Table Mountain from Bonneville Hike

Overview

The Bonneville Trailhead is the main trailhead for accessing Table Mountain and its environs. Other trailheads that were much closer included the Aldrich Butte Trailhead (accessed by private road and closed due to local complaints in 2016) and the Dick Thomas Trailhead (on the property of the former Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa: closed in January 2017 when the property was sold). Those wishing an even longer hike can begin at the Icehouse Lake Trailhead for the Pacific Crest Trail near the Bridge of the Gods. The hike begins on trail easements through private forest land all located on the hummocky terrain of the historic Bonneville Landslide. You'll pass through clearcuts and under powerlines to visit sparkling Gillette Lake before entering the Gifford Pinchot National Forest where you cross Greenleaf Creek. From there, the grade steepens until you arrive at the base of Table Mountain. It is recommended that you ascend to the summit ridge via the steep and rubbly West Table Mountain Trail and descend using the Heartbreak Ridge Trail. The hike starts at the Bonneville Trailhead, on the Tamanous Trail. Ta-mah-no-ous is a Native American word translated roughly as "vision quest". Young men proved their readiness to be adults by going on a search for guardian spirits. From the parking lot, you start out on a gravel road, but quickly divert up a wooded path that starts straight uphill (Incidentally, if you continue down the gravel road another 100 yards, you'll see where the nearby train track enters a tunnel). It won't be long before you have a nice viewpoint to the south overlooking the river just east of the Bonneville Dam. There won't be much more in the way of views for a while. It is somewhere in this trail section where the route crosses over the top of the aforementioned tunnel...but you'll be hard-pressed to see where! After a little more than half a mile from the trailhead, you'll come to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. Turn left and you'll be heading toward Canada (even if you are head

Trail Stats

Photos

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400px-TableMountainBonnevilleMap

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250px-Tabletop

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