The Creaky Knees Guide Oregon, 3rd Edition: The 85 Best Easy Hikes

by Seabury Blair Jr.

Overview

From the spectacular Oregon Coast to Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood, this updated edition features 85 of the best easy day hikes in Oregon—perfect for aging baby boomers, seniors, those traveling with small children, and anyone else interested more in a stroll than a climb.

Explore the beauty of Oregon’s natural landscape with this day-hiking guidebook filled with kinder, gentler trails and the best 85 easy-to-walk hikes throughout the state. Written in an informative style that will appeal to anyone, regardless of age, this helpful guide includes trail ratings from 1 (worthwhile) to 5 (spectacular) based on water features and other enjoyable factors;
topographical maps with elevation profiles; and information at a glance,
such as recommended seasons, estimated hiking times, permit and parking fees, and distance and elevation gain. 

HIKES INCLUDE:
- Multnomah Falls
- Whalehead Cove
- Deschutes Rail Trail
- Mirror Lake
- Olallie Lake Loop
- Chimney Rock
- Tillamook Head
- Angel’s Rest
- Watchman Peak
- and many more!

Other titles in Creaky Knees easy hike series include Creaky Knees Washington, Creaky Knees Northern California, and Creaky Knees Arizona.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632173560
Publisher:	Blue Star Press
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Series:	Creaky Knees
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

SEABURY BLAIR JR. spent many years as the outdoor columnist for The Bremerton Sun, where one of his most popular features was the “Hike o’ the Month.” He is an avid backcountry skier and hiker, and lives in Spokane, WA.

He is also the author of Wild Roads Washington; the Creaky Knees Guide series of easy hiking books (titles cover Washington, Oregon, and Pacific Northwest National Parks and Monuments); the Day Hike! series of easy hikes that you can do in a day (titles cover the Central Cascades, the North Cascades, Mount Rainier, the Olympic Peninsula, the Columbia Gorge, and Spokane/Coeur d'Alene).

Read an Excerpt

Introduction
As you read these lines, I’ll be celebrating my eighth decade on this planet by taking many of the hikes outlined in this book. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have avoided most of the maladies and ailments that cause those of us who love nature to curse our joints and bones for keep-ing us from the wild places, the places our hearts yearn to see once more. Yet I’m not immune to the greatest handicap of all—advancing age—and it has altered my approach to wilderness pathways, both mentally and physically.It has also changed the way I reviewed the hikes in this, the third edition of The Creaky Knees Guide: Oregon. With few exceptions, the hikes and trails have not changed, but I’ve tried to look at them from the standpoint of a wilderness pedestrian who can no longer hike 3 miles an hour for 17 hours straight across the Olympic Mountains, which I did three decades ago; or climb 8 miles and 3,700 vertical feet up Scotchman Peak, which I did four years ago. Both are but minor accomplishments compared to the many folks, older than me, who gallop from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other in a single day, or zip up Denali with minimal support. Still, we all tend to accept the reality that we can’t enjoy our wild world the way we used to, while clinging to the wish that we could.So that was my focus in revising this guide. Wherever I thought it necessary, I mentioned the fact that you needn’t walk the trail as far as I suggest. In most cases, it’s an arbitrary destination and has little to do with the scenery, flora, or fauna you’ll see along the way. Far more important, it seems to me, is getting on the trail, no matter the distance you travel. The forest you enter at the trailhead is the same as that five miles away; the river you walk beside is no wilder a half-mile from the parking area as it is three miles up- or downstream. All of our wild places are just as beautiful, just as magnificent, just as wild a few hun-dred steps up the trail as they are a few miles along.It doesn’t matter how far you walk or how fast you walk, or even if you walk—I’ve paid special attention to pointing out accessible trails— I think what really matters is that you walk. Or hobble, limp, wheel, or—my favorite mode of trail travel these days—waddle.Since I started hiking Oregon’s wilderness pathways, shortly after the last ice age, I’ve been both encouraged and saddened by the fact that more people are using the trails these days. In 1974, it was a surprise on a summer weekend to find more than two dozen people hiking to Mirror Lake. Today, you are fortunate to find a parking space in the huge lot along Highway 26. Some trailheads are so crowded that hikers are forced to park parallel along the approach road, forcing forest managers to enforce limits or require permits.What good can come of overcrowding? Every person experiencing a wilderness outing for the first time could become an advocate for trails in the future. I hope they will join a growing constituency of users, folks dedicated to improving trails and managing our wild pathways in a manner that alleviates the impact of increased use. Such organizations as Trailkeepers of Oregon, Mazamas, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, and Sierra Club chapters all join with national and state wilderness managers to improve and protect our trails.Oregon trails provide rare diversity in the places we can hobble, limp, wheel, or waddle. As diverse as they are, they all share at least one ele-ment: exceptional beauty. The mossy, fern-festooned rain forests of Fort Stevens. The receding glaciers of Mount Hood. The alpine meadows of Crater Lake. The sage and sand of the Crooked River. All of these places look about the same from mile marker one to mile three and perhaps beyond.All the people I met who hike the wild pathways of Oregon will tell you the same thing: walking is the best thing you can do for your soul and your body—especially if you are surrounded by the beauty you can find around this neck of the woods. Age and physical condition are simply not as important to them as getting outside to see what surprises Mother Nature has for them. It is in that spirit that I offer this guide to all of you.

