I have explored Mount Woodside several times, and I enjoy the gorgeous views along the way every time! I have driven different trails and the main road, yet had never discovered the Gliders Launch Site in my travels.
On this day, I had a rare opportunity where my husband was home from work and available for school pick up, so I filled my truck, grabbed my fur baby, and headed out for a day of beautiful sunshine and midday adventure!
I had texted a friend asking for any directions for the Gliders Launch and she suggested to google map it! Great idea – except the directions were WAY off! Google told me to turn left in 200 meters, but there was no trail in sight. So, I decided to go blind and just try to get closer to the pin location. Turns out the location was accurate and it was kind of fun trying to get closer and figuring out the trail networks to get there!
This was dead end number one! I got turned around easily enough and made my way back down. Onto the next trail! Which was also…. a dead end.
I found another trail that seemed to go in the right direction and gave it a try, but…. it also dead ended! It did look like it would be a great little camping spot though.
Then, the third time was success! I found a trail with a piece of flagging tape and decided to check it out. A few fresh pin strips on my truck later, we made it down the steep hill and behold – we were at the Launch Site!
Although the trail had several large rocks and I was a little nervous to attempt this alone, I decided to go for it. Next time, I’m definitely airing down first! haha.
I was pleasantly surprised to see an outhouse structure at the parking lot for the Launch Site, but my surprise led to dismay when I opened the door and found a broken toilet seat and vandalized outhouse instead. I ducked behind the outhouse to pee and was greeted by used tampon wrappers and all sorts of grossness!!
Please practice Leave No Trace when enjoying the great outdoors!! We want to keep these places open to enjoy for years to come and need to stop trashing them before we lose all of our access.
I was shocked to find I had the Gliders Launch Site to myself when I got there. My dog was busy sniffing around and after taking some gorgeous scenic photos, I sat down and just breathed in the fresh mountain air for awhile.
This is bliss….
After awhile, a couple hiked up to the Launch Site and I offered to take some photos of them so they could get the scenery in the background. Of course, Zola photo bombed almost all of their photos, but she won them over with her cuteness and they were okay with it. I decided to head back down the mountain and let them enjoy the launch site to themselves like I had.
Almost down the mountain again, I felt unready to return home yet and found a pullout to park at. I stopped and did some writing while sitting on my tailgate and Zola relaxed under the truck in the shade with her water.
While parked here, we were passed by several vehicles heading up, and I felt grateful for my unplanned midday, midweek adventure. I only passed two vehicles on my drive up and that was great. It’s often good peace of mind to know there are others on the trails with you, however it is also nice to have the road to yourself and enjoy stopping anywhere you like without worrying about other people pulling in and crowding you.
The other nice thing about Mount Woodside is you have cell phone service most of the time, so if you do get into trouble that you can’t get yourself out of, you can still call for help.
This trip was about a week before my knee surgery, and I knew I was going to get cabin fever being unable to drive post op, so I wanted to get out for a good, lengthy drive by myself. Not only to clear my head, but so I could feel like I got out for some good long drives in this great weather before my surgery.
My fur baby Zola and I enjoyed the gorgeous views, the mountain air, and the beautiful blue sky during our adventure.
As always, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this new view from Mount Woodside as much as I did and I look forward to sharing more adventures with you all soon!
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Disclaimer: Road Trip Mama is for information purposes only and is not liable for any damages or injuries incurred if you attempt one of the trips posted. Always do your research, go prepared, know the conditions, tell someone your timeline and trip plan, and have a means of communication in case you run into trouble.