Hawk Mountain Lookout Hike

Overview

NOTICE: Trails in this area were affected by the 2020 Lionsgate Fire. Please check current closures in the Mt. Hood National Forest before planning an outing. This is a great viewpoint hike for the whole family. Wildflower meadows, a spectacular vista, and a historic lookout cabin will make it a memorable trip and a worthy reward for your long drive to get here. The Mount Lowe Hike is another short excursion to an old lookout site at the north end of Rho Ridge, so you could combine the two for a family outing. You will not find crowds here, but the trail is multi-use and available to mountain bikes and motorized ORVs. Apparently the only motorized use is by occasional dirt bikes because the trail is single track and in very healthy condition. The dirt bike enthusiast groups have kept the trail clear in the past and stock and help maintain the lookout cabin (The trail was not navigable by bike as of spring 2016). Visitors are welcome to stay in the cabin on a first come, first serve basis. It is interesting to read the register inside the cabin and see some of the antagonism between the motorized and non-motorized users. Look back down the road for a view of Mount Jefferson and then start into a bear-grass carpeted clearcut regenerating with mountain hemlock, noble fir, and lodgepole pine. As you rise up a grassy slope, you’ll get expansive views to Olallie Butte, Mount Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and the Three Sisters. Pass below a vine maple thicket. The trail levels and then drops down a slope into unlogged montane forest with a huckleberry understory. Begin rising and cross a makeshift bridge over a marsh-marigold fringed brook. Pass a wire insulator on a tree and then notice a mossy creek running to your left. Near the trail a rusting spout issuing from a springbox issues a refreshing ice-cold drink. Pass by Round Meadow, blooming with buttercups and shooting stars, and cross a creek. The trail rises on a rocky tread and comes to the Rho Ridge-Hawk Mountain Trail Junction. Go right here on Trail

Trail Stats

Photos

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