Hiking Hamilton Mountain
On April 3rd 2008 Wen-Li and I hiked up Hamilton Mountain in Beacon Rock State park in the Columbia River Gorge. You often hear people talking about hiking up Beacon Rock, but it is rare that you hear about people hiking up Hamilton Mountain. Which is a shame since Hamilton is just across the highway from Beacon Rock. When we arrived at the park the gates were closed so we walked from the highway up to the trailhead. The first two miles or so the trail is wide and in good condition, at times the trail is a bit steep but has a lot of flat areas. After you get passed the waterfall the trail narrows and becomes steeper. The higher you go the smaller the trail gets. When we were within about a quart of a mile of the summit we ran into snow. We continued on to the top, the view up here is great. The cloud level was high and we could see east and west as far as the eye could see. We were not able to stay long since it was getting dark. About a mile down from the top it was dark enough that we had to put on our headlamps, luckily the trail at this point is a bit wider and safer. This is a nice trail with some great views, if your in the area you should check it out.
Trail Details
Length: 3.5 miles each way
Elevation Change: ~2100 ft.
Maps
Directions
Getting here couldn’t be easier. From Vancouver just drive east on highway 14 for about 30 miles. you can’t miss it. Click for Google Map
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