The Hardy Ridge Trail starts from The Equestrian parking lot in Beacon Rock State Park.
| Location | Hardy Ridge, Phlox Point, Beacon Rock State Park |
| Date | 3/1/2026 |
| Team | Lance |
| Activity | Hiking |
| Stats | 9 miles, 4 hours, 2,300 ft ascent |
| Conditions | Partly cloudy sky, but clear views. Mostly dry trail with a few inches of snow at the summit. |
Map
Story
I wanted to do a sunset hike, but noticed the gate near the entrance of the parking lot with a sign saying 'Park Hours: 8am - Dusk'. Sunset from the summit would put me a couple hours past dusk and I didn't want to risk my car being trapped. So, I came back the next morning (Sunday) and did a day trip.
It was fairly warm out and dry. Well, I did get some snow in one of my boots near the top. The snow was only near the summit and scattered about. A few sections of the trail had several inches to navigate, but overall not too difficult.
When I first arrived at the top of Hardy Ridge I nearly considered my quest over - the views were amazing... but I kept going. When I reached Phlox Point, I was glad I pushed on. The views were so much better there. I even met some people at the top.
Check out the videos below for a get a feel of what my day was like. I say day, but it was not nearly a whole day. Here's the breakdown of my time:
About an hour of prep time at home. Deciding what gear to take, packing, putting together a light lunch, mapping out my route and selecting an alternative, and making my coffee for the road.
30 minutes each way for travel - Beacon Rock State Park is not far from me.
The hike took around 4 hours (AllTrails estimate was 5.5 hours). The incline was not difficult.
That was what it took to capture the photos and videos. Now is Postprocessing...
Image and video editing, graphics, 360 video conversion, posting to several sites, writing the post, updating my website with the collection of stuff I put together... The postprocessing will take much more time than capturing did. I will be working on it all weel long.
Videos
See all the videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF-rofdtCHIzZe_2BJ23ZXp4JF3jDY5aB
360° Video - Grab image with mouse and look around!
