There are many miles of trails to hike on Greenstone Mountain.   On the northeast side are a number of trailheads off the Greenstone Mountain FSR.   A few trails were established by off-road motorcycles, but in this area, most have fallen into disuse since there are many trails on the northwest side of Greenstone Mountain.    The mountain biking community has now developed new trails that criss-cross the lower slopes.   There are also a few older double tracks that can be hiked.   

Much of the north side of Greenstone Mountain was burned in the forest fire of 1998.   The rocky open hills are gradually becoming greener with grasses, weedy plants, and a few young trees.    There are replanted areas higher up.   On the lower slopes, there are a few new ponderosa pines, but most of the area from Ned Roberts Creek to Pendleton Creek is still fairly open.   With each return visit to Greenstone, I explore new trails.    On this last hike I hiked west to Ned Roberts Creek, then looped back through rocky hills to the more moderate slopes in the douglas fir forests, closer to the Greenstone Mountain Road.   

After hiking west for 1.5 km, I took a single track trail which wound up through rocky hills.

The rest of the hike was on single tracks, winding through a pine grass – Douglas fir forest. 

As I hiked I took photos, recorded some video, and flew the drone, combining it into a 3 minute video:

Along the way were many junctions, but I carried this map to select trails to create a loop without steep climbs or drops. 

There were flowering shrubs, wildflowers, pollinators, and birds along the way, with new surprises around each turn. 

hawksbeard

bee on wild raspberry

fleabane

paintbrush

northern blue

gallardia

The next hike in the area will start from higher up and it will traverse the north-facing rocky slopes of the mountain.