Clark's Oregon Wildflower Blog: Upper Table Rock

Upper Table Rock as seen from Lower Table Rock

Several million years ago, near the southern Oregon town of Medford, volcanic activity created two large blocks of hard rock. Over time, the softer terrain washed away, leaving the two massive u-shaped mesas we have today in the Rogue River valley. These mesas, standing about 750 feet above the 1,300 foot valley became a special habitat for many unique plants and animals; and they were used by native peoples and then by locals in recent history, until finally gaining protection by the Nature Conservancy and BLM in 1979. It's now an immensely popular natural area for local hikers and school children alike. As well as one of the premier wildflower locations in the state.

According to local experts, there are over 200 species of wildflowers growing on the Upper and Lower table rocks. We have visited these special natural areas about half a dozen times over the years and we posted a visit to Lower Table Rock in June of 2013. The blooming window is short in this area, from about April through the middle of June. At best, we have probably seen about 50 of the 200 flowers. Which makes for a good reason to return, hopefully at different times in the bloom cycle!

This year, we visited on May 11, which is about mid-way through a typical bloom cycle. However, it was unseasonably warm during our visit, drying out some of the vernal pools on the mesa top. In any event, we saw many blooming flowers, a few people, and a wild turkey.

The 1.25 mile trail to the top of Upper Table Rock goes up through scrub oak grassland with an abundance of madrone and manzanita along the way. Once at the very level top, several paths lead around the mostly treeless, u-shaped formation, adding as much as 3 miles to an outing. We spent about two hours on the top, poking around and having our bag lunch before leaving. By this time it was in the mid 80's on top.