Oregon City, Oregon

Hamilton Mountain has one of the best views in the Columbia Gorge. The hike starts out with a gradual uphill climb through an old-growth forest. After about a half-mile in you will come to a clearing where you can see the ridge line going up to the top of Hamilton Mountain. From there you'll pass...

Located along the Hamilton Mountain Trail, the Hardy and Rodney falls out and back hike is a good alternative for those looking for a shorter hike compared to the 7.6-mile hike to the top of Hamilton Mountain. From the Hamilton Mountain Trailhead, you will follow the trail through thick trees fo...

Bagby Hot Springs is actually a set of amazing bathhouses nestled in the forest outside of Estacada. They are one of Oregon’s most poplar hot springs, and for good reason. The hike into the hot springs is easy and quite scenic. You’ll cross a bridge over Nohorn Creek and follow the Hot Springs Fo...

Hike up into the forest (take the right path, not the one going left), and follow it all the way until you get to "Carpenter Lake" (which always seems to be just an empty, marshy field). Keep going and do not take the right path at the first Y split off. Instead, stay left, until you come to anot...

This is a very short and fairly easy, 1 mile in – 1 mile out, hike with a little bit of elevation gain. I took my time hiking and enjoying the scenery with the intention of this being a photo heavy trip. When I got to the end I spent at least an hour shooting from every angle I saw fit. Once you ...

This trail is temporarily closed. Please visit the Forest Service website for updates to trails in the Columbia River Gorge. This hike starts at the Wahclella Falls trailhead, but does not use that trail. Instead, walk back towards the freeway and take a left onto the Columbia River Highway Tr...

The wooden bridges, Munra Falls, beautiful canyon walls, and the mossy grotto at the end of the canyon itself would be enough of a draw for this hike, but you round the last corner and 65 foot Wahclella Falls comes in full view.The big snow covered river rocks looked like giant marshmallows, and ...

The Trail: This hike is one of the 2 routes that lead to the lookout, and the shorter of the two. It requires more driving to get to the trailhead than the other, but less walking, so if that sounds appealing to you, you have come to the right place! First, you'll be greeted by a dense forest w...

The hike, including the initial 1.25 mile gravel road to the trailhead, is easy to complete within 1-2 hours and only requires a moderate level of fitness. Snacks and water are recommended.   Being remote, there are very few hikers on the trails most days, so one shouldn't have a problem finding...

I'd been wanting to do this hike for quite a while, and when I found work taking me to Portland, I made my return trip through the Mt. Hood wilderness area. I started this Hike from the Ramona Falls trailhead, which is the most popular starting point. The easiest way to find the trailhead, is t...

The trail is a washed out, old mining road making its way through a lush forest with a mix of ferns, moss covered trees, and towering Douglas Firs with trees blown over from wind storms lining both sides of the trail. I call those Big Foot traps. The trail comes to a fork, stay to the left you ar...

After getting your back country permit from a park ranger, you can park your car and head up Zigzag Mountain. There's a tiny 'parking lot' (lot of dirt) where you park that's right by the trailhead. The hike up to the campsites is roughly 4 miles, and it is all uphill. Not only are you surrounde...

On Saturday, I slid into the backseat alongside weekend belongings crammed in the car trunk. Backpacks with patches and streaks of dust. Bags of food that could be cooked over the flames of a fire. We drove south on the 5, leaving Portland and crossing through Salem, as Lake Street Dive albums p...

Note: this trail is closed due to fire damage. For more updates, please visit the Forest Service website.  The Opal Creek pools are a wonderful place to visit year-round, but they’re a true oasis on a hot summer day. With a variety of rock outcroppings and ledges to jump off of, and plenty of ro...

Park at the Eagle Creek Trailhead, and backtrack out towards the highway. Take the path to the right and walk alongside the highway for nearly a half mile. Stop when you are on the bridge and see the Ruckel Creek Trail to your right. If you look left, you will notice a waterfall dropping below yo...

This is a somewhat incomplete report because we did not venture too far into the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. The sky had been threatening us with rain for the duration of our hike along Eagle Creek and we did not want to push our luck too far since we were hoping for an early start on our drive ...