2.7 hr
Overview
The Pinnacle Ridge Trail is a scenic and fairly short access route to Mount Hood’s north side, joining the Timberline Trail between Wy’East Basin and Elk Cove. It is also one of the routes most often used to access Barrett Spur and Dollar Lake, both above the Timberline Trail. Except for the unburned upper section, most of the Pinnacle Ridge Trail was scorched by the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire, so you’ll be hiking through a recovering forest dominated by standing snags with little shade. Highlights include a close passage by The Pinnacle, now more visible since the fire, and the lush mountain bogs of Pinnacle Meadows. Huckleberries are abundant at the end of August/beginning of September. There’s an information kiosk with a large map and a wilderness permit box at the trailhead. The first short stretch of trail is through an unburned forest of Douglas-fir, hemlock, and silver fir with huckleberry and bear-grass in the understory. Then cross a decommissioned dozer line, which served as a fire break in 2011, and hike the trail, which is parallel to the old firebreak. Mount Hood is visible through the trees, and you’ll also get views east to Surveyors Ridge. Lodgepole pine and Scouler’s willow have colonized this section of the burn. The trail crosses the end of the firebreak, where you’ll get a clear view up to Mount Hood. It then passes a vacant signboard to enter the Mt. Hood Wilderness. Now, the route heads up a ridge crest where a canopy fire killed all the mature trees. Young Douglas-firs and mountain hemlocks grow thick in the understory, though. Cross a one-log footbridge over a small creek, and pass below a rocky outcropping. At a second and larger talus field, you may hear the alarm calls of pikas. Make traverse where you’ll sight the top of Mount Hood and also The Pinnacle, and cross two small dry draws before rising and then descending to a trickling creek. Switchback up and pass a rock outcropping on the left as Mount Hood appears behind The Pinnacle again. Hike steeply up below a ridge crest through fi
Trail Stats
0.0 km
813 m
1780 m
0 m
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Photos
400px-PinnacleRidgeElkCoveMap
400px-PinnacleRidgeElkCoveMap
250px-Pink_mountain_heather%2C_Timberline_Trail
250px-Pink_mountain_heather%2C_Timberline_Trail
250px-PinnacleFlowers
250px-PinnacleFlowers
250px-Top_of_The_Pinnacle%2C_Pinnacle_Ridge_Trail
250px-Top_of_The_Pinnacle%2C_Pinnacle_Ridge_Trail
400px-MtHoodElkCove
400px-MtHoodElkCove
TKO put tools to trail here.png
TKO put tools to trail here.png