From A Missed Trailhead To A Mushroom Scavenger Hunt In Stephenson, Washington

When is a missed turn for a trailhead not a missed opportunity but a fantastic turn of events?

Last October, Elizabeth and I had plans to head to Siouxon Creek for a hike outside Yacolt, Washington near Mount St. Helens and were so busy chatting, we missed the turn to the trailhead. Even though we have been here several times before!

We drove right by the left-hand turn onto FR 57/FS 5700 and continued on FR 54/FS 5400. It wasn’t long before we realized our mistake but after debating if we would turn around, Elizabeth decided she had always wanted to see where this road would end up so we just kept driving.

The road wasn’t in horrible shape (compared to the beginning of FR 54) and we were soon crossing over and along Puny Creek. We parked the truck in a roadside campsite and walked onto the bridge to enjoy the view.

Walking up the road a bit towards the falls we could see off in the distance, I could see there was a trail that went down to the water’s level.

It was the perfect autumn scene with contrasting red and green and the clear cascade of water cutting between the valley walls.

A little further up, it was possible to walk down below another bridge.

It was obvious this was a popular swimming hole in warmer temperatures.

And a loved one had possibly lost their young life here.

After a while, we were back on the forest road and heading east/southeast.

In another hour and a half, Forest Road 54 did, in fact, get us all the way to Wind River and Carson, Washington. A quick turn west on SR 14 and we were headed towards Stephenson.

It was about 1pm when we rolled into town so we headed towards Walking Man Brewery for lunch. To our surprise, there was this large poster on the side of the building:

Say what?? The Stephenson Mushroom Festival??

That was this weekend, looks like our little missed trailhead was also going to lead to a fun day of fungi goodness!

We ordered lunch, always some good choices.

I added some roasted chicken to the mixed greens salad.

I clicked on the QR code to learn more about the mushroom festival.

I was sad to see the tickets were sold out, someone later mentioned they had wholly underestimated how popular their debut event would be.

Undeterred, after lunch we began a stroll around town to check out the festivities.

Traverse PNW Market was the “hub” with tables set up with crafts on the porch above Walking Man and so many mushroom themed items for sale inside.

Here is just a fraction of what they had to offer:

After perusing the wares, we walked down to the waterfront and path along the Columbia River. If you haven’t stopped here before, I talk a more about it in A Girls Hiking Weekend Getaway On The Columbia River Gorge.

The trees were just starting to turn colors and the river was glassy smooth.

Although I have visited Stephenson several times, this was my first time walk around the several streets of its downtown area. Who knew there were so many cute shops? This was at the local bookshop, North Bank Books.

We made a quick stop in Out And About, a outdoors retail shop. Not a lot of mushroom items here, mostly higher end outdoor clothing.

But I did get some ideas for future knitting projects. Probably Pendleton…

Close by was Out On A Limb, a clothing and housewares store which had plenty of mushroomy items for the home.

And more knitting inspiration.

All in all, we didn’t get many miles on trail but we did get our steps in for sure. I may have even picked up a couple things at the local thrift store (Riverside Resale).

The Stephenson Mushroom Festival and scavenger hunt is earlier this year. In fact it is this upcoming weekend, September 26-28, 2025. You can find out more at their website here:

Stephenson Mushroom Festival

As of right now, there are still tickets available. If you are into mushrooms or this just looks like a fun weekend jaunt, I encourage you to check it out for yourself. The gala is 21+ but everything else is fun for the whole family!