1.7 hr
Overview
NOTICE: Trails in this area were affected by the 2020 White River Fire. The last mile or so of this hike west of Keeps Mill is still under a closure notice. Please check the Barlow Ranger District closure map before planning an outing. Just north of the McCubbins Gulch ORV Area at the eastern edge of the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Clear Creek Trail #487 and Camas Trail #490A are virtually unknown to hikers. They are, however, known to mountain bikers, but unless it's an event day, you are not likely to have numerous encounters. The trail takes you into lush meadows and under some old-growth trees before running along the rimrock above the Clear Creek Canyon. The hike ends at Keeps Mill Campground, where you can dip into the trailless Lower White River Wilderness. The trail heads across Clear Creek, just south of the campground, on a footbridge. Pass along a lovely meadow that blooms with violets and cinquefoil in late spring. The Clear Creek Trail then bends left along the creek. It’s two miles to the junction with the Camas Trail #490A and five miles to Keeps Mill. Enter the woods in a boggy area full of skunk-cabbage and much blowdown. Boardwalks keep your feet dry. Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, grand fir, western hemlock, and western red-cedar form the woodland here. Red osier dogwood and willow line the creeks, and little calypso orchids bloom in abundance in May/June. You'll see a flood gauge on the opposite bank of Clear Creek. A few large old-growth Douglas-firs dominate the canopy. Walk through another soggy skunk-cabbage bottom, and then rise along the slope above the creek to swing uphill at a sign. Switchback twice before the path levels. Ponderosa pines enter the mix as you enter secondary forest with a few old-growth trees scattered about. Pass two big western white pines “hugging” a Douglas-fir. Then walk by an old trail junction and step over a cattle trail. Cross an old road bed and see the FR 2120-240 road to the right. Keep walking to a campsite and cross FR 2120-240 to the lush meadow
Trail Stats
0.0 km
502 m
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0 m
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400px-ClearCreekKeepsMillMap1
400px-ClearCreekKeepsMillMap1
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250px-Trail_segment_to_Keeps_Mill%2C_Clear_Creek_Canyon
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250px-Deer%27s-head_orchid_%28Calypso_bulbosa%29%2C_Clear_Creek_Ditch
250px-Camas_Creek%2C_Camas_Prairie
250px-Camas_Creek%2C_Camas_Prairie
400px-View_up_Clear_Creek_Canyon
400px-View_up_Clear_Creek_Canyon