dogzilla

I'm thinking about a week's vacation in the Portland area going on solo day hikes. I figure my limit for hiking in a day is between 12 and 15 miles on moderate terrain, maybe 8-10 miles if it's tough terrain. I'm looking for hikes where there is decent scenery and views along the way. I'm planning to do this about Jun 23 thru July 1. I found this website which lists hikes that look interesting Main Page - Hiking in Portland, Oregon and Washington but I'm wondering if there's some specific hikes that might be interesting.

genuinegirly

You might be able to enjoy a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.

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snowy

How far are you willing to drive to hike?

The Columbia Gorge is within easy driving distance of Portland and has lots of hikes with beautiful scenery. We're thinking of doing a trip this summer doing a loop up past Punch Bowl Falls.


Table Mountain in the Coast Range is about 45 minutes out of Portland, and while I've never done the hike myself, I hear it's great.

Mt. St. Helens is also within relatively easy distance of Portland--about an hour--and has loads of hiking opportunities. I really really recommend Mt. St. Helens if you've never seen it before--how nature has recovered in the area is fascinating, and the scenery can't be beat.

Tell me what kind of scenery you want to see/how far you're willing to go, and I can point you in the right direction. I'm not at home at the moment but I have several hiking books for Oregon/SW Washington.

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dogzilla

It looks like there's a few places fairly close to Portland on this map that are interesting. Columbia River Gorge looks like an interesting areas. Thanks.

---------- Post added at 09:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 PM ----------

I'm thinking of staying within a couple hundred miles from Portland. That way I have no more than 2-3 hours on the road any one day. Once I get a list of places I've decided on I'd make some kind of a loop around Portland. I figure I'd spend 7-8 hours hiking then a couple hours to find a motel each night.

What interests me is larger waterfalls or river valleys with a decent view. Small streams aren't so interesting for waterfalls alone. Also any mountain trail with good views. I'd like to visit places with more Rocky Mt type mountains. There's lots of hiking here in NY but it's mostly rolling hills than angular peaks and a lot of the views are grown in with trees so it's tricky to get good views.

By the way, what's the probability of rain during late June? If I get stuck in hotels for days, that's not so appealing.

Thanks for the help.

snowy

If you're willing to drive that far, may I suggest looking into Bend, Oregon as a possible destination on your trip? The Cascade Lakes/Central Cascades are about half an hour outside of Bend, with endless hiking possibilities, such as a summit of South Sister. Oregon Hikes - South Sister I made it about 2/3rd of the way last summer before the elevation started getting to me. Even a hike to Moraine Lake (shown in the photo on the link) is worth doing. If you want to see impressive mountains, the Central Cascades is the place to do it.

Here are some pictures from our trip to that area last summer:
Broken Top

Mt. Bachelor (Bachelor Butte)

South Sister with Moraine Lake in the foreground


Not my pic, but a great aerial view of all Three Sisters:


Also, if you want an impressive view of the Willamette Valley, the best to be had is at the top of Marys Peak in the Coast Range: Siuslaw National Forest - Marys Peak Marys Peak is neat in that on one side, you can see all the way to the ocean, and on the other, you can see all the way to the Three Sisters. On a clear day, you can pretty much see all the major peaks of the Cascades in Oregon. The hike to the summit itself is fairly short because there is a road that goes almost all the way to the top, but there is a really nice hike to the summit by parking at Connors Camp and taking the East Ridge trail to Tie Trail and then going up to the summit.

You might consider a loop that has you driving up the Gorge to US 97, down to Bend, bumming around the Central Cascades for a couple days, then taking US 20 back over the mountains to the Willamette Valley. Marys Peak is about 45 minutes from where US 20 hits I-5, and is on the way to the Oregon Coast if you wanted to see that.

The chances of rain in late June are slim to none, but come prepared with a good shell nonetheless, because it's Oregon and you never know. It's unlikely that it will rain so much that you get stuck in a hotel room during that time of the year.

If you're looking for some good books full of great hikes, here are some titles I like:

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dlish

i dont know portland at all, so i cant really give you any advice on trails.

what i did notice is that you're doing this hike alone??

i wouldnt recommend that you hike alone. EVER. always take someone with you no matter how small the hike is. If you're adamant about going alone, make sure you let someone know exactly what trail you're doing and that you have safety gear with you in case you get lost.

I have a few friends that got lost on a mountain here not so long ago. after a hard days trek, and provisions and clothing only for a day trek they were exposed to the harsh realities the night brings. it wasnt a pleasant experience from what i hear. so if you dont have safety gear ( ie. as a minimum that would include compass, maps, possibly a flair, satellite phone or phone reception, a full battery and a car charger to charge every day and food for 2 days & 2 nights including the provision that you sleep overnight) then i wouldnt recommend you go alone. always err on the side of caution.

sorry for the thread jack, but it needed to be said i think.

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dogzilla

I got back from hiking on Oregon last night. I hiked somewhere between 60-70 miles over the past week and had a great time. These were the trails I hiked

Neahkahnie Mt
Cape Falcon
Forest Park in Portland
Top of Multonah Falls then about 1 mile towards Mt Larch
Mt St Helens Boundary trail near Johnston visitor center and about half of Coldwater Lake trail (Turned around when trail had steeper dropoffs than I cared to hike near)
Lake June, which turned out to be at the base of Mt St Helens
Angel's Rest
Bridal Veil Falls
Latourell Falls
A couple of miles of Pacific Crest Trail near Barlow Butte
Jefferson Park (turned around after a couple miles because of 5 ft of snow on the trail)
Pamelia Lake. I was going to hike to Grizzly Peak but found out the trail got flooded
A couple miles towards Browder Ridge then found more steep dropoffs
Cone Mt/Iron Mt
A few miles along the beach

Overall the weather was perfect, in the 70's and 80's most of the time with no rain. A couple hikes at higher elevations were a little chilly, but not bad.

I have a bunch of pictures from the hike that I will post in a few days on a thread in the photography section.

Thanks for the suggestions where to hike.

The books Snowy suggested were quite helpful.

genuinegirly

Thanks for the update, dogzilla! What an incredible trip. When you say you're going hiking, you're not kidding. Whew, that's a lot of trails.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

dogzilla

I posted a few pictures from my trip in this post

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...ml#post2803182

I have a few more pictures I'll post here

Multonah Falls



Me after hiking up the Multonah Falls trail



Some kind of squirrel I haven't seen before



One thing I liked about Oregon was all the bike lanes on all the roads. I kind of wished I brought my bike and ridden along the coast. Maybe another time.

I didn't realize hiking was so popular with dogs out there. It seemed that about half the hikers brought their dogs with them.

snowy

Thanks for the update! I'm glad I could help you enjoy our wonderful state. I'm also glad that you got to enjoy some good weather--it's been pretty atypical this spring/summer with more rain than usual. Sounds like you saw a lot of things I'd want someone from out of state to see!

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Cernunnos

This is remarkably timely advice, as I am heading into Oregon from the 25th of July through the 3rd of August. Portland was chosen as a base of operations from which to explore the surrounding countryside, though I am also considering hotel hopping across the state for broader exposure. Yes, snowy, I am finally visiting.

Any additional suggestions for areas with stunning photography opportunities? Hiking is also a significant bonus, and opinions on whether or not to hotel hop for greater range would also be appreciated.

snowy

Well, to be honest, as someone who enjoys photography I feel a bit spoiled here. My future father-in-law and I have discussed this many times--our state is so beautiful that pretty much any hike you choose is going to lead you past something worth taking pictures of.

The Columbia Gorge has some beautiful places, including some fantastic waterfalls, such as Multnomah Falls (which dogzilla visited), and that is relatively close to Portland. There are several falls to hike into in that area. The Gorge itself is lovely too.

Coming from Florida (my dad's half of the family, all of whom relocated to the PacNW, are from Florida), you are likely to be impressed by our mountains, so a drive up to Mt. Hood and Timberline Lodge might be something you are interested in. Mt. St. Helens is just a bit north of Portland and looks like a little pile of marshmallow fluff, but seeing the recovery there is quite interesting, especially if you can make it to Johnston Ridge Observatory, as dogzilla did. You get a good look into the crater from there.

If you are truly interested in going further afield and seeing some awesome mountains, I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to Bend, Oregon and the Cascade Lakes area near there. My above post in this thread goes into some detail about this part of the state.

This thread has kind of become a "things people must see in Oregon" thread--my shortlist would be the Gorge, the mountains (Cascade Lakes area, preferably, but anywhere in the Central Cascades where you can see the big peaks is good), the coast (anywhere on the Coast will suffice), and Crater Lake (but I wouldn't attempt this in summer; it's better in shoulder season when it's less crowded). All of these places will provide you with ample opportunity to use your camera.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

dogzilla

The Columbia Gorge is quite nice if you like waterfalls. I found quite a few that were respectable sized and not a trickle running down a rock wall like some places, and not much hiking required to get to them. If I had a bit more time I might have spent another day there.

I also liked the northern coast near Cannon Beach a little more than near Newport because of the more rugged coastline.

The two books Snowy referenced have pictures of what you can see and I think fairly reasonable directions. I had a couple minor quibbles with accuracy, but overall worthwhile. I bought both of them from Amazon as used books for something like $25.00. I also found a couple hiking trails on the website I referenced in my opening post.