Collins River Nature Trail at Rock Island State Park
Hiked on: August 7, 2010
Trail Length: 3.54 Miles (Actually measures 3 Miles)
Trail Time: 1 hour 39 minutes (leasurely)
Difficulty: Moderate-Easy
July 16, 2010 • 5:00 AM
After the excitement from our last hike, I decided to plan a lot better and not leave the house until I am absolutely certain we have all of the materials we need and I am certain about the trail map, length, etc. Taking a couple of extra days to prepare for this hike should pretty much do it. Comparitively, it is not a very difficult hike and I'm certain there are plenty of others' who have hiked this on a whim and never had any problems but all this preparation and taking the extra effort to carrying our backpacks and treating it like a more difficult hike is all in preparation of those 15-20 mile trails I wish to tackle. I don't know that we'll actually be able to hike those this year (as my wife is not too keen on the idea of hiking in the winter), but there certainly is no harm in good preparation.
This hike will be slightly different as we'll have a couple of friends coming along. No doubt they'll get a good laugh at the extra clothes and food we bring on the trail, but once we get around to the furthest point on the trail and start breaking out the food their tune might change. Still, bring some friends along is a wonderful idea and I expect the experience to be hightened.
After checking the weather a few times over the past few
days I'm a little warry about hiking in the rain.
Unfortunately, it appears the rain chance could get over
40% and if it does then I may cancel. Unfortunately, we
have so few chances to get out to hike that I certainly
hope it works out tomorrow. We're not ready yet to hike in
the rain!
July 16, 2010 • 8:17 PM
Unfortunately, it appears this hike will have to be
moved as it is supposed to rain tomorrow. So, a
rescheduling for August 7th!
July 17, 2010 • 10:56 PM
I shall not nor ever in any future context be afraid to venture out into the rain for the sake of a hike if the forcast percentage is below 70%!
I have learned my lesson, we certainly could have hiked
today and not been concerned about rain, so I have raised
my threshold and have decided that if predicted for 70% or
more consistently over the hours I plan to hike,
then I will not go. While today was a good day and I
got a lot of other (and perhaps more important) things
done, we were bummed when we realized 40-60% is nothing to
worry about. So, for future reference, I will not be afraid
of a wet hike.
August 7, 2010 • 12:45 PM
This was a nice trail with, in my opinion, nothing real spectacular. All of the maps and guides I read measured the trail between 2.75 and 3 miles. That my counter measured 3.54 miles is no surprise as it counts steps and then defers distance. The trail did not take as long as I thought it would. We did stop a couple times, but even those stops only increased trail time from 1 hours 38 minutes to 2 hours.
The trail was well marked with signs and arrows pointing the way. Even without the signs, it has been used often enough to be obvious. It was a big noisy. Walking about an hour before noon on Saturday you could expect a lot of boat traffic on the river, and so there was no shortage of noise. Similarly, part of the trail parallels the road where traffic is easily heard.
The trail was easy enough - relatively flat. It’s marked as moderate, the only thing that makes it moderate would be the length. There was one side trail we took. It only went a few feet to the bank of the river. It appeared to be a popular fishing spot complete with wrappers and trash. With power lines cutting through the peninsula, there is plenty of opportunities for back-country hiking. Also shown on the topographical map I had shows a jeep trail circling around the middle. 
The most interesting stop on the trail was a small graveyard of a family dating back to a Captain in the War of 1812. What is most interesting is the dates on the stones are incomplete or inconsistent. I haven’t bothered to do any research and find anything about the family, but perhaps I will in the future. This is definitely family-friendly. While hiking we had a couple doing a trail run. The trail is marked open for bikers, but I would not recommend it unless you happen to be in the area. There are plenty of other sites to explore at Rock Island. This will definitely be a return destination for me.