Yacolt Burn State Forest - Sword Fern Trail

The Sword Fern Trail forms part of a longer lollipop in the Yacolt Burn State Forest, the working timber land east of Battle Ground that takes its name from the catastrophic 1902 fire which leveled most of the area. The route runs four feet wide through third-growth Douglas fir and western hemlock, with banked turns engineered for shared mountain bike use. Three logging road crossings break up the climb.

The forest is young by Northwest standards. Hundred-year-old Doug fir is the dominant size class; sword fern carpets the understory at higher density than nearby federal land where elk browse keeps the ferns trimmed. Sparse openings give occasional glimpses east toward Silver Star Mountain and west across the Dole Valley.

This is a working forest, not a wilderness. Expect logging operations to close roads or reroute trails on short notice. No streams cross the route — carry the day's water in. The full loop runs about seven miles round trip with twenty-two hundred feet of climbing. Free parking at the secondary lot above the falls; transit access via the larger Moulton Falls County Park lot nearby.