🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Portland, OR
Timberline & Ramona Falls: Mount Hood's West Side
Mount Hood's south and west flanks hold some of Oregon's finest day hikes within striking distance of Portland. Day one climbs to Timberline Lodge at 6,000 feet for the Palmer Glacier approach — summer skiing and volcanic geology at its most accessible. Day two descends to Ramona Falls, a 120-foot curtain waterfall that fans across a wall of columnar basalt unlike anything else in the Oregon Cascades.
Day 1 — Timberline Lodge, Mt. HoodDay 2 — Ramona Falls & Sandy River
Day 1 — Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood
Day 1 — Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood
🚗 1 hr 55 min driving📍 5 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Portland, OR → Timberline Lodge
1 hr 30 min8:00 AM → 9:30 AM
Timberline Lodge & Palmer Glacier
★ 5Built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1938, Timberline Lodge sits at 6,000 feet on Mount Hood's south slope — every door, mosaic, and carved newel post made by artisan workers from salvaged timber and native stone. The Palmer Glacier above is accessible by chairlift in summer; the Silcox Hut at 7,000 feet is a 2.5-mile round-trip walk from the lodge on snowfields year-round.
9:30 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
Cascade Dining Room at Timberline Lodge
★ 3.8The main restaurant inside the WPA lodge at 6,000 feet — Pacific Northwest classics (salmon, game, wild mushrooms, huckleberries) in a dining room of hand-carved timber details and stone fireplaces. Order the chowder; the setting outperforms most restaurants in Oregon regardless of the view.
10:30 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Timberline Lodge → Mirror Lake Trailhead
15 min12:00 PM → 12:15 PM
Mirror Lake Trail
A 3.5-mile round-trip through Douglas fir and mountain hemlock to a high alpine lake that reflects the full southern face of Mt. Hood on still mornings — the classic postcard composition of the mountain, achievable in under 2 hours. The final 600-foot climb to the ridge above the lake extends the view to Portland on clear days.
12:15 PM📍 See location
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Evening
🚗
Drive
Mirror Lake Trailhead → Government Camp
10 min5:00 PM → 5:10 PM
Mt. Hood Brewing Co.
★ 4.3The après-hike institution in Government Camp — craft ales brewed on-site in a warm wood-paneled taproom that has been feeding climbers and skiers since 1991. The Hogsback Oatmeal Stout is the house anchor; the kitchen handles burgers and pub standards until late.
5:10 PM📍 See location
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Timberline Lodge or Mt. Hood Inn
Mt. Hood Inn has reliable rooms and positions you for the Ramona Falls trailhead 20 minutes west on Highway 26.
Day 2 — Ramona Falls & Sandy River
Day 2 — Ramona Falls & Sandy River
🚗 1 hr 45 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Government Camp → Ramona Falls Trailhead
20 min8:00 AM → 8:20 AM
Ramona Falls
★ 4.7A 120-foot-wide curtain waterfall that fans across a 40-foot wall of columnar basalt — the effect is unlike any other waterfall in Oregon, more architectural than geological. The 7.1-mile round-trip trail follows the Sandy River through old-growth forest and crosses it twice on footbridges before the falls suddenly appear around a canyon bend. The mist-filled grotto at the base is cold and remarkable.
8:20 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
🚗
Drive
Ramona Falls Trailhead → Lolo Pass Road viewpoint
15 min9:20 AM → 9:35 AM
McNeil Point Trail
★ 4.8A strenuous 8.5-mile round-trip from the Top Spur trailhead at Lolo Pass climbs through old-growth forest and subalpine parkland to a stone shelter at 6,100 feet — the view from McNeil Point is considered by many mountaineers the finest of Mt. Hood's western flanks, with Palmer Glacier, Illumination Rock, and the Reid Glacier all visible. An advanced option for strong hikers after Ramona Falls.
9:35 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Lolo Pass → Sandy, OR
40 min12:00 PM → 12:40 PM
Sandy River Delta
★ 4.6The confluence of the Sandy River and Columbia River at the edge of Portland's urban fringe — a 1,400-acre wildlife area with 10 miles of trails through cottonwood forest, sandbar beaches, and braided river channels. Osprey, great blue herons, and occasional bald eagles work the river; the sand bars are warm in afternoon sun.
12:40 PM📍 See location
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Evening
Rendezvous Grill & Tap Room
★ 4.6The most accomplished kitchen in the Mt. Hood corridor, in the village of Welches at the base of the mountain — