Hardy Ridge

Hamilton Mountain has one of the best views in the Columbia Gorge. The hike starts out with a gradual uphill climb through an old-growth forest. After about a half-mile in you will come to a clearing where you can see the ridge line going up to the top of Hamilton Mountain. From there you'll pass a couple of beautiful waterfalls, Hardy Falls and Rodney Falls. After the falls the real climbing ...

Located on the Hamilton Mountain Trail, the Hardy and Rodney falls out and back hike is a good alternative for those looking for a shorter hike compared to the 7.6 mile hike to the top of Hamilton Mountain.From the Hamilton Mountain Trailhead you will follow the trail through thick trees for most of the way to the falls with a few openings along the way. When you begin to hear the rushing wate...

Beacon Rock is one of the most recognizable landmarks along the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a 848-foot basalt monolith (singular piece of rock) that was once the core of an ancient volcano. To access the rock, park in a developed parking area at the rock’s base that has room for about 30 cars. You’ll take a short stroll through a forested trail before you hit the rock.Once you reach the rock, th...

Multnomah Falls, which is about 5 miles from Elowah takes a large portion of the crowd due to its visibility from the highway. With that said, you may get a much more deserted Elowah Falls if you decide to take the 15 minute hike to its base.When you’re on the trail, keep an eye out for the fork in the trail at about 0.4 miles. There has been a sign in place indicating which direction you shoul...

Starting at the John B Yeon Trailhead parking lot, begin to walk into the forest. After a little more than a quarter mile, you will see a fork in the road, with one way leading to Elowah Falls, and the other way leading to Upper McCord Creek Falls. Take the trail leading to Upper McCord Creek. The trail will begin to climb, but not too steeply. Keep following the trail and eventually you will r...

Hike up into the forest (take the right path, not the one going left), and follow it all the way until you get to "Carpenter Lake" (which always seems to be just an empty, marshy field). Keep going and do not take the right path at the first Y split off. Instead, stay left, until you come to another Y. Here is where you want to stay right and follow the path as it continues to slowly gain eleva...