Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
arlene
Posts: 4
Joined: August 9th, 2020, 3:19 pm

Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by arlene » June 11th, 2022, 6:44 am

Hi all! I have the good luck of having lots of time off work to explore, and the bad luck of having an angry knee that makes elevation very hard. I am looking for some areas to go for 2-5ish days that have a fair amount of hikes under 1000ft elevation. I keep going into rabbit holes on the internet, and hoping for some suggestions from yall. Dog friendly is a must, driving for hours is fine, and I will be sleeping in my car so large camp sites are not necessary. Ideally I would take a lot of trips, so the more the merrier!

Thank you so much for any suggestions you may have!

leiavoia
Posts: 228
Joined: April 24th, 2015, 9:53 pm

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by leiavoia » June 11th, 2022, 8:14 am

Are you day hiking or backpacking?

User avatar
bobcat
Posts: 2764
Joined: August 1st, 2011, 7:51 am
Location: SW Portland

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by bobcat » June 11th, 2022, 8:22 am

Given your parameters, you're probably looking at hikes up creeks, rivers, or along the coast.

* Oregon Coast Trail in southern Oregon; Oregon Dunes trails; also Tillamook Head, etc.
* Wilson River Trail
* Columbia Gorge: Herman Creek, Oneonta, Gorge Trail
* Rogue River Trail
* Cottonwood Canyon
* Blue Mountains: Malheur River, Little Malheur, North Fork John Day, east end of Wenaha River
* In the Wallowas, Catherine Creek, South Imnaha, Main Eagle, etc.
* Steens: Big Indian Gorge, Little Blitzen Gorge

These just off the top of my head. The above are longer hikes; many shorter options, of course.

arlene
Posts: 4
Joined: August 9th, 2020, 3:19 pm

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by arlene » June 11th, 2022, 8:25 am

leiavoia wrote:
June 11th, 2022, 8:14 am
Are you day hiking or backpacking?
Both!

arlene
Posts: 4
Joined: August 9th, 2020, 3:19 pm

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by arlene » June 11th, 2022, 8:25 am

bobcat wrote:
June 11th, 2022, 8:22 am
Given your parameters, you're probably looking at hikes up creeks, rivers, or along the coast.

* Oregon Coast Trail in southern Oregon; Oregon Dunes trails; also Tillamook Head, etc.
* Wilson River Trail
* Columbia Gorge: Herman Creek, Oneonta, Gorge Trail
* Rogue River Trail
* Cottonwood Canyon
* Blue Mountains: Malheur River, Little Malheur, North Fork John Day, east end of Wenaha River
* In the Wallowas, Catherine Creek, South Imnaha, Main Eagle, etc.
* Steens: Big Indian Gorge, Little Blitzen Gorge

These just off the top of my head. The above are longer hikes; many shorter options, of course.
Amazing. Thank you!

Webfoot
Posts: 1759
Joined: November 25th, 2015, 11:06 am
Location: Troutdale

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by Webfoot » June 11th, 2022, 12:49 pm

arlene wrote:
June 11th, 2022, 6:44 am
I am looking for some areas to go for 2-5ish days that have a fair amount of hikes under 1000ft elevation.
A thousand feet over what distance? Do you have a sense of the maximum slope that is comfortable for you? Is a trail that stays about the same elevation but has repeated ups and downs or significant steps better or worse than a smooth trail at a constant slope like many old road grades?

User avatar
drm
Posts: 6133
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: The Dalles, OR
Contact:

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by drm » June 12th, 2022, 8:03 am

Indian Heaven Wilderness, north of Carson, has minimal altitude gain, especial for the trailheads on the west side, and lots of gorgeous subalpine lakes. However it is famous for bad mosquitoes and this year's wet spring may make this a particularly bad year for that. And a little to the north of that is the Lewis River Trail, which is pretty flat - and never has bad mosquitoes.

arlene
Posts: 4
Joined: August 9th, 2020, 3:19 pm

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by arlene » June 12th, 2022, 1:39 pm

drm wrote:
June 12th, 2022, 8:03 am
Indian Heaven Wilderness, north of Carson, has minimal altitude gain, especial for the trailheads on the west side, and lots of gorgeous subalpine lakes. However it is famous for bad mosquitoes and this year's wet spring may make this a particularly bad year for that. And a little to the north of that is the Lewis River Trail, which is pretty flat - and never has bad mosquitoes.
Ive always avoided Indian Heaven because of the mosquitoes, but maybe it can be my rainy day destination

User avatar
drm
Posts: 6133
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: The Dalles, OR
Contact:

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by drm » June 12th, 2022, 4:55 pm

If it's a windy day, then the bugs will be hiding. Even so, I have gone there in midsummer and had minimal bugs, even with nice weather. But it's random - a few times, I started in and turned around when a black cloud formed around my head.

Walkin' Fool
Posts: 77
Joined: July 7th, 2014, 10:03 am

Re: Favorite area with easyish hikes?

Post by Walkin' Fool » June 15th, 2022, 11:51 am

There are a few different river hikes in the eastern part of the Olympics that are somewhat close together (driving-wise) and fairly gradual: Dosewallips, N Fork Skokomish, Duckabush (at least if you stop before Big Hump), Lower Big Quilcene. The Hoh and Elwha (although the road is closed to the Elwha, requiring some road walking) are also very pleasant and gradual but there aren't a lot of other gradual trails around them, and they're significantly farther from Oregon.

Not sure when you're thinking of going, but all of the above are snow-free right now for at least several miles. You will need a permit for overnight backpacking if you enter into the National Park, and no dogs allowed in the N.P. if that matters.

Edit: Oops, sorry, I see you specifically said dog friendly is a must! Some of the above do go a few miles before hitting N.P., and you could bring a dog to the boundary at least. I'll leave my response in case others find it useful.

Post Reply