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: 7.1 miles round trip
- Hike Type: Loop
- Elevation gain: 1035 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. There are plenty of places to sit and contemplate a while under the shady canopy here although on a summer weekend, there may be throngs that have the same idea.
Continue on the Timberline Trail, and pass through a stock fence near a horse hitch. The trail drops among stunted mountain hemlocks and lodgepole pines to the Pacific Crest-Timberline Middle Trail Junction. Keep left as the trail cuts into a pyroclastic slope. The forest, with a salal understory, becomes shadier and you get views down to the Sandy’s wide debris channel. Pass out of shady old growth to the stunted Old Maid Flat forest. The trail drops off the bench again and wends down among rhododendrons to the Pacific Crest-Sandy River Trail Junction. Keep left here to make the Sandy River Crossing and return to the trailhead.
Maps
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Northwest Forest Pass required
- Self-issued wilderness permit
- Exercise caution at the Sandy River Crossing
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 - Hiking (Roots Rated)
- Ramona Falls (Oregon.com)
- Ramona Falls Hike — Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon (Backcountrycow)
- Ramona Falls Hike (Outdoor Project)
- The Ramona Falls in Oregon is a Must-Do Adventure (That Oregon Life)
- Hike: Ramona Falls (Kristi Does PDX)
- Ramona Falls Trail (All Trails)
- Ramona Falls Loop (Hiking Project)
- Hike to Ramona Falls (The Outbound Collective)
- Mt Hood solo hiker drowned while crossing swollen Sandy River (Traditional Mountaineering)
- "Ramona Falls Trail still may be dangerous; washed-out footbridge may not be replaced soon" (Oregon Live)
- Ramona Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
Contributors
- User:retiredjerry (creator)