With beautiful views, amazing spring wildflowers, and a relatively short effort, this is one of the most popular hikes in the Gorge. On a good day, you can get a view of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River.

Good resources: WTA Portland Hikers

Activity Notes

Overview

With beautiful views, amazing spring wildflowers, and a relatively short effort, this is one of the most popular hikes in the Gorge. On a good day, you can get a view of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River.

Hike description:

The hike begins at the parking lot and after passing the restroom, heads in a northerly direction up a series of steep switchbacks. We will plateau at a junction and plan to stay left taking the “Most Difficult” trail. This starts out flat as we enter a valley but quickly steepens as we are heading up the valley wall, gradually turning northeast to reconnect with the main trail. From there we continue up a few switchbacks until we exit into a grassy hillside (where wildflowers bloom in the spring) and follow the open trail to the top. We will take a break on the summit to catch our breath and have a short meal break. We will practice rappel near the summit area, if the weather conditions allow. On descent we will return via the slightly longer and more gradual Augspurger trail, heading first northwest before turning south back towards the river.

This hike is a good opportunity to test your gear while building your fitness. The plan is to take 10-minutes breaks approximately every hour. We will also take a short 5-minutes break after the first 10-15 minutes to adjust/remove layers once everyone has warmed up.

Permits and Fees: 

Northwest Forest Service pass is required at the Dog Mountain trailhead: annual pass - $30 (recommended), or day pass - $5. America the Beautiful pass - $80 can be used instead. Passes sold at REI (no extra fees) or by some other vendors (likely with additional fees)

Bridge of the Gods toll is $3 each way. You may choose to drive on usually slower WA-14 highway to avoid the fee

Rough Schedule:

  • 7:30 AM: Carpool leaves from the MMC or alternate carpool location in the vicinity of MMC. Note: Do not park at the MMC parking lot on Sundays
  • 8:30 AM: Meet at the Dog Mountain trailhead
  • 8:45 AM: Start hiking
  • 12:00 PM: Arrive at the summit. Do a break and a rappel practice
  • 2:00 PM: Head back down
  • 4:30 PM: Return back to the trailhead
Other Information
Driving Distance from Portland 98 miles
Driving Time from Portland 1 hours
Distance - Round Trip 7 miles
Expected Duration Car to car in one day
Interesting Features Ridgelines, Spectacular Views
Awards Qualified Awesome Ridges Award
Useful Links GPS Track New Window Icon Icon two stacked browser windows. Map New Window Icon Icon two stacked browser windows.
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