Here are a few tips to make your hikes a little more enjoyable in Mueller State Park.
1. Take a map
It is very important that you have a map with you on these trails. They trails overlap, and sometimes loops take parts of 3-5 trails. Although they occasionally have the name of the trail, most of the time you only have numbers. If you don’t know the various numbers of the trail, you are in trouble. I took pictures of both the map with the numbers, and the numbers by themselves. My husband had AllTrails on his phone. Most of the time, we could see where we were on the trail. A couple of times we didn’t have service to be able to see it.
2. Shoes matter!
The first time we came here, we went on the Grouse Mountain Hike. My hiking boots were old, and I guess the tread wore off. I slid and fell several times on the way down. Most of the trails have sections with gravel and the grades are steep coming down. So make sure your shoes have good traction. I love to hike in my Keen sandals, but the gravel gets inside of them on these trails. So stick with some good hiking boots.
No pets
No pets are allowed on any of the trails. So if you bring them to the park, you can only take them around the campground itself. I saw many reviews of trails complaining that they got stopped on the trail for bringing their dog. This should not be a surprise. The trails are clearly marked.
3. Remember that the trails go down first, and then go back up.
Almost all of the trails start going down, so the trails feel easy at first. The problem is they go up on the way back. Know your limitations. Take some of the shorter trails like the Raven Ridge hike to judge your fitness level. AllTrails has an elevation section on their maps. Use that to decide whether to take your trail clockwise or counterclockwise.
Go early or late
The earlier you go, the less people you will see on your trail. Plus, you also have a better chance of seeing some wildlife. Dusk is another great time to see the wildlife on the trail.
Ranger Hikes
We love to go on Ranger hikes. When we first got there, there were a couple listed on the white board at the visitor center. We should have asked the Rangers inside if there were anymore. Instead, we just assumed those were the only ones. Later, I was at the laundry house and saw a sheet that listed several more hikes, but we missed them. So make sure to ask the Rangers about hikes while you are there.
I hope these tips will help make your time hiking the trails at Mueller State Park more enjoyable.