At the end of summer I hiked a loop route on grasslands benchlands near Rose Hill.    This area was once under a glacial lake.    The silts, sands, and clay deposits were laid down over several ice ages.    Then as the ice retreated, gullies were cut by continuous meltwaters creating drainage channels for the melting snow and ice higher in the hills.    the gullies have continued to be eroded by spring melt each year.    Hiking in the Lower Rose area requires going down and back up some of the gullies and trails have developed following some of the easier routes.    Double tracks connected power lines and access for ranchers.    Single tracks were added by mountain bikers.    There is a network of unsigned trails and routes and we can combine some of them for a hiking route.

There are several trailheads that can be used from Valleyview, from Rose Hill Road, or from West Juniper.   I prefer an old track off Rose Hill Road, just below the trailer park.   The lower end of the gullies are sagebrush grasslands with a few shrubs.     The upper ends (north-facing) have a few trees on the slopes and in the gullies.

The ridges are open and there are some wide views to the north and the west.

Some of the trails are below the new West Juniper development.

The eastern side of the Lower Rose Trails ends at the Owl Road Dump, but the trails all wind up or down and do not go farther east.

On this particular day, I hiked a 5 km clockwise loop, adding a couple of new trail routes for variety.   There were fine views on the way back to Rose Hill Road.

I usually hike this area early in spring.    The snows melt on the lower altitude open benchlands by the end of March.    I return for a fall hike, avoiding the heat of summer.     On this day, there was no one else on the trails so it was a quiet and peaceful hike.

• More Information – There are more posts on hiking this area on this website, on RambleOn, and on our YouTube Channel.