Ramona Falls Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Ramona Falls Trailhead
- End point: Ramona Falls
- Trail Log: Ramona Falls Hike/Log
- Distance: 7.1 miles round trip
- Hike Type: Loop
- Elevation gain: 1035 feet
- High point: 3,470 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Late spring to early fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
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Hike Description
The Ramona Falls Hike is a favorite summer destination for outdoor enthusiasts due to the gradual elevation gain, relative proximity to Portland, and its beautiful climax at the wondrous Ramona Falls. What used to be a popular family hike is no longer a walk in the park, however. A road washout in the mid-1990s caused the trailhead to be located 1.4 miles farther away at the Old Maid Sand Pit. In 2014, a hiker was swept off the seasonal footbridge at the Sandy River Crossing and drowned by rapidly rising waters after a sudden storm. The Forest Service has decided not to replace the bridge, so the crossing of the river, which you have to do going and coming, is now a ford or a careful balancing act on logs that change their position annually. Also, Ramona Falls became part of the Mt. Hood Wilderness in 2009, so consider this a hike into the backcountry with all the attendant precautions. Wear proper footwear, carry emergency essentials in your pack, and turn back if there is heavy rain. Do NOT attempt a crossing of the Sandy if the river is running fast, deep, and furiously.
Two longer hikes that include Ramona Falls are the Muddy Fork Loop Hike and the Yocum Ridge Hike. This loop is also done in the winter on snowshoes or skis, but remember that the access road is gated further down from December 1st to April 1st.
Take the wide, sandy trail leading up from the southeast corner of the parking area. You will be hiking among stunted mountain hemlock, Douglas-fir, and lodgepole pine on a carpet of moss, pinemat manzanita, and reindeer lichen. Beginning in about 1780, pyroclastic flows from Mount Hood buried the Sandy River, which continues to change its course as it carves through the soft strata. Pass the first of at least three glacial river crossing signs warning about safe passage when waters are high. (There has been more than one drowning death in the area.) Come to the Sandy River-Ramona Falls Trailhead Trail Junction, and proceed past a large boulder to a stop sign, where you’ll need to fill out a free wilderness permit.
Hike onward through the trees, where the trail has been moved back away from the river after sections that were too close to the riverbank washed away. At 1.1 miles reach the bank of the river and then descend to the Sandy River Crossing. A bridge is no longer provided here, so you’ll need to pick one of the logs strewn across the water or attempt a ford (see Tips for Crossing Streams). This crossing can be dangerous and is easiest from mid-summer to early fall. The trail picks up on the opposite bank and winds through an alder-colonized debris fan. Drop in and out of a gully, and head up parallel to the river in shady woods. Come to the Pacific Crest-Sandy River Trail Junction, and go left. The trail soon reaches a footbridge over Ramona Creek and heads up the bank of the creek. At the well-signed Ramona Falls-Pacific Crest Trail Junction, keep right.
Pass through a stile (no horses are permitted on the Ramona Falls Trail) and head up through the shady woodland that has revegetated the pyroclastic flows. Cross a log footbridge, and hike up along lovely, burbling Ramona Creek, which flows through the duff carpet and mossy stones. Look left to note the wonderful pink and sandy andesite cliffs across the creek. Leave the stream to pass above a gully, and keep rising through mountain hemlock, western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western red-cedar, lodgepole pine, rhododendron, and Sitka alder. Reach the junction with the Timberline Trail, and stay right to admire Ramona Falls' splashing veil from the footbridge that spans the creek here. There are plenty of places to sit and contemplate a while under the shady canopy although on a summer weekend, there may be throngs that have the same idea. Do not climb the rocks at the base of the waterfall for better photos, as it is slippery and dangerous and blocks other people's views of the falls.
Continue on the Timberline Trail, and pass through a stock fence near a horse hitch. The trail drops among stunted mountain hemlocks and lodgepole pines to the Pacific Crest-Timberline Middle Trail Junction, where you will turn right. The forest, with a salal understory, becomes shadier, and you get views down to the Sandy’s wide debris channel. Pass out of shady old growth to the stunted Old Maid Flat forest. The trail drops off the bench again and wends down among rhododendrons to the Pacific Crest-Sandy River Trail Junction. Keep left here to make the Sandy River Crossing and return to the trailhead.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Sandy River Trail #770 (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Trail #797 (USFS)
- Green Trails Maps: Government Camp, OR #461
- Adventure Maps: Mt. Hood Area
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Zigzag Ranger District
- Discover Your Northwest: Mt. Hood National Forest North: Trail Map & Hiking Guide
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Hood National Forest
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood Wilderness
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood
- Discover Your Northwest: Mt. Hood National Forest North
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required at trailhead. Pass must be acquired beforehand as they are not sold at the trailhead.
- Self-issued wilderness permit
- Exercise caution at the Sandy River Crossing
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Ramona Falls
- Ramona Falls: 2023 river crossing
- Ramona is at its finest
- Ramona Falls 2022/6/8
- Ramona Falls 6/1/2021
- Ramona Falls Loop 10/2/2020
- Ramona Falls 6/10/2020
- Ramona Falls 1/14
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Ramona Falls
- Ramona Falls Sandy River Crossing 2019
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland by Paul Gerald
- Day Hiking Mount Hood: A Year-Round Guide by Eli Boschetto
- 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- 52 Hikes for 52 Weeks by Franziska Weinheimer (Hike Oregon)
- Oregon Hiking by Matt Wastradowski
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Craig Hill & Matt Wastradowski
- Day Hikes in the Pacific Northwest by Don J. Scarmuzzi
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- I Heart Oregon (& Washington) by Lisa D. Holmes
- Best Hikes Near Portland by Fred Barstad
- Best Short Hikes in Northwest Oregon by Rhonda & George Ostertag
- Oregon Campgrounds Hiking Guide by Rhonda & George Ostertag
- Trips & Trails: Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- 105 Virtual Hikes of the Mt. Hood National Forest by Northwest Hiker
- PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
- 50 Hikes in Oregon by David L. Anderson
- Take a Hike: Portland by Barbara I. Bond
- Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
- Hiking Mount Hood National Forest by Marcia Sinclair
- Hiking Oregon's Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
- Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon by Adam Sawyer
- Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon by Bonnie Henderson & Zach Urness
- Best Hikes with Children: Western & Central Oregon by Bonnie Henderson
- Oregon's Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner
- Around & About Mount Hood by Sonia Buist with Emily Keller
- 62 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
- 70 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Oregon's Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
- Best Hikes With Dogs: Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop
More Links
- Sandy River Trail #770 (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Trail #797 (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Trailhead (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Ramona Falls - Hiking (Roots Rated)
- Ramona Falls (Oregon.com)
- Ramona Falls Hike — Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon (Backcountrycow)
- Ramona Falls Hike (Outdoor Project)
- The Ramona Falls in Oregon is a Must-Do Adventure (That Oregon Life)
- Hike: Ramona Falls (Kristi Does PDX)
- Ramona Falls Trail (All Trails)
- Ramona Falls Loop (Hiking Project)
- Hike to Ramona Falls (The Outbound Collective)
- Mt Hood solo hiker drowned while crossing swollen Sandy River (Traditional Mountaineering)
- "Ramona Falls Trail still may be dangerous; washed-out footbridge may not be replaced soon" (Oregon Live)
- Ramona Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
Contributors
- retiredjerry (creator)