Hardy Ridge Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Hardy Ridge Equestrian Trailhead
- End point: Phlox Point
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Lollipop loop
- Distance: 8.1 miles
- Elevation gain: 2175 feet
- High point: 2,957 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Spring through fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
This loop hike at Beacon Rock State Park will give you views, solitude, and a great wildflower display in June. The loop is a combination of old logging roads and single track trail. Horses are allowed on the roads, but the foot trail over the crest of Hardy Ridge as well as the rough trail north along the spine of the ridge are hiker-only. The hike begins at the Equestrian Trailhead on Kueffler Road. You can examine the map in the parking area before starting, but all of the junctions mentioned in this description are marked with signs, and some of them have maps posted.
Behind the information kiosk, there’s a gated road and, to its right, a trail marked “Equestrian Trailhead.” Take either one – they come together shortly, and you’ll be following the gravel road up below a talus slope in Douglas-fir/hemlock forest with a sword fern and Oregon grape understory. A rip-rap buttressed section of road is where a slide took away the tread many years ago.
At the a four-way junction with the West Hardy Ridge and Lower Loop trails, keep straight, hiking through a mixed slope forest of Douglas-fir, hemlock, maple, alder, and wild cherry.
When you reach the junction with the East Hardy Ridge Trail, turn left to hike up a salmonberry-lined road track under a canopy of alder. A big looping switchback takes you on a traverse on the east slope of Hardy Ridge, and you'll soon enter a coniferous forest of same-age Douglas-firs and hemlocks, with the road grade becoming gentler. The Bridge Trail, which connects to the trail system near Hardy Creek, comes in from the right.
Continue up the track in deep forest to reach the road's end and the east end of the hiker-only Hardy Ridge Trail. This footpath switchbacks up in a hemlock forest with sword fern and Oregon grape forming the carpet. Looking at the trail bench, you can see that this entire slope was once scree that has been colonized by forest and a thin layer of organic matter. After two switchbacks, you'll come to a four-way junction turn right on the ridge crest. A little spur leads left to a fin of rock that offers views to Mount Hood and an expanse of the Columbia River Gorge, including west to Archer Mountain, east to Hamilton Mountain and Table Mountain, and across the river to Tanner Butte, Yeon Mountain, and Larch Mountain.
The trail along the ridge is a sometimes rugged user track. After winding through thickets of windblown noble firs, views open up to Mount Adams between Table Mountain and South Birkenfeld Mountain. The Bonnevile Dam also moves into view below Hamilton Mountain, which seems small and insignificant from this perch, and Dog Mountain can be seen upriver to the east. Phlox bloom in profusion on these rocky outcrops in spring. The trail burrows through thickets of Sitka alder and mountain ash with patches of bear-grass. After another rock outcropping, the ridge becomes almost treeless, and the views are expansive along the lichen and moss-covered crest. The summit block, Phlox Point, is visible ahead. The trail switchbacks up a short section of loose talus and reaches the summit after you pass from Beacon Rock State Park to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Horsetail Falls is visible on the Oregon side of the Gorge. To the east, Mount Adams shows itself, and Mount Hood dominates the southern horizon. You can expect the wildflowers on the ridge and at Phlox Point to peak from June to late July.
To complete the loop, return the three-quarters of a mile to the four-way junction with the Ridge Trail, and bear right. Switchbacks take you down through dense thickets and into a Douglas-fir forest. Enjoy westward views over the wide bowl of Duncan and Woodward creeks to Archer Mountain and across to Larch Mountain on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Eventually, you'll reach the West Hardy Ridge Trail, bear left.
This open road track, which is also used by horses, is a level traverse under alders and vine maples and then gradually descends under a canopy of Douglas-fir. Past a horse hitch, the track gets a little brushier as thimbleberry thickets encroach. After a level hike, you'll stay right and drop to the junction with the Equestrian Trail. Here, make a right to hike the last mile back to the Equestrian Trailhead.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Beacon Rock State Park (Washington State Parks)
- Green Trails Maps: Bridal Veil, OR #428
- Green Trails Maps: Columbia River Gorge - West #428S
- Geo-Graphics: Trails of the Columbia Gorge
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management: Columbia River Gorge
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Regulations or Restrictions, etc.
- Discover Pass required
- Restrooms, picnic area, information kiosk
- Dogs on leash
- Trail maps at most junctions
- Share some trails with horses and mountain bikers
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Hardy Ridge
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Hardy Ridge
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Day Hikes in the Columbia Gorge by Don J. Scarmuzzi
- Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- 70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge by Northwest Hiker
- Washington State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
More Links
- Beacon Rock State Park (Washington State Parks)
- Beacon Rock State Park: Equestrian Trailhead (Washington State Parks)
- Hardy Ridge Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Columbia Gorge – Hardy Ridge (I Heart Pacific Northwest)
- Hardy Ridge Trail, WA (EyeHike)
- Adventure #17: Hardy Ridge (Go Team Darkley)
- Hardy Ridge - May 21, 2016 (Pentaquest)
- Hardy Ridge Loop (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
- Beacon Rock State Park - Hardy Ridge (Washington Trails Association)
- Hardy Ridge (Oregon Adventures)
- Hardy Ridge (Summit Post)
- Hardy Ridge (The Mountaineers)
- Hamilton Mountain at Beacon Rock State Park (NW Horse Trails)
- Hardy Ridge (Northwest Wildflowers)
Contributors
- CFM (creator)