The relatively easy Larison Creek Trail, usually open even in winter, starts along a sunny shore of Hills Creek Reservoir and then follows a small creek through a deep, forested canyon. If you're up to a longer loop continue to an upper trailhead and ride a winding gravel road back to your car. The first 1.5 miles of the trail contour around deep, green Larison Cove, cut off from the main reservoir by the road's dike. Only non-motorized boats are allowed on the cove. The rocky hillsides here host sparse Douglas fir and some poison oak.
Cattails fringe the shore.
Beyond the reservoir the trail follows the creek through a cooler, mossier forest of old-growth Douglas fir, red cedar, and twisted yew trees. The path climbs very gradually, staying within a stone's throw of the creek. Beyond the reservoir 1.5 miles watch carefully for a small water chute and pool through the trees to your left. This makes a good rest stop. Beyond the small pool 0.7 mile, the trail climbs away from the creek.