We hiked the Barnes Lake horse-and-hiker-trails in Barnhartvale on a mid-April sunny day.    We started at the Gardiner Road entrance and went through the gate and onto the trails in the sagebrush grasslands, hiking a counter-clockwise 9.25 km loop on double and single tracks.   The trails were quiet but we watched for signs of spring, spotting wildflowers and birds along the way.

The lower elevation areas have open grasslands and open forests.

We went past Killdeer Pond, reduced in size after another drought year.    From there, we followed the trails on a moderate climb into the douglas fir forests.

Half of the hike was in glaciated (undulating) terrain through douglas fir and lodgepole pine forests on the upper end and then descended to open ponderosa pines, old snags, and junipers.

We hike these trails in spring and the fall. For an additional outing, I did a nature hike from the Barnes Lake trailhead the next day to spot wildflowers, flowering shrubs, pollinators, and birds, enjoying spring, at last.