Primrose Path Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start Point: Devils Rest
- End Point: Angels Rest Trail-Primrose Path Junction
- Hike Type: Connector trail
- Distance: 0.7 miles
- Elevation gain: 760 feet
- High point: 2,425 feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Seasons: Early spring through late fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Description
The Primrose Path, also known as the Primrose Trail, is a historic user-maintained trail that was listed on maps and in guidebooks as recently as the early 1980s. The trail begins at the summit of Devils Rest, leading off from the east side of the summit and following a steep ridge downhill until it meets the Angels Rest Trail #415 just east of the Mist Creek Footbridge.
The Primrose is unique in that it's one of the few trails in the area with an outstanding view. A rock outcropping at 1,945 feet affords 180 degree views of the river below, the cliffs of Cape Horn, Beacon Rock, Hamilton Mountain, Table Mountain, and the Bonneville Dam complex.
The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire scoured the entire length of the trail, and the ridge has become extremely brushy as sun-loving shrubs proliferated in the years after the fire. Before the fire, the route was maintained only periodically, and it had become a bushwhack in certain sections. However, the redoubtable Red Shorts took up the task of restoring the trail. In 2021, there was a wide trail corridor through the brush and whimsical signs had been put in place. The current route more or less follows the original alignment of the trail until you get close to the bottom, where it veers left to reach the Angels Rest Trail at an earlier point than traditionally. The trail will need frequent maintenance and lots of boot tracks to stay open, however. It also remains to be seen whether the practice of planting primroses to mark the junction with the Angels Rest Trail will be taken up again. None other than Gorge icon Russ Jolley had been a tender of this little garden in the past.
Here is a description of the route from Devils Rest:
Follow a path around the mossy outcropping of Devils Rest to the right. On a tree, you’ll see one of the iconic Basil Clark signs posted – a sledding devil captioned “A pox on he who vandals me” (and nobody has). The route descends steeply and can be slippery when wet. A few noble firs are dotted around Devils Rest, and there are a couple near the Primrose Path here. A sign warns you that this is “not a real trail,” and you will be stepping over several logs as you descend. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire raged across this slope, and no canopy remains, the resulting luxuriant understory now dominated by fireweed and thimbleberry. Looking right, you’ll see a rocky bluff below Devils Rest. A “Beware of Dens” sign alludes to the presence of a nearby ursine hibernation shelter. The gradient gets easier as you pass through a dense thicket of young cherry trees. At a rocky outcropping that offers a panorama of the western Columbia River Gorge, the trail makes a sharp left from some cairns. Next, you’ll pass a vicous rattlesnake coiled on a tree, with more good views to the Columbia River appearing. The path makes a sharp jink left, departing from the original route of the Primrose Path here, this adjustment soon indicated by a “Dispruptive Way” sign. Shortly, you'll arrive at the Angels Rest Trail.
The expression "primrose path" was coined by Shakespeare in Hamlet, Ophelia responding to Laertes' unsolicited advice as she accuses him of being a hypocrite. The "primrose path of dalliance" is a metaphor for temptation or sin, something you can deeply contemplate you ply this route to (or from) the mossy refuge of Satan.
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Regulations or restrictions, etc
- This is a user maintained trail. It is steep and can be very slippery when wet.
Trip Reports
- Bootprints on the Primrose Path (Feb. 16, 2020)
- Palmer Mill Rd/Primrose Path - Dec 7, 2018
- The Primrose Path – Devils Rest Loop – 2015/02/08
- Primrose Path to Devil's Rest
- Revisiting Bridal Veil plateau and the Primrose Path
- Devil's Rest / Primrose Trail 15-Jan-2010
Related Discussions
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 35 Hiking Trails: Columbia River Gorge by Don & Roberta Lowe
More Links
- Prancing Up The Primrose Path (Dave Goes Outside)
- The Kettle Hole & Primrose Path - 2018/12/22 (Smugmug)
- "Mazama creates signs that point the way down primrose path" (The Oregonian)
Contributors
- aircooled (creator)