6.4 hr
Overview
NOTICE: This trail is closed until further notice because of damage from the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. Please check the list of Columbia Gorge trail closures before you plan for a hike. You'll start by heading up the paved campground road for a bit, until you see a sign for Gorge Trail 400. The Gorge Trail climbs to the top of a bluff, then travels next to a protective fence for a ways. At a fork, take the left path downhill. Soon you'll reach the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail. Alternatively, if you can handle the freeway noise, you can park at the main Eagle Creek Campground Entrance and hike directly east on the HCRHT next to the freeway. Beyond the junction mentioned above, the Highway Trail is the roadway of the original Columbia River Highway. This is a chance to live a bit of local history as you walk. It's a short chance though, because soon after the junction, you'll cross the Ruckel Creek Bridge and come to a junction with the Ruckel Creek Trail. If the Highway Trail feels like a city bus, then this is your stop. Get off the bus and head up the trail into the forest. The Ruckel Creek Trail must get its name from this 100 yards. Soon, you'll come to a switchback and that's the last you'll see of Ruckel Creek. It's also the last water of any kind you'll see for miles, so make sure you're stocked up. From here, you'll switchback up past a power line and farther up the side of a ridge. There are a lot of switchbacks here, but there are peaks of views that promise more. Not long after the powerlines, you will come to an open scree slope with what are believed to be pre-colonial vision quest pits built by Native Americans. After about a dozen switchbacks, you'll come to a stunning if risky viewpoint. From here, you'll see Mount Saint Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, as well as the Columbia River, the Bridge of the Gods and all of the lesser mountains on the Washington side of the Gorge. A little farther up, you'll crest a ridge and have a great view south to Mount Hood. Above here, you'll ent
Trail Stats
0.0 km
1911 m
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Photos
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