Return to Parfrey’s Glen
May 14th, 2009 | 
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My first impression upon returning to Parfrey’s Glen Natural Area since it was closed last year due to flood damage was one of complete shock. It has been totally re-sculpted by the hand of nature. Even the stream that meanders through the glen jumped it’s bed at one point creating a completely new path. There is no kidding ourselves that the Glen will ever look anything like we remembered it. It is an all new experience. What’s more, I’m a bit suprised that the powers -that-be decided to open it up to the public and here’s why…
While many will be quite impressed when they see the way nature can simply re-arrange the land, many will also be surprised they can’t actually walk into the upper section which for many is the main attraction within the glen. Right when they reach the beginning of the actual gorge, hikers will see a small sign stating simply “End of Trail”. Everything beyond that point is once again wild. Good for the glen, bad for sightseers. The high walls, giant boulders, and top waterfall are simply unreachable without going off trail. Which of course you cannot do in Parfrey’s Glen. So, will that stop the curious now that they have come that far?
In fact going off trail is, in my opinion going to be more of a problem than it has been in the past simply because the trail at times is not all that, well, visible. Yes, for the most part there is an obvious path but in some sections the trail simply disappears into washouts and mud. It’s fairly easy to see people not knowing exactly where to go, or where they should stay. One can image folks blazing their own trails or simply not respecting the glen’s unique fauna due to the lack of strong visual guidelines. One does not even want to think what the current budget situation will do to the ability to patrol the Glen regularly as it is. When you consider the potential for further human damage, it’s hard to see a good reason for opening Parfrey’s Glen at this point. I must be missing something. Why not wait until we had a more clearly defined trail? Could we simply be opening it up before we’re ready for the sake of tourism? I hope not.
Here are some new images from Parfrey’s Glen Taken this morning
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Interesting that you talk about the end of the trail and people going beyond it. In the DNR’s conditions as of Tuesday October 13, 2009 they state that “visitors may choose to continue a short distance past the trails end, by either own choice , at their own risk.” I have photographed the area before and wanted additional photos to see the changes. Will decide what to do when we get there and see what things look like. Want this mystic place around forever.
Hi Wayne,
Given that I wrote this in the spring of this year It’s interesting to see how it is going now. I’ve watched this all summer and I have to say it’s a bit of a wild west show out there at times. People are simply crawling all over everything. We’ve even had a fall/rescue this year.
People are funny. If they perceive rules, they tend to follow them even without enforcement. If they perceive chaos… well then chaos rules. It almost seems as if the park just gave up on protecting the glen .. at least for the moment.
Last weekend was the first time I’ve been to the glen since the flood. I didn’t realize that it suffered that much damage and it was noticeable very early on. We went just a short ways past the end of trail sign since we were short on time and I told my wife it was a nice easy walk, which it turned out not too be.
I’m happy to see the area return to a more natural state on one hand but I see the heavy use and realize that those wooden paths were actually quite nice.