Table of Contents

Hikes at a Glance vii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Using This Guide xv

Be Careful xix

Oregon Coast 1

1 Astoria River Walk 3

2 Airport Dike Trail 6

3 Fort to Sea Trail South 9

4 Fort to Sea Trail North 12

5 Fort Stevens Beach, Peter Iredale 16

6 Coffenbury Lake Loop 19

7 Battery Russell Loop 22

8 Seaside Promenade 25

9 Tillamook Head 28

10 Arcadia Beach 32

11 Cape Lookout 35

12 Beverly Beach 39

13 Boice Cope North 42

14 Boice Cope South 45

15 Umpqua Dunes 48

16 Whalehead Cove 53

Columbia River Gorge 57

17 Latourell Falls Loop 59

18 Angel's Rest 63

19 Wahkeena Falls 66

20 Multnomah Falls 69

21 Ponytail Falls 73

22 Wahclella Falls 76

23 Herman Creek Pinnacles 79

24 Dry Creek Falls 83

25 Lancaster Falls 87

26 Old Columbia River Highway, Viento State Park 91

27 McCall Point 94

28 Rowena Plateau 97

29 Mosier Tunnels 100

30 The Dalles Riverfront Trail 103

31 Deschutes River Trail 106

32 Deschutes Rail Trail 109

Mount Hood 113

33 Wildwood Recreation Area 115

34 Salmon River Trail 118

35 Pacific Crest Trail North, Lolo Pass 121

36 Pacific Crest Trail South, Lolo Pass 125

37 Bald Mountain Loop 128

38 Mirror Lake 132

39 Zigzag Canyon 136

40 Trillium Lake Loop 140

41 Twin Lakes 143

42 Barlow Road 146

43 Palmateer Loop 149

44 Timothy Lake West 152

45 Timothy Lake North 155

46 Lost Lake Loop 158

47 Tamanawas Falls 161

48 Tilly Jane Loop 164

Central Oregon 169

49 Olallie Lake Loop 171

50 South Breitenbush Gorge 174

51 Crown Lake 177

52 Triangulation Peak 180

53 Marion Lake 183

54 Square Lake 186

55 Wasco Lake 189

56 Canyon Creek Loop 192

57 Black Butte 196

58 West Metolius River 200

59 Deschutes River Reach 203

60 Deschutes River Trail West 206

61 Todd Lake 209

62 Smith Rock 213

63 Paulina Lake 217

64 Benham Falls Trail 220

65 Silica and Big Obsidian Flow Trails 224

66 Chimney Rock 228

Distant Trails 233

67 Mount Howard 235

68 Dutch Flat Trail 239

69 Elkhorn Crest 242

70 Black Lake 245

71 Hoffer Lakes Loop 248

72 Crawfish Basin Trail 251

73 Crawfish Lake 255

74 North Fork John Day Wilderness 258

Crater Lake 263

75 Timothy Meadows 265

76 John Dellenback Trail, Diamond Lake 269

77 Watchman Peak 272

78 Lady of the Woods and Castle Crest Wildflower Loops 275

79 Garfield Peak Trail 278

80 Cleetwood Cove 282

81 Mount Scott 285

Urban Trails 291

82 Eastbank Esplanade Loop, Portland 293

83 Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem 296

84 Riverfront Park, Corvallis 298

85 Pre's Trail, Eugene 300

Index 303

Editorial Reviews

"As I get older the criteria have changed for a hike... [The Creaky Knees Guide] meets those criteria."
—She Said He Said

“You’ll soon find that [The Creaky Knees hiking books] will be your go-to guides for enjoyable jaunts in the great outdoors.”
—Trailblazer Girl

From the Publisher