Our NEXT hike will take us to a beautiful valley on the outskirts of the city. We will follow an old road for approximately 1.3 miles to Lake Rix. We’ll cross one creek and several wet areas. Depending on how much rain we receive, you could end up with wet feet if you don’t wear appropriate footwear. Along the way we will see an extremely diverse plant community. Many of the species we have already seen plus we will see large cinnamon ferns, netted chain fern, horsetails, big leaf snowball, sweetspire and more. We will pass a beautiful rock face with dripping water that is covered with ferns and moss and highlighted with umbrella magnolia. The elevation change is only 145 feet and the old road will make for a relatively easy walk. We classify this hike as on the light side of moderate and will take approximately 3 hours with a total distance of 2.6 miles.