Bald Butte Hike

Overview

This is a quiet all-season trail that offers a variety of terrain (Snowshoes need to be worn in winter). Large open meadows, heavily wooded mixed forest, and a ridgetop ramble take you to a former lookout site with spectacular views of the Hood River Valley. This hike uses two different trails; it's a 2.3 mile climb up the Oak Ridge Trail; then it's 1.8 miles on the Surveyors Ridge Trail to Bald Butte. Late spring is the best time to visit: that's when the shady woods, the open slopes on the Oak Ridge Trail, and the meadows atop Bald Butte come alive with wildflowers. Bear in mind that ATVs also access Bald Butte via the powerline corridor, and mountain bikers ride the Surveyors Ridge Trail. The hike begins on Hood River County property and travels on Oak Ridge Trail #688A through a former clearcut with young ponderosa pines, oaks and shrubs, such as serviceberry and flowering currant. Cross a road and switchback up three times in woods, make a traverse and switchback again. There’s another switchback at a meadow and then four more switchbacks in oak-fringed meadows. The trail enters Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and oak woodland. Keep rising, and enter an open area with a view of Mount Hood. Balsamroot and Columbia desert parsley bloom here in the spring. There are several short switchbacks as you continue up the slope and enter mixed forest again. Pass a wooden gate and a fence line, and then switchback five more times into an open area with another full-on view of Mount Hood. Traverse up and switchback three more times in a forest of Douglas-fir, grand fir, and ponderosa pine with a carpet of Oregon grape. You will see the gray-green clumps of mistletoe on some of the branches. The trail crosses the 640 spur road, and reaches the Surveyors Ridge-Oak Ridge Trail Junction. Turn left on the Surveyor's Ridge Trail #688, and head gently down. The trail recrosses the road and a sign tells you that you’re leaving National Forest land. Enter an area of clearcuts where chinquapin bushes line the trail. The path con

Trail Stats

Photos

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