LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN |
ELEVATION: 6525 ft, with 1925 ft vertical gain
DISTANCE: 3½ mi up, 7-plus mi round-trip
DURATION: 1½–2 hours up, 3–4 hours round-trip
DIFFICULTY: Moderate. Wide, not very steep, family-friendly
TRIP REPORT: A favorite route option of at least three known THs. From the top on a clear day you can see from the Columbia River to Mount Rainier and also past Three Sisters Wilderness down S. No fee required, and a restroom is present at nearby Fifteenmile Forest Camp.
TRAILHEAD: Fret Creek TH. Take I-84 E from Portland to exit 64 (Hood River), turn right from the off-ramp more than ¼ mi to a stop sign, continue straight on OR-35 S 25 mi, turn left on FR-44 (milepost 71, Lookout Mountain/Camp Baldwin/Dufur) more than 5 mi winding up, turn hard right to stay on FR-44 (Dufur Valley Road, closed in winter) 3 mi, turn right more than ½ mi S toward Cold Springs Road. Continue straight on FR-4420 (Cold Springs Road) 3¾ mi to the small, signed TH on the right. There are a couple pullout parking spots on the left, ¼ mi past Fifteenmile Forest Camp (100 mi, 2 hours from Portland, all paved).
ROUTE: Begin on Fret Creek Trail 456A, past the signage, SW more than 2 mi to the high ridge; pass Opal Lake just before the ridge. The wide trail through the vibrant forest is steeper the first ½ mi then mellows to cross Fret Creek a few times over footbridges. The route becomes steeper again to the brief spur path left to Opal Lake, which is quite small, surrounded by trees, and has a view up the rock formations to Palisade Point on the high ridge.
Continue ¼ mi on Trail 456A from the Opal Lake juncture steeper to the end near the high ridge. Turn right on Divide Trail 458; head WNW just N of the ridge crest for less than ½ mi to improving vistas (see Mount Jefferson S) as the flora (including huckleberries in late summer) thins and you travel up, down, then up the center for the remaining 1 mi to the peak. Pass by a helispot and then a short spur on the right (N) down ¼ mi to Senecal Spring (source of Fifteenmile Creek: hint if you’re thirsty) as the trail becomes rockier to finish. The old lookout foundation is barely there on the open top with other trails converging and outstanding views W a half-dozen miles to Mount Hood, the Badger Creek Wilderness to the S, and High Prairie just N of Lookout Mountain.
