AboutMike Expertise I can answer questions about backpacking a snowshoeing in the American West: Mountains, Canyons and Deserts.
Experience I've spent much of my life backpacking, hiking and snowshoeing in the Cascades, Rockies, high Sierras and the red rock canyons of the Southwest.
Publications Just letters to the editor in Backpacker and Outside and my Backpacking homepages
Question Hey!
My brother and I are celebrating our last summer before we graduate college
and really want to go backpacking along the west coast. We would really love
to start
somewhere around Portland (maybe spend a few days there because we hear
its great) and head either to California or Canada. The problem is I am having
trouble
finding any information on trails. We are wanting to spend 1 to 2 weeks and
would love to see as much as possible. Do you have any advice on where to
find this
information or have personal experience in the area and could give us some
ideas Thanks for any help I'm at a loss.
Amanda
Answer Hi Amanda and brother,
Some favorite trails of mine from around Portland. I'm not sure when you might be coming. If it's soon then you might run into snow above maybe 4000 feet, but for the most part that's not a problem if you're ok walking on fairly solid snow. Most of the trails will be obvious because people will have walked them already, and it's not too likely to snow more now.
Have a trailhead parking permit. You can get these at REI and several other places around town and out toward Mt. Hood.
A great mountain trail is on the NW corner of Mt. Hood starting at the Topspur trailhead. Go east of Portland on highway 26 to the town of Zigzag and take a left/north toward Lolo Pass right next to the old Zigzag store (store has good sandwiches but is not a great place to get snacks).
To back up a bit, on the way out from Portland on 26 you'll come to the town of Sandy. As you enter town, on your left/south is the Mt. Hood N.F. headquarters. You can get updated trail information, basic maps, etc. there. That will give you the details on the Topspur trail. Check the weather before going.
But basically, the trail starts at a gravel parking lot then climbs up fairly quickly through a hemlock and fir forest to a main intersection with signboard maybe 20 minutes in. At this signboard take the left trail and this leads you around part of Hood, still in the forest. You'll come to an intersection with the McGee Creek trail and just after is the sign-in for the wilderness.
Continue on the trail. About 2 miles in from the trailhead you'll come to the top of a ridge above the Muddy Fork of the Sandy River. It's spectacular and beautiful and a good place for a snack break and some photos. Don't stop at the first little opening. Go on a while longer to a larger, more open steep slope.
From there you can head on up toward Cairn Basin, McNeil Point. We're having a late snow year so it's likely that there will be some snow on the trail if you come before mid-July. Shouldn't be a problem however. If you can get up to McNeil Point you'll have a wonderful and even more spectacular view. At night you can see the lights of Portland and on the mountain you'll clearly see, not far away, several glaciers.
In the Columbia River Gorge the most amazing hike is the Eagle Creek Trail. If you can, be prepared for a 14 mile round trip hike but even a 4 or 5 mile hike can be rewarding. If walking along narrow trails on steep cliffs is not for you then forget about the long hike on this one. Otherwise this is a top ten hike in the USA.
Head out the gorge on I-84 and take the exit to Eagle Creek near Bonneville dam. Drive back to the second parking lot. Don't leave anything of value in your car and it'll be fine. Oh, and go on a weekday unless you love crowds. Be prepared for weather and for spending the night if something goes wrong. Happens all the time in the gorge. You can't get lost but you can get stuck if rock slides occur.
Anyway, just walk and you'll be in a wonderland of old growth forest, waterfalls, sparkling water, and views that will make you gasp. At about the 7 mile mark you'll walk on a narrow trail along a cliff behind Tunnel Falls. Just after that is Necktie Falls and then you're at stream level. A good place for a break and a turn around to head on back.
There are many other gorge hikes and waterfalls but Eagle Creek is the classic.
On out by Hood River there's an easy hike at the McCall Preserve where you can stand on a high cliff above the Columbia. By the time you're in Hood River you'll be in far drier country than at the west end of the gorge. Oh, and it's often windy.
Along the coast a favorite spot of mine is out of the town of Tillamook at Cape Meares off the Three Capes Scenic Drive. Just off the paved road is a small gravel lot and trailhead. You can walk in a few hundred yards to see the Big Tree, a gigantic Sitka Spruce or you can walk through the coastal rain forest down to the big parking lot above the Cape Meares Lighthouse. You have to see the lighthouse too of course. Good water, restrooms, etc. here.
South of Meares is Cape Lookout. There's a wonderful, long and excellent beach in the State Park. You pay to enter but it is a nice beach.
South of that beach is the longer hike out to the tip of Cape Lookout. You'll be surrounded on three sides by the crashing Pacific on the tip of the longest cape in Oregon.
As far as towns, Cannon Beach is fun to visit. Again, a weekday trip is a good idea.
In Portland some spots to visit would be Council Crest on a clear day. Be sure to stand in the center of the low-walled brick plaza at the top and speak and hear your echo. This is the highest spot in town. Powell's Books on Burnside, much of downtown, the Pearl District, the Hawthorne, Mississippi and other neighborhoods are fun to visit. The visitor's bureau can load you up with info.
Sullivan's book, "100 hikes in NW Oregon" (Or something like that) is an excellent source of trail info. A top notch longer trip would be to go over Mt. Hood on highway 26, out into the high desert, and on down the Bend and then Sisters. You can return over a different pass to Salem then north in I-5 to Portland. From down by Bend/Sisters you can see the Three Sisters volcanoes. Excellent hiking in there if you have time.
