Urban Adventure - Umtanum Road Bluebird Trail

We will meet at 6am at the Green Lake Park & Ride in the far north end of the lot. We will depart by 6:10am. The drive to bluebird trail is around 2 hours.

Provided Covid isn't a thing, we will carpool and car caravan to Ellensburg and drive along the trail, stopping when we see bluebird activity. If Covid protocols are still in effect, only carpool with your "pod".

The road we will be driving along is primarily dirt and gravel. It's not too bumpy, but may be dusty. We'll be driving at a very low mpg to try and keep the dust down as much as possible.

Bring your camera and/or binoculars for close-up photos/looks of the bluebirds. The nesting boxes are within a few feet from the road, so the birds are quite visible for observing. It's probably best if you don't bring a huge tripod/scope since we will be only stopping for about 10 minutes at each nesting box with activity.

Today, four trails are maintained, including 57 boxes off Highway 410 that the Ryans built and maintained for 27 years. Since then that trail, now called the Ryan Bluebird Trail, has been maintained by the Kinney family. The Zooks tend to 35 boxes near Jones Canyon along the northeast slope of Mt. Cleman and Repp monitors several dozen boxes in Hardy Canyon south of Wenas Road. Twenty-one boxes cared for by the Poolers along Durr Road in Kittitas County will be added to the Vredenburgh Trail this year, bringing that trail to 153 boxes.