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Trip Report    

Day Hike - Cedar Butte (Olallie State Park)

Winter magic hike to Cedar Butte, Christmas Lake and the Watershed Education Center

Linda Shewey Linda Shewey
February 20, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • It was snowing lightly during the hike and there was a little bit of snow on the trail.  Microspikes and poles were helpful in the steeper spots, but not strictly necessary.  The lollipop loop out to Boxley lookout had several downed trees and brush that was blocking the trail, but not difficult to navigate around. 

    View from the top of Cedar Butte was compromised due to the cloudy/snowy conditions.IMG_0688.JPG

    Roads were clear

The light dusting of snow turned the scenery into winter magic, outlining the ferns and bushes beautifully.

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At the Boxley Blowout lookout point, we stopped and learned about the history of the flood that wiped out the small logging town of Edgewick in 1918.

There was only a snowy view from the top of Cedar Butte (see first picture), but we stopped and had a snack there and used our imagination to supply the view.

Christmas Lake was flocked in snow and we found the first salmonberry flowers starting to emerge

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We ended the hike with the short trek to the Cedar River Watershed Education Center and looked at the interesting exhibits there and journeyed our ping pong balls through the tubes to mimic the watercycle.  Note:  great place to take the kids!  Unfortunately, due to the freezing temperatures, the rain drums were not in operation, but they are really fun to listen to when they are.

Although the weather was chilly, our group dressed warmly and had lots of good conversation to keep us going.