Beacon Rock State Park - Hamilton Mountain

This hike is full of the best things the Columbia Gorge has to offer: easy access and parking, well-maintained trail, wildflowers galore, two waterfalls and views to knock off your sweaty socks. It’s a long journey at about 7.5 miles, and steep in places, but nothing a healthy dog, child or senior citizen can’t do. You’ll meet all of these smiling folks on this hike during the peak seasons.

Located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area within Beacon Rock State Park, Hamilton Mountain can be tackled one of two ways. Try hiking it straight up and down for a 6-mile roundtrip, or take the loop for a 7.5-mile roundtrip. Either way, it’s a great trek.

It’s a steady easy pace for the first mile up the wide, well-built trail. In addition to avid hikers from Portland, Vancouver and elsewhere, you’ll encounter incredible old-growth Douglas fir along this stretch. Wildflowers love this mountain, and you might want to check the trail sides for tasty wild strawberries in the late spring.

At 1 mile in, you’ll likely hear the waterfalls before you see a trail heading down to the Hardy Falls viewpoint. This is a steep little pitch, and the views are mostly obscured by trees, so if you’re into the big cascading falls, keep on going until you see a side trail leading up to Rodney Falls and Pool of the Winds.

The upper falls are protected by a rail, but you can get close enough to feel the spray. From here, you’ll see the lower falls, so head back down to the main trail and catch the falls from below for some great views and photo ops. The rigid Columbia basalt rock makes its presence known at the falls, as these carved rocks stood the test of time through catastrophic floods and landslides that scoured the gorge for the past 15 million years.

The trail gets a little steeper past the falls, but there are some rugged stairs that help out. At 1.3 miles in, the trail intersects Hardy Creek Trail where the sign declares "Hamilton Mountain - More Difficult" and "Hardy Creek Trail - Difficult." Take the “More Difficult” route and continue counter-clockwise up the Hamilton Mountain Trail, switchbacking up for a 1,400-foot climb to the top. (Please be advised that the series of steep switchbacks is rocky, steep and badly eroded just before reaching the false summit. WTA is working with Washington State Parks to remedy this section as part of our "Trails Rebooted" campaign, but in the meantime, it remains a treacherous stretch to navigate.) You can take the Hardy Creek Trail for a 3.2-mile route clockwise to the top to complete the loop, but the better route is to take the Hamilton Mountain Trail up. Plus, it’s easier on the knees coming down the Hardy Creek Trail.

When you reach the top of Hamilton Mountain 3 miles up, you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the photo-worthy Cascade peaks, but if you continue another 0.75 mile northwest on the narrower loop trail to the Hamilton Mountain Saddle, the open ridge will provide even better views! Wildflowers are in abundance up here. Most people descend the same way they came up, but for an extra 1.5 net gain in mileage, you’ll explore the west side's cool, lush forest and likely will have it all to yourself.

The northernmost part of the trail is 4 miles in, where a well-marked sign points the way to the Hardy Creek Trail, shared with equestrians on the Equestrian Trail. From here, you’ll descend along an old road bed part of the way.

Take the Hardy Creek Trail southeast towards the Hamilton Mountain Trail and continue on this hardy trail that boasts tremendous log retaining walls and bridges along the slick hillsides. After 1.4 more miles, you’ll intersect the Hamilton Mountain Trail — turn right to descend back to the parking area, unless, of course, you want to climb back up to the top!

Extend your hike

For more adventure and another mile of hiking, instead of turning left onto the Equestrian Trail, turn right on Don's Cutoff Trail at the first switchback below the Hamilton Mountain Saddle.

Don's Cutoff Trail was named in honor of Don Cannard (1929-2018), a Vancouver elementary school principal and hiking advocate who imagined the Chinook Trail as a 300+ mile loop rim-top hiking trail around the Columbia River Gorge. This is a hiker-only trail that connects the Equestrian Trail to the Upper Hardy Creek Trail in 0.5 mile with 330 feet of descent over a long traverse and three switchbacks down through cool, shady forest with a lush understory of sword fern and Oregon grape.

When you reach the Upper Hardy Creek Trail, turn left and descend along Hardy Creek, passing a vault toilet on the right before reaching the junction with the Equestrian Trail in 0.4 mile. There are signs of black bears in this lesser-used area, so you might want to make a little noise so as not to surprise any if they happen to be hunting for berries near the trail.

Continue straight ahead on the Equestrian Trail for about 0.1 mile to reach the junction with the Hardy Creek Trail on the left just before the Equestrian Trail crosses Hardy Creek. There is a picnic table here.