Fifteenmile Creek Loop Hike

Overview

One of the gems of the Mt. Hood National Forest’s Barlow District, this classic loop through the Mt. Hood National Recreation Area, created in 2009, is a glorious lope through glades and meadows and rock gardens, mostly on ridges, but also in the cool bottomlands of Fifteenmile Creek. The two trails, Cedar Creek Trail (which actually runs along a ridge for its entirety) and Fifteenmile Creek Trail (also partly on a ridge), are used by mountain bikers more than hikers and, even though there is winter blowdown in stretches of diseased forest, the routes get logged out early and are well-maintained. The area is in the transitional zone from east to west, and thus you’ll see more conifer species here than just about anywhere else in our area, with even a few western junipers clinging to the rims. Also, you’re getting into a different wildflower zone, with a mix of slope, creek, and grassland species. In late spring, the balsamroot is at its prime and lupine is blooming at all but the highest elevations. Bitterroot and death-camas flower in open areas on the Cedar Creek Ridge, and green-banded mariposa lilies come out in early summer. The highly weathered andesite outcroppings are typical of the Barlow area; various rocky viewpoints invite exploration and add an extra delight to the trail. Find the trail leading off to the left just below the parking spot. After 30 yards, come to a junction, and keep right on the Fifteenmile Creek Trail #456. The trail descends gradually in somewhat diseased forest of mountain hemlock, lodgepole and ponderosa pine, grand fir and Engelmann spruce. Soon reach the Fifteenmile Creek-Cedar Creek Trail Junction, and go right down to Fifteenmile Creek. Cross the creek on a footbridge and traverse up through an understory of vanilla leaf, twin flower, and huckleberry. The trail here is logged out in early spring every year as there is usually significant winter blowdown. Reaching the ridge, you will find yourself hiking on a gradually descending trail among old growth Douglas-fir, grand

Trail Stats

Photos

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