New Wonder Trail and Lithia Park Loop

Seven of us met at the Lithia Bandshell parking area for a surprisingly long hike. We headed up through the Park towards the New Wonder TH across from the parking area for the Fairy Ponds.

Up New Wonder and back is 2.9 miles each way or 5.8 miles total. With about 1,000′ of gain from 2,000′ in Lithia to 3,000′ at the top end of New Wonder.

Our Park loop added 3.2 miles, so 9 miles total. A good hike on a wet day. We hiked up through the fog and then experienced snow mixed with rain while heading back down.

Shortly after starting our hike in the Park, we met up with the in-park preschool and chatted with Martha, one of the volunteers. The 8 “gnomes” were having a wonderful time tossing snowballs. The snow came off the roof of a large SUV that must have been parked overnight up in the mountains.

We didn’t get the dusting of snow we had last December that turned Lithia into a “Winter Wonderland ”, but we did have a pleasant hike with enough exercise to merit a stop at Louie’s for lunch and refreshments.

Hike Leader: Rich Stickle

Photos By: Jerry, John, Randy