Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE SHADED LOWER PROCTOR LOOP TRAIL
Just beyond the White House trail, the Bat House exhibit is on your left. Four bat
houses have been placed on tall poles, and a well-illustrated plaque explains that 17
of the 45 bat species found in the United States and Canada have been recorded in
Madera Canyon. The best time to see bats is at sunset, when they become active, es-
pecially in the spring and summer. Please don't disturb the bats, and stay on the trail.
A few yards past the bat houses and 0.24 mile from the trail-head, the trail forks
into a 0.35-mile loop that you can take either way. Going right, you'll quickly come to
a wooden bridge crossing Madera Creek, which will be dry in late spring and summer.
About halfway around the paved loop, you'll reach the signed intersection with the
unpaved Upper Loop Trail. This 0.2-mile-long trail links with the Whitehouse Loop,
and hikers can use it to make a figure-eight excursion. Wheelchair users will continue
around the paved loop, crossing another wooden bridge over Madera Creek and re-
turning to the Proctor Parking Area.
It's a 0.7-mile drive from the Proctor Parking Area to the Whitehouse Picnic
Area, where the second paved, wheelchair-accessible loop begins. Heading right from
the trailhead, you'll pass a short, paved side trail to the grave of an unknown pion-
