1.3 hr
Overview
This hike takes in the head of the Boulder Creek valley, which is now in the southern unit of the new (2009) Mt. Hood National Recreation Area. The habitat in most of the hike area consists of unsullied bogs, ponds, meadows, springs, and diverse old growth. The loop includes the Crane Prairie Trail (only occasionally maintained), Crane Creek (a.k.a. Boulder Creek) Trail, Boulder Lake Trail, Little Boulder Lake Trail, and a section of the notorious FR 4891. There are various ways to access this loop. The easiest on your car is to begin at the Boulder Lake Trailhead; if you have decent clearance on your vehicle, you may also begin the hike at the hard to find Crane Prairie Trailhead, or the Bonney Meadows Trailhead at Bonney Meadows Forest Camp, or even the Bonney Butte Trailhead, these three being located along FR 4891. This description begins from the Bonney Meadows Trailhead. WARNING: Part of this route is on the rarely maintained Crane Prairie Trail. As of Summer 2021, the trail had been brushed back and logged out, so passage will be easier than in the past couple of decades. However, wait for things to dry out a little before doing this loop. The bogs in the Boulder Creek bottomlands above Crane Prairie will be a sucking, mucky mess augmented by hungry clouds of mosquitoes in the wet season. Head out to FR 4891 from the Bonney Meadows Forest Camp. At 4891, go right and walk uphill among lodgepole pines, mountain hemlocks, noble and silver firs, and Engelmann spruce with an understory of huckleberry and grouseberry. Pass the gated road up to Bonney Butte and the Bonney Butte Trailhead parking pullouts. The road keeps rising to a campsite before it drops down around a wide curve in shady woods. Where the road curves left, there’s a two-car pullout on the right, the Crane Prairie Trailhead. Ten yards beyond this, the trail heads down into dry woods on a definite tread. Pick up the track traversing down to the left. A sign confirms this is Crane Prairie Trail #464. The trail heads down through huckleberrie
Trail Stats
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390 m
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Photos
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