Northern Oregon Cascades
Wildflowers adorn the slopes of Yocum Ridge (Hike 38) on Mount Hood.
Ranging from the Columbia River Gorge to the Olallie Plateau, the Northern Oregon Cascades are where the residents of Portland and the northern Willamette Valley go to play. You’ll find some of Oregon’s most extraordinary scenery here, from lacy waterfalls to alpine meadows to peaceful moutain lakes. Mount Hood is the center of this area, and every single hike featured in this section is located in the Mount Hood National Forest. With so many amazing destinations to discover, I had some trouble narrowing down this list to fifteen hikes. Presented here is the best of the best, my favorite hikes in the Northern Oregon Cascades.
Forest fires have affected this area greatly in recent years, and many of my favorite places in this area burned during the Riverside and Beachie Creek Fires in 2020. The Clackamas River canyon and the Bull of the Woods Wilderness areas were particular altered by the fires, and many of the trails in these areas are either still closed or in rough shape. To the south, the Lionshead Fire in 2020 burned much of the Olallie Lake Plateau, and many of the trails in this area have yet to be reopened as of 2023. Several of the hikes in this section have been touched by fires, most notably Elk Cove (Hike 40) and Olallie Lake (Hike 50). As our climate continues to warm with every passing year, fires have become an unfortunately frequent occurance; let’s hope that none touch this area for a long time to come.
36. Lost Lake
37. Paradise Park
38. Ramona Falls and Yocum Ridge
39. Bald Mountain and McNeil Point
40. Elk Cove
41. Gnarl Ridge
42. Lookout Mountain
43. Fifteenmile Creek
44. School Canyon
45. Boulder Lake
46. Salmon River Trail
47. Serene Lake Loop
48. Bagby Hot Springs
49. Battle Ax
50. Olallie Lake