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West Zigzag Mountain Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

West Zigzag Mountain from down below (Tom Kloster)
View of Mt. Hood from the trail (Cheryl Hill)
Typical trail section (David Koskamp)
West Zigzag summit from the trail to the west (David Koskamp)
GPS track to West Zigzag Lookout

Contents

Hike Description

This is the easiest trailhead to access for any outing that ascends Zigzag Mountain. The West Zigzag Mountain Hike makes numerous switchbacks up the west side of the Zigzag Mountain ridge, taking you to the site of an old fire lookout with great views along the way of Devils Peak, Flag Mountain, Mount Hood and the Sandy and Zigzag river valleys. The Zigzag Mountain Trail continues past here to East Zigzag Mountain and eventually the Paradise Park Trail, but getting that far might require an overnight.

Start on the Zigzag Mountain Trail (#775) which goes directly uphill from the trailhead. Don't take the other trail that continues on the (closed) road. In a few yards, there’s a map kiosk and a wilderness permit station (only needed from May 15th to October 15th). The trail rises, crossing a small gully in an understory of vine maple, cascara, lady fern, salal, sword fern and Oregon grape. You'll make seven switchbacks in salal/ Douglas-fir woods, traverse up, and then make six larger switchbacks. Vine maples light up the understory. Make three more long switchbacks and reach the ridge crest, where rhododendrons appear. The trail keeps up the spine of the ridge, where you'll be wading through salal and then alternately traversing below the crest and along it. Eight more switchbacks take you higher in Douglas-fir, hemlock, vine maple, rhododendron, salal woods (prepare to get soaked if the overhanging salal is wet!). Head up the wooded crest for quite a while, and then switchback at a square-shaped rock before crossing over the crest to make a short traverse up the dark west side of the ridge through a carpet of oxalis. Three more switchbacks take you over to the east side of the ridge. As you're heading up along the ridge crest, you'll get a view of Devils Peak through the trees. Western white pine and silver fir begin to appear in the forest mix. You're now in the bear-grass zone, with chinquapin, mountain ash, boxwood, juniper, and pine mat manzanita growing in rocky openings. Pass some contorted rocks where the trail reaches the top of the ridge again.

The path dips to a saddle and offers views south to the ridges of the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. Then the trail continues up under a silver fir, mountain hemlock, and noble fir canopy. You'll traverse below a peak on the ridge and drop below a rocky outcrop, coming out at an open crest. Drop again on the north side of the rocky ridge and get a view to the Sandy River Valley. At about Mile 4.7 is a spring. Drinking water is difficult to find on the Zigzag Mountain ridge, so this is your chance. Switchback up to an open viewpoint and then make three more switchbacks to reach the ridge crest again and get a magnificent view of Mount Hood. The trail levels and then drops in silver fir/ hemlock/ Douglas-fir/ noble fir woods with a bear-grass carpet. Descend more steeply and get a view of the cliffs below the old lookout location. Pass under a rock face and then rise, switchbacking twice along the ridge. The path descends past a deep cleft in the rock face, and you'll get a view down the Sandy Valley. Then, where the trail bends a sharp left, you reach the site of the old lookout, with four concrete foundation posts and a few rusted nails remaining in a grove of young lodgepole pines. The view is splendid across the Zigzag River Valley down to Flag Mountain and across to Devils Peak, with Mount Jefferson’s snowy peak visible on the horizon.


Fees, Regulations, etc.

  • Self-issued wilderness permit
  • Wilderness rules apply

Maps

  • Maps: Hike Finder
  • Zigzag Mountain Trail #775 (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
  • National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount Hood Wilderness

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
  • Hiking Oregon's Mount Hood and Badger Creek Wilderness by Fred Barstad
  • Day Hiking Mount Hood: A Year-Round Guide by Eli Boschetto
  • 100 Oregon Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • 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

More Links


Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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