Ashland Pond

Ashland Pond is one small, semi-secluded, pond for bird watching next to Bear Creek. 1/2 mile long but opportunities to explore the new riparian Bear Creek habitat. Great for dog walking.

Driving

– A 4 minute drive from Ashland Plaza. Take Oak Street (It’s perpendicular to Main Street at the Plaza). Then turn left on Lithia way to head north out of town towards Medford. In a few blocks turns right on N. Laurel. There’s a little jog at Hat Street but keep going until you hit Nevada. Turn left and then turn right on Glendower. You will dead end into the trail head.

Parking

– Just park along the street at the end of Glendower Street in this little neighborhood.

The Adventure

– Ashland Pond isn’t much to look at, but that’s what it’s for – to look at. It’s off the beaten track so it’s semi-secluded, and it’s next to Bear Creek so it has a nice supply of birds and critters to look for. But it’s more of a Botanist’s Dream than a Nature Lover’s Dream.

The gate and the signage and the dog poop bag dispenser at the trail head feels like a good sign – like you’re on a real trail – but quickly it begins to feel like a utility access road. The first few hundred yards of the trail are asphalt with a large concrete wall on your left and scrubby riparian weeds to your right.

Don’t lose faith, in a quarter mile the bark chips begin, you turn to your right, and you can begin to make out the little pond. The wide, barky trail loops around the pond and there are a couple benches along the way, but there is no real, great, pond shoreline access. You mostly just look at it.

The 2021 Almeda fire burned most of this area to the ground. That made the freeway noise much worse. It’s pretty bad. It’s the main reason I choose not to go here most times.

However the new riparian planting along Bear and Ashland Creek extends the trail a bit. There has always been a little bridge across Ashland Creek that lets you explore Bear Creek but that used to get overgrown quickly. Now, 2023, there is a more maintained path upstream along Bear Creek and if you are brave and persistent, you can find a giant old log that lets you cross Bear Creek over to the Greenway! Fun, right?