop, and this is what we were prepared to hike. But knowing there were no facilities at the trailhead, our first stop would have to be the visitor's center. Having researched nothing about the park other than its eight-mile trail, I was pleasantly surprised to find both an observation tower and a two-mile loop trail here. The two-mile trail would have to wait for now, but a quick stride up the stairs of the tower to the observation deck overhead provided a nice warm-up, as well as an unobstructed view of Center Hill Dam.

Observation Tower at Visitor's Center

 

View from Observation Deck

 

From the visitor's center, we made the short drive to the Millennium and Merritt Ridge trailhead. We signed in at the kiosk and were on the trail by 9:50 a.m. The trail leads downhill to brush by Wolf Creek before it forks, creating the first of two loops. We stayed left at all trail junctions, though we could have just as easily stayed right. I chose to go left, as that would mean our return trip on the Millennium Trail would be shorter by a half-mile. The round-trip total is the same in either direction, of course, but I felt we would appreciate the short-cut on the way out more than on the hike in.

 

Wolf Creek

 

At 1.5 miles, we came to the junction with the Merritt Ridge Trail. On some maps, this section of the Merritt Ridge is listed as the Connector Trail. This trail stretches across the valley floor for just a short while before climbing the steep hillside all the way to the ridgeline via a series of switchbacks.

 

Down in the hollow, before the switchbacks

 

Switchbacks lead up to the ridge

 

Though our pace slowed somewhat while navigating the switchbacks, by approximately the two-mile mark we were at the top and making good time again cruising the ridgeline. A half-mile or so later, Center Hill Reservoir came into sight. The reservoir can be seen for much of the way along the Merritt Ridge Loop, though keep in mind we were hiking in mid-November, after many of the leaves had already fallen to the ground.

 

First glimpse of Center Hill Reservoir from the ridge

 

The trail itself is fairly narrow, which I like. The downside is that narrow trails can quickly become overgrown in warmer months, and this is how I imagine the Merritt Ridge Trail is in the summer, as trail maintenance appears to be lacking. Large trees blocking the trail in several places over an extended period of time have forced hikers to create diversions around the obstacles. I also observed many trees with trail blazes on the ground, compounding the problem of what are sometimes rather lengthy gaps between trail markers. In some locations the scarcity of blazes, combined with an abundance of leaves covering the trail, made the accurate determination of exactly where the trail was heading a real challenge. I would frequently turn my head, looking for blazes behind me marking the trail in the opposite direction, in order to verify I was still on the trail. But please don't let this discourage you from hiking this exceptional trail, as I mention this all for informational purposes only. The hike is an enjoyable one; it just demands hikers take extra care in spotting the white blazes.

 

Back on the ridge, we hiked to a flat rock shelf offering a glimpse down into the valley where the trail would take us next. A rock wall obviously built by human hands was to our right. A pamphlet we picked up at the visitor's center describes this feature as "a mysterious wall of massive stacked stones," and indicates that park historians are "not sure who put these stones there or what their significance was." We paused here to eat our cereal bars and bat around some outlandish theories behind the origin of the stone wall. I decided it was time to move on at the first mention of the possibility of alien spacecraft having been involved.

 

Mysterious stone wall

 

Adhering to our pre-hike plan, we veered left at the Merritt Ridge loop junction and stayed within close proximity of the reservoir for better than a mile. With Saturday's high reaching only into the 40s, boating activity on Center Hill Lake was at a minimum. This further improved the trail ambiance, and is another reason I recommend visiting this park in cooler weather.

 

Center Hill Reservoir was serene on this cool day

 

Wildlife is in abundance at Edgar Evins, and I was lucky enough to observe an owl flying overhead. Shortly thereafter we hiked up a short, steep slope to pass through a small patch of yucca on the plateau. Stopping for lunch on some rocks near where we thought the trail was beginning its loop back, we noticed some people beneath us bank fishing but had yet to actually see anyone on the trail.

 

Yucca

 

We'd see more stone walls and remnants of old homesteads on our return trip. There were more steep ascents and descents to come. Though this was hard on my wife and her bad knee, she reports it wasn't quite as difficult as the eight-mile trail at Mousetail Landing. We greeted our first hiker on the backside of the Merrit Ridge loop and would see only three other people and one dog before making it back to our car five hours after setting out on our journey. If you are injury-free, the Millennium and Merritt Ridge trails can be hiked in a much shorter period of time.

 

One of several stone walls observed near the trail

 

Having accomplished what we'd set out to do, my wife was done. Because we needed to stop at the visitor's center on the way out anyway, we agreed I would tour the two-mile Highland Rim Nature Trail we'd spotted on the way in, while my wife rested in the car. This trail took me deep down into a hollow and near the reservoir's edge in the direction of the dam. Because the trail never leaves the woods, the best view of the dam is from the observation tower at the visitor's center. Pulling away from the water, the trail utilizes numerous switchbacks as it steadily climbs the hill back to the visitor's center. I completed this loop in a mere 35 minutes and congratulated my wife for making the wise decision to sit out this short but somewhat vigorous trail. We had a good time on the trails at Edgar Evins and regret having waited so long to explore this public space on the Eastern Highland Rim. God willing, we shall return.

 

On the Highland Rim Nature Trail