2.1 hr
Overview
This very popular trail has a feast of features for hikers, including waterfalls, craggy cliffs, deep forests, superb vistas, and a loop option for the trek. The outing can done at any time of year although you will want to pay attention to icy spots in the winter. Hamilton Mountain is really the Missoula Flood-truncated end of a basalt ridge: there are higher points on the same ridge farther north. The summit itself is thicketed and offers limited views, but a bench a few yards back gives you a vista to the east of Table Mountain and the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. Other views come from the trail on the way up and at the Hamilton Mountain Saddle as you continue on the loop. NOTE: This trail has many switchbacks. To prevent erosion and degradation of the trail, do not shortcut these switchbacks. During winter, the gate to the campground and the Hamilton Mountain Trailhead may be closed, but you can park your car across the road at the Beacon Rock Trailhead and walk up the road. The trail begins with a moderate climb, going through second-growth Douglas-firs then under power lines. There are nice views of Hamilton Mountain and Bonneville Dam from a bench about 4/10 of a mile in. There's also a junction with a trail to an alternate trailhead in the campground. About a mile from the trailhead, you'll come to the waterfall area. There's only one creek here, falling almost continuously, but there are three named waterfalls. First, you can take a side trail to the right for a limited view of Hardy Falls, the lowest of the waterfalls. Back on the main trail, continue a few hundred yards and go left on a side trail that ends at a railed lookout and view of the two upper areas, Pool of the Winds, and Rodney Falls. Hardy Creek pours into the Pool of Winds from the right, tumbling 50 feet before hitting the pool in the rocks. Then the water breaks free and cascades out along a stream bed worn in the rock before sliding down water slide-like channel until it hits a rocky labyrinth, splitting the flow in man
Trail Stats
0.0 km
640 m
743 m
0 m
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Photos
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