McIntyre Ridge to Wildcat Mountain Hike

Overview

NOTE: This is one of two ways to hike the McIntyre Ridge Trail. The other way starts at the new Douglas Trailhead, which opened in 2015. If you spot any illegal activity or trail issues here, please report them in the RX forum. The original access road to the McIntyre Ridge Trail was closed in 2005, due to a maintenance backlog on the deteriorating dirt road and ongoing OHV vandalism at the trailhead. Now the hike is accessible from the New McIntyre Trailhead, which not only provides a quick route to the beautiful ridgetop meadows, but also provides paved access for all but the final one-third mile to the trailhead. (Note that the access road is closed from the beginning of hunting season through the winter.) At just over 40 miles from Portland, McIntyre Ridge provides one of the most convenient wilderness hikes in the region. McIntyre Ridge was named for John T. and Winnefred McIntyre, early residents in the Mount Hood area. Winnefred was the first postmistress of the Brightwood Post Office and was known as the Huckleberry Queen, as she knew the best places to gather berries in the area. Their son Ora Glenn (O.G.) McIntyre had a number of logging operations on Mount Hood, and the family remained in the area until the 1940s. In 2012, the McIntyre family returned the ashes of O.G. McIntyre's son Leonard to McIntyre Ridge. Leonard McIntyre was a World War II veteran who spent his childhood in the Mount Hood area before serving in the war. He passed away at the age of 92 in 2011. From the trailhead, head uphill past a row of boulders and follow the trail (more like a road) to the unsigned junction with the McIntyre Ridge Trail. Turn right onto the McIntyre Ridge Trail, which continues as a fairly wide skid road. When hiking on these old road sections, you can help speed the restoration by generally walking on the higher tread, and kicking loose trail debris into the lower tread. The trail continues through lush forest on the skid road, then narrows to a trail as it begins climbing the ridge more steeply. At

Trail Stats

Photos

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