Revision as of 18:39, 1 August 2014

Herald-of-summer (Clarkia amoeba var. lindleyi), Grassy Knoll Trail bobcat)

View to Little Huckleberry Mt. and Mt. Adams over the Big Lava Bed, Grassy Knoll Trail bobcat)

Indian-parsnip (Cymopterus terebinthinus), Grassy Knoll bobcat)

Lookout site and Mt. Hood, Grassy Knoll bobcat)

• Start point: Grassy Knoll Trailhead
• End point: Grassy Knoll
• Hike Type: In and out
• Distance: 4.2 miles
• Elevation gain: 1280 feet
• High Point: 3,648 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Seasons: Summer into Fall
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable:No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

Following the comer route of the Pacific Crest Trail, the Grassy Knoll Trail takes you to a wildflower bonanza complemented by expansive views. The meadow at the trailhead is a good starting point for inspecting blooms. The trail then affords excellent vistas over the Big Lava Bed and proceeds through a series of meadows to the most stunning meadow of all, at the summit of Grassy Knoll, site of an old lookout. You can hike on if you want and the only downside of this experience is the rather potholed and narrow approach by road.

The trail begins at the sign for the Grassy Knoll Trail #146 and heads up a wonderful flower meadow. Pause if you're a botanizer: there are 40+ species blooming here in July! Enter the woods, drop a little, and then head up through a thimbleberry thicket and Douglas-fir/western hemlock forest with an understory of vine maple. Pass through a clearing and then an opening with views east to Mount Adams through the trees. Silver firs enter the conifer mix. Rise through a clearing and then the path drops. At a rocky clifftop viewpoint, there are views over the Big Lava Bed to Little Huckleberry Mountain, Indian Heaven, and Mount Adams. There’s one more rock outcrop viewpoint a little higher. Bright pink rock penstemon blooms here in early summer.

Drop down a forested ridge and then up through meadows before dropping again in silver fir/noble fir woods. Pass across a xeric, moss-covered, mariposa lily and onion-spangled meadow and then descend through clearings and meadows to get a first view of Grassy Knoll. Pass the remains of a wood structure, perhaps connected with the 1953 lookout rebuilding, and head up into shady woods. Reach the slope of Grassy Knoll and get a view south to Mount Hood. The trail switchbacks on the open, flowered slope and then heads briefly into the woods, giving an clear view across to Mount Adams. Balsamroot, lupine, and paintbrush are the signature blooms among many others. Back on the grassy expanse, a spur left leads to the remains of the old lookout. The lookout was first established in 1934. It was demolished by winds in 1952 and materials were flown in to replace it in June, 1953.

To continue hiking through along ridge top meadows and coniferous forest, see the Big Huckleberry Mountain Hike.

Maps

• Panther Creek Area Trail Map (USFS)
• Green Trails Maps: Wind River, WA #397
• Green Trails Maps: Willard, WA #398
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Adams Ranger District
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Grassy Knoll

• Grassy Knoll Direttissima
• Beargrassy Knoll - aka Grassy Knoll 6-23-13
• Grassy Knoll / Big Huckleberry Mountain 7/4/11

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Grassy Knoll

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
• Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
• 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
• 33 Hiking Trails: Southern Washington Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
• Hiking the Gifford Pinchot Backcountry by the Columbia Group Sierra Club

More Links

• Trail #146 Grassy Knoll (USFS)
• Grassy Knoll and Big Huckleberry Mountain Hike (Northwest Hiker)
• "Wildflowers aplenty: Grassy Knoll trail" (The Columbian)
• Grassy Knoll Trail #146 (Flora & Fauna Northwest)
• Grassy Knoll (Linda's Lens)
• Grassy Knoll and Big Huckleberry Mountain, Jul 13th (Footprints)
• Grassy Knoll (Washington Trails Association)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)