Your Personal Favorite Hikes??

[AndyCE]

Hello everyone. A few friends and I are relatively new to hiking in the area and we are looking for new and exciting places to hike. We have a modest list going but could really use a few more ideas to make sure we never have a shortage of places to explore. I was thinking if everyone posted one or two of their personal favorite hikes and perhaps why those trails are great it would help us out a lot! Thanks.

[Jewelle]

If you don't mind some travel time, I recommend Coffin Mountain about 25 miles or so east of Detroit Lake. You get a view of pretty much all the Oregon Cascades and Washington's too. Basically Mt. St. Helens down to Mt. Theisen and Diamond Peak by Crater Lake on a clear day. Here's the link to my trip report: http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... ?f=8&t=427
Also, the Jack Lake to the base of 3 Fingered Jack Hike I highly recommend too. Both these hikes are in Sullivan's 100 Hikes of the Cascades book. Happy Hiking.

[pyles_94]

if you like lakes and viewpoints in one, a good one is the serene lake with cache meadow and the rock lakes loop. very beautiful hike....

my personal favorite is the rock of ages ridge trail. it is so steep, you will feel like a mountain goat... the views east are AMAZING all over the ridge. that also has two to 4 waterfalls included depending on if you make it a loop or not.

a better balanced hike with views is up to squaw mountain, see http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... w_Mountain
you can take either route up that...


i havent been here yet, but the battle ax mtn trail and loop looks just amazing..

i wont take them all, but there are TONS of hikes to waterfalls and viewpoints in the gorge, you can search the field guide for those!

[The C-Ws]

I love the Lewis River in Southwest Washington. It's a long drive, but the waterfalls are spectacular. You could easily spend two or three days exploring there.
Casey

[mattisnotfrench]

Where to begin?

In the Gorge you can't go wrong with going up Eagle Creek to Crossover/Twister/insert name here Falls. It's crowded and you might get your car broken into, but it's a beautiful hike. There are tons of great hikes in the gorge, such as the Multnomah/Wahkeena Loop, Herman Creek, Table Mtn, etc. There are few things finer than hiking Eagle Creek on a misty fall day, however.

Around Mt. Hood I really recommend Yocum Ridge. Even though it's really, really long (up to 17 miles round-trip) it's incredibly beautiful and not all that crowded, especially considering you pass crowded Ramona Falls on the way up. I also recommend Cairn Basin and anything in that area, such as Elk Cove and Barrett Spur. Further away from Mt. Hood are some great hikes, such as the Salmon River trail and Burnt Lake.

However, my favorite areas are further south: Bull Of The Woods/Opal Creek and the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. For Bull Of The Woods/Opal Creek (two wilderness areas that border one another and are similar in character) there are tons of great hikes. Every hiker needs to visit Opal Creek at least once, as it's truly exquisite. Massive old-growth, bluish-green water, tons of small waterfalls and an old mining town. Great stuff. Also up in that area is the aforementioned Battle Axe loop, which goes through some of the most beautiful country in that beautiful area as well as some excellent backpacking loops out of Elk Lake (the approach road to this trailhead is truly awful though). In the Mt. Jefferson area, you can't go wrong with Jefferson Park, where Mt. Jefferson towers above dozens of lakes and meadows. There are three trails into Jefferson Park and all three are wonderful, incredibly beautiful. I can't say enough about how wonderful Jefferson Park is...you have to go see it for yourself now that it's finally melted out.

[backcountryhunter]

Canyon Creek Meadows to the saddle at Three Fingered Jack during wildflower bloom. (wildflower show and sweeping views of the three sisters.

Siouxon Creek to Chinook Falls. (water falls, features and pools)

Glacier Basin to Burroughs Mountain to Skyline Trail to Sunrise at Mount Rainier National Park. (Eye candy--- a close up view of the Emmons Glacier)

Dread and Terror Trail from the false tit to the North Umpqua Hotsprings. (lots of elk and a few bears)

Anywhere in the desert where it is quiet. (Me and Ed---we think alike)

[baker9903]

I'm with Matt on this one. My hands down favorite place in Oregon is Opal Creek. Its a 10 mile round trip hike (can be done as day or overnighter). 10 miles sounds like a lot, but it is a super easy hike. very minimal elevation gain. The first three miles are along a closed road, so you could bike in and stash the bikes somewhere before entering the wilderness. Anyone not from the PNW needs to see Opal Creek. The water is incredibly clear (words cannot describe its beauty) and the trees are huge. The real draw for me are the huge trees. Cedar Flats (your end destination) has trees nearly 10 feet across. I've done my fair share of hiking all over the midwest and parts of the south, but had never seen anything like this area.

[joerunner]

For waterfalls it would be Eagle Creek.

For solitude it would be Herman cr in the gorge.

For majestic old growth and a lot of oh's and awe's and lots of alone time it would be Bell creek trail in the gorge.

For an old stand by easy to get to and everything you would want in a hike it would be the Devils Peak loop starting at Angels rest trailhead in the gorge.

For a good time at the beach it would be Ecola state park from end to end.

For a feeling of accomplishment it would be Mt defiance trail.

For picture opportunities it would be Paradise park or Dog Mt.

From that list I think my favorite so far is Bell creek in the gorge because of it's remoteness and primitive feel and the finest display of old growth that I have seen in the cascades (with limited experience).

[NWJeff]

My absolute favorite is the White River to Indian Bar section on Mt Rainier's Wonderland Trail. Go from old forest and river valley to high alpine rock at Panhandle Gap with views of mountain goats, across a stretch of some of the most remote, windy rock on a regular trail in the NW, and then down into a lush valley and gravel bed river at the foot of a glacier. Going to Indian Bar from the south at Box Canyon or Steven Canyon entrance is not as exhilarating but pretty nice as well.

I have only started to hike in the Portland area, most of it being toward the coast. Not many hikes out that way have much distance and good elevation. Some good leisurely and scenic hikes along the coast like at Oswald Park. I really liked the Bald Mtn-Cairn Basin-WyEast Basin area on Mt Hood that I hiked last Friday.

[retired jerry]

Try going up to Barret Spur (see http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... Ridge_Hike)

Or Paradise Park (http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... Lodge_Hike)

On the little bit of hiking I've done on Mount Rainier there were hoardes of people, so I sort of avoid the area