Dollar Lake Add-on Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Connecting hikes: Elk Cove from Cloud Cap Hike, Elk Cove Hike, Elk Cove-Pinnacle Ridge Loop Hike, Pinnacle Ridge to Elk Cove Hike, Elk Cove from Vista Ridge Hike
- Start point: Timberline-Dollar Lake Trail Junction
- End point: Dollar Lake
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Distance: 0.6 miles
- Elevation gain: 100 feet
- High Point: 5,960 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Summer and early Fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: Summer weekends
Contents |
Description
Dollar Lake lies just above the Timberline Trail on the north side of Mount Hood, between Elk Cove and Wy'East Basin. This is an easy and worthwhile add-on for anyone hiking this section of the Timberline Trail. The lake gave its name to a 2011 wildfire that burned much of the north side of Mount Hood. (The fire never quite reached the lake, however.)
The start of the Dollar Lake Trail can be difficult to find. It heads uphill from the Timberline Trail at a point about 1/3 mile east of the junction with the Pinnacle Ridge Trail or 100 yards west of where the Timberline Trail hooks around the ridge and heads down to Elk Cove. The junction is just west of a small campsite, in a small draw filled with ten-foot-high mountain hemlocks. The trail has been marked by cairns in the past, but as of 2020 there are no significant markers.
From here, head up through the mountain hemlock thicket, emerging quite quickly in an open draw. The tread is rocky at first and then becomes less steep as it passes up the west side of the draw. Heather, partridge-foot, lupine, and aster flourish here. The trail then bears right into a copse of trees, passes a campsite, and voilà, you're at Dollar Lake. The lake is merely a snow-melt tarn and becomes an unimpressive puddle by the end of summer. Earlier in the season, it is a breeding ground for some very hungry mosquitoes. From the lake, you can see up to Barrett Spur and the northern ramparts of Mount Hood, including The Pulpit. There are at least three good campsites here.
A trail continues above Dollar Lake to connect with the main trail to Barrett Spur. This trail winds up through young mountain hemlocks on the slope above the lake to reach a ridge above Elk Cove. From here, you can look down on this parkland and up to the Coe Glacier and Barrett Spur. The trail generally follows the ridgeline up, and you'll see twisted krummholtz forms of three species of alpine conifers: whitebark pine, mountain hemlock, and subalpine fir. A small cairn marks the Barrett Spur-Dollar Lake Trail Junction (see the Barrett Spur Add-on Hike).
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Mt Hood, OR #462
- Geo-Graphics: Mount Hood Wilderness Map
- Adventure Maps: Mt. Hood Area
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Hood National Forest
- Discover Your Northwest: Mt. Hood National Forest North: Trail Map & Hiking Guide
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Hood River Ranger District
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood Wilderness
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Self-issued wilderness permit; wilderness rules apply
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Dollar Lake
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Dollar Lake
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington by William L. Sullivan
- 75 Scrambles in Oregon by Barbara I. Bond
- 105 Virtual Hikes of the Mt. Hood National Forest by Northwest Hiker
- 70 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
- 62 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
More Links
- Mount Hood: Dollar Lake + Elk Cove (I Heart Pacific Northwest)
- Dollar Lake (Such Great Hikes)
- Thunder, lightning and Dollar Lake on Mount Hood (On Mount Hood)
- "Fire-scarred Mount Hood woodlands offer surprisingly cool hikes" (Paul Gerald)
- After the Dollar Lake Fire (WyEast Blog)
- Dollar Lake Fire: Five Years After (WyEast Blog)
Page Contributors
- stevefromdodge (primary)