Willamette Valley

Only hike Hamilton Mountain Trail if you like charming forests, bold waterfalls, and awesome cliff-top views. Hamilton Mountain Trail passes a viewpoint for the Pool of the Winds, where Rodney Falls plunges into a rock-wrapped punchbowl. The trail rises to a summit along the Columbia River Gorge, ascending 2,025 feet on a 7.75-mile lollipop loop. Some of Hamilton Mountain's best views come from a perch below the summit and a saddle after the summit. ...Read more.

Beacon Rock rises like a stone tower with sheer cliffs dropping to the Columbia River. Beacon Rock Trail could be the Columbia River Gorge relative of Moro Rock Trail in Sequoia National Park. The trail is built right up the side of the basalt monolith, using over fifty switchbacks and at least a dozen cliff-straddling bridges to reach a pointed summit. ...Read more.

Silver Falls State Park has one of the most incredible waterfall hikes to be found in Oregon or anywhere else in North America. Trail of Ten Falls takes a tour of Silver Creek Canyon, passing ten beautiful waterfalls and a high number of cascades and other waterfalls that pop up in winter and spring. The 7.9-mile loop was built to deliver plenty of excitement along the way and actually takes hikers behind four of the waterfalls as they pour over basalt cliffs. ...Read more.

George Himes Trail explores a small patch of forest in Southwest Portland between Interstate 5 and Terwilliger Boulevard. The single-track trail rises to a view over Johns Landing and the Willamette River toward Mount Hood before looping through woods bedecks in licorice ferns, moss, and English ivy. The top of the loop touches a picnic area in George Himes Park. ...Read more.

Vista House is a roadside viewpoint like no other. The beautifully designed and maintained building is an Oregon icon designated as a National Natural Landmark. The viewing deck that wraps around Vista House offers one of the greatest non-hike-dependent views in Oregon. Vista House resides on the inside of a bend in Historic Columbia River Highway on Crown Point, a lofty landing of basaltic rock at the west end of Columbia River Gorge. ...Read more.