Stacker Butte Hike

Overview

In 1993, Pat and Darlene Bleakney, owners of The Dalles Mountain Ranch, worked up an agreement with Washington State Parks and turned over their property to the state. The ranch was split in two, with the southern section joining the newly named Columbia Hills State Park, now merged with the already existent Horsethief Butte State Park (see the Horsethief Butte Hike). The northern section of the ranch, comprising the treeless hillsides at the crest of the Columbia Hills, became the Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve and is managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The trailhead is on a road that leads to the summit of Stacker Butte, and you must keep to the road as you ascend to the often windy (Patagonia-style) ridge that brims with communication towers. To extend the hike, you can also continue along the ridge past the last towers and descend to Stacker Saddle. An often neglected detour leads down to Oak Spring, in the past a water source for Native Americans and Euro-American homesteaders alike, nestled in an expansive grove of Oregon white oak. Again, because this is a botanical preserve, you need to keep to the road tracks, leave your dog at home, and not wander off to trample rare and endemic flora. Distances: Walk up the gravel road past the preserve sign. Up to the left are small oak copses under rimrock - the latter sheltering a rather large population of rattlesnakes. Grass widows bloom in profusion along the lower sections of the road in early spring, while balsamroot, lupine, and paintbrush take over in April. Switchback at a power pylon and then head up along a draw. This fescue grassland is usually cold and windy in the spring, but offers a much more bountiful supply of sunshine than points west. The road turns away from the draw and switchbacks. There are great views of Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, The Dalles, and the Columbia River. At 1.1 miles switchback again at an access road to the powerlines. (This is the Stacker Butte-Oak Spring Trail Junction, an optional visit o

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