Attempted to get to Grassy Knoll this weekend, but ended up having to turn around about 3 miles away from the trailhead. We were driving in a 4 door car which I feel pretty confident in my abilities; however after the rain from this weekend, the last stretch of steep road was pretty washed out and rutted up. Being unsure on whether or not the weather was going to worsen while hiking, we decided to turn around while still in control. Disappointed that we couldn't actually do the hike, but now determined to go back. Beautiful drive out!

In my opinion, the most challenging part of this hike was the road getting up there: it's a rough one! Once the road becomes gravel, it's pretty much a single lane with lots of potholes, brush overgrowing both sides, fallen rocks and branches.... I was just really glad I didn't encounter any other vehicles as I was paying very close attention to what was right in front of me.

After what seemed like a very long time to drive the 12.8  (9.2 unpaved) miles to the trailhead from the main road, I arrived at wide gravel parking area with the trail heading uphill through a meadow of wildflowers and into the shady woods. This trail was magical right from the get-go!

It was a really hot day down in the Columbia River Gorge, but not nearly as bad up here around 3,000 ft on a mostly-shaded trail. There was even a nice breeze from time to time. Amazing views of Mount Adams and the Big Lava Bed from a few rock outcroppings a little over a mile in, more amazing views of Mount Hood from the Grassy Knoll itself, and tons of wildflowers throughout. Perhaps the best part: I didn't see (or hear) any other people on this hike at all.

The trail is in pretty good shape: overgrown in places, but not difficult to follow, and the few blowdowns I encountered were easy to get over or under. There were lots of bugs out and about, but the only time I was really bothered was back at the parking area when a huge horsefly bit me through my t-shirt and then decided that she was in love and wouldn't leave me alone. All in all, this was a pretty fantastic evening hike.

We made an earlier than usual visit to Grassy Knoll and were amply rewarded. The road is in no worse condition than previous years, with large but (mostly) shallow pot holes. The trail is in good shape for this time of year - no maintenance work yet, but most of the impediments were easily removed, leaving only one blowdown to duck under. No one else on the trail but there were a couple cars parked at the trailhead.

Instead of the usual July array of flowers, we saw hundreds of Trillium, currant, phlox and a ton of other early bloomers. The non-natives around the old lookout were in top form. One butterfly. Terrific views in all directions. I hesitate to recommend this hike since I seldom see anyone here, and selfishly would like to keep it that way. But, better to share.

It’s rare these days to get a trail all to yourself but today we got lucky. After a long, winding, and very potholed drive we got to the trailhead parking lot by mid-morning. The trail starts climbing right off the bat but is very well maintained and easy to navigate. We encountered a few snow patches here and there but they’ll be melted out soon. Wildflowers were bursting all over the hillside and we got some big views of Adams and Hood after we reached the grassy knoll. This trail had everything we were looking for today - a solid workout, some solitude, gorgeous views, and tons of spring flowers to ogle. 

This trail starts north of triangle pass (not where the old green trails map shows it, although you can go that way). There are potholes on the last bit of rd 68 around triangle pass that are very large, but passable with my Subaru. Spent the night at the trailhead (nice view) and got an early start. Heard Bigfoot screams in the distance just before sunrise. The trail starts steep, and there is a nice viewpoint to the SE about .75 mile up. The grassy knoll is at 2 miles. There are footings here from what used to be a lookout, and you can see down to the Columbia river. The trail gets even more interesting from here, up and down over more knolls. The fall foliage was amazing. Passes the Cold Springs campsite in the forest and eventually climbs steeply again and up to the PCT. The Big Huckleberry mountain trail starts immediately from the PCT to the north. Didn't see anyone else.