Ramona Falls Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Ramona Falls Trailhead
- End point: Ramona Falls
- Trail Log: Ramona Falls Hike/Log
- Distance: 7.0 miles round trip
- Hike Type: Loop
- Elevation gain: 1100 feet
- High point: 3,470 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Late spring to early fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
Contents |
Hike Description
The Ramona Falls Hike is a favorite summer destination for outdoor enthusiasts due to the gradual elevation gain, relative proximity to Portland, and its beautiful climax at the wondrous Ramona Falls.
Two longer hikes that include Ramona Falls are the Muddy Fork Loop Hike and the Yocum Ridge Hike.
Take the wide, sandy trail leading up from the southeast corner of the parking area. You will be hiking among stunted mountain hemlock, Douglas-fir, and lodgepole pine on a carpet of moss, pinemat manzanita, and reindeer lichen. Beginning in about 1780, pyroclastic flows from Mount Hood buried the Sandy River, which continues to change its course as it carves through the soft strata. Pass the first of at least three glacial river crossing signs warning about safe passage when waters are high (There has been more than one drowning death in the area). Come to the Sandy River-Ramona Falls Trailhead Trail Junction, and proceed past a large boulder to a Stop sign, where you’ll need to fill out a wilderness permit.
Hike onward to the steep eroding bank of the Sandy River. The trail joins an alder-lined old road bed. Reach the bank of the river again and then descend to the Sandy River Crossing. A bridge is no longer provided here, so you’ll need to pick one of the logs strewn across the spate or attempt a ford (See Tips for Crossing Steams). This crossing is easiest from mid-summer to early fall. The trail picks up on the opposite bank and winds through an alder-colonized debris fan. Drop in and out of a gully and then head up parallel to the river in shady woods. Come to the Pacific Crest-Sandy River Trail Junction, and go left. The trail soon reaches a footbridge over Ramona Creek and heads up the bank of the creek. At the well-signed Ramona Falls-Pacific Crest Trail Junction, keep right.
Pass through a stile (No horses are permitted on the Ramona Falls Trail). Sign in at a wilderness permit box, and head up through the shady woodland that had revegetated the pyroclastic flows. Cross a log footbridge, and hike up along lovely, burbling Ramona Creek, which flows through the duff carpet and mossy stones. Look left to note the wonderful pink and sandy andesite cliffs across the creek. leave the stream to pass above a gully, and keep rising through mountain hemlock, western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western red-cedar, lodgepole pine, rhododendron, and Sitka alder. Reach the junction with the Timberline Trail, and stay right to admire Ramona Falls' splashing veil from the footbridge that spans the creek here.
Just after the merge you'll again cross the Sandy River, then head left about a mile back to the trailhead.
Maps
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Northwest Forest Pass required
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Ramona Falls
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Ramona Falls
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Hiking Oregon's Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
More Links
- Sandy River Trail #770 (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Trail #797 (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Trailhead (USFS)
- Ramona Falls Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Ramona Falls Hike — Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon (Backcountrycow)
- Ramona Falls Hike (Outdoor Project)
- Ramona Falls Trail (All Trails)
- Hike to Ramona Falls (The Outbound Collective)
- Mt Hood solo hiker drowned while crossing swollen Sandy River (Traditional Mountaineering)
- Ramona Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Ramona Falls (Oregon.com)
Contributors
- User:retiredjerry (creator)