Revision as of 07:20, 23 June 2020

Cottonwoods in the fall, East Fork Hood River (bobcat)

Twin flower (Linnaea borealis) on the Elk Meadows Trail (bobcat)

Tamanawas Falls (bobcat)

Big Douglas-fir, East Fork Trail (bobcat)

The current route of the East Fork Trail, including the loop to Tamanawas Falls (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo/USFS

• Start point: Polallie Trailhead
• End point: Nottingham Campground Bridge Site
• Hike Type: Reverse lollipop
• Distance: 10.0 miles
• Elevation gain: 1545 feet
• High Point: 3,570 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Seasons: Summer into fall
• Family Friendly: No
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Description

In November 2006, six days of very wet weather producing 13 ½ inches of precipitation caused debris flows all around Mount Hood. On the east side of the mountain, both Clark and Newton Creeks rolled boulders into the East Fork Hood River and the combined spate took out 2 ½ miles of Highway 35. The East Fork Trail #250, an undulating path that traversed the slope west of the East Fork was destroyed in many places. While it used to run six miles between the Polallie Trailhead and the Robinhood Campground, it is now a truncated 3 ½ miles, maintained until a point opposite the Nottingham Campground. The hike includes vistas over the East Fork and numerous impressive old-growth Douglas-firs. In fall, larches stand like brightly lit candles in the forest of evergreens. Since they’re in the vicinity, hikers will probably want to include a loop that visits impressive Tamanawas Falls before embarking on the out-and-back East Fork excursion.

Cross Highway 35 from the Polallie Trailhead, and switchback up a slope to the Elk Meadows-East Fork Trail Junction. To do the loop to Tamanawas Falls, make a right and hike up in a forest of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, grand fir, western larch, and chinquapin. You’ll turn into a quiet wood above Polallie Creek and hike through a carpet of twin flower and pipsissewa. There’s a glimpse of Mount Hood through the trees as you make a gradual traverse up and switchback. Ponderosa pine, western white pine, and noble fir become part of the forest mix.

Reach the Elk Meadows-Tamanawas Tie Trail Junction, and go left to traverse down a steep slope. You’ll notice larger ponderosa pines here and pass right under a big and gnarly Douglas-fir. Weathered rock palisades loom above, and ocean spray droops over the trail. Cross a boulder slide with Cold Spring Creek rushing below. Switchback down to the junction with the Tamanawas Falls Trail, and make a sharp right.

The trail crosses a massive boulder field below sheer andesite cliffs. Two short switchbacks take you up to your first view of Tamanawas Falls. Cold Spring Creek flows through thickets of Sitka alder below. Pass a couple of sturdy Engelmann spruce and reach another viewpoint of the falls, which drop 110 feet over a basalt overhang.

When you’ve had your fill of the view, return down the Tamanawas Falls Trail to pass the Tamanawas Falls-Tamanawas Tie Trail Junction. The trail keeps above Cold Spring Creek, passing some large Douglas-firs. Then the path braids near a large Engelmann spruce and passes through an alder thicket. Hike between a mossy boulder and a big western white pine with Cold Spring Creek pouring over a series of picturesque drops to your right. Continue on this often rocky tread below a scree slope rustling with cottonwoods. Pass between the root balls of two fallen trees, and cross a footbridge over the creek. Hike up to the East Fork-Tamanawas Falls Trail Junction, and keep right.

Traverse a steep slope with a boulder skirt, and find yourself above Highway 35 with cliffs of columnar basalt across the East Fork. The path undulates in Douglas-fir/grand fir/hemlock woods. In short order, you'll arrive at the junction with the connector trail that leads across a substantial footbridge to the Tamanawas Falls Trailhead.

Stay on your side of the East Fork, and begin the much less crowded portion of the hike, two and half miles of old growth and river views albeit with traffic noise from the highway. First enter a dense young forest with older Douglas-firs and ponderosa pines mixed in. Hike above a wide bench of massive Douglas-fir, hemlock, and western red-cedar. Soon you’re high above the East Fork Hood River, crossing three small gullies before dropping to river level again. A spur takes an old alignment of the trail to the riverbank. Hike across a slope of lodgepole and western white pine in a former clearcut; then enter an older wood to make four looping biker’s switchbacks up. Make a traverse right below an abandoned logging road, FR 3520-620. Descend through another old clearcut to make two loops down before getting a view down a steep slope to the East Fork. Surveyors Ridge is the forested slope across the river. Pass along the edge of a high bluff getting views directly down to the spate (Don’t get too close here – the bank is severely undercut).

Reach a Y junction in the trail. The path heading right is a biker’s trail that leads out to FR 3520-620. The East Fork Trail switchbacks down the slope but is not maintained from here. You’ll have to duck under several fallen trees before reaching the riverbank, where you might see the remains of the footbridge that once spanned the river to Nottingham Campground. This is a good turnaround spot. The old trail runs under downed trees for a short distance upriver until it reaches a point where it was completely washed out.

On your return, you’ll be sticking to the East Fork Trail. When you reach the East Fork-Tamanawas Falls Trail Junction, make a right and drop down a bluff to pass through a boulder field. Cross Cold Spring Creek on a footbridge, and hike up a talus slope, getting a view of the creek’s confluence with the East Fork near Highway 35. Make a traverse through trailside boxwoods with the East Fork and the highway directly below. The trail almost disappears at a dangerous slide, and then switchbacks down to cross a tumbling creek. Undulate along through a vine maple understory until you reach the Elk Meadows-East Fork Trail Junction, where you’ll drop down to the right to return to the Polallie Trailhead.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Share East Fork Trail with mountain bikes
• $5 day pass, Northwest Forest Pass, or Interagency Pass required for trailhead parking

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Green Trails Maps: Mt. Hood, OR #462
• Adventure Maps: Mt. Hood Area
• Adventure Maps: Hood River, Oregon, Trail Map
• Geo-Graphics: Mount Hood Wilderness Map
• 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

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for East Fork Loop Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for East Fork Loop Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
• 50 Hiking Trails: Portland & Northwest Oregon by Don & Roberta Lowe
• Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
• Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
• Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
• Trail Running: Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
• Kissing the Trail by John Zilly
• Mountain Biking Oregon: Northwest and Central Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
• Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
• Waterfall Lover’s Guide: Pacific Northwest by Gregory A. Plumb
• Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest by David L. Anderson

More Links

• East Fork Trail #650 (USFS)
• Elk Meadows Trail #645 (USFS)
• Tamanawas Tie Trail #650B (USFS)
• Tamanawas Falls Trail #650 A (USFS)
• Tamanawas Falls via Polallie Trailhead Hike (Northwest Hiker)
• Initiation Zone Characterization of Debris Flows in November, 2006, Mount Hood, Oregon (Rachel Pirot)
• Tamanawas Falls (World of Waterfalls)
• Tamanawas Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)

Page Contributors

• bobcat (creator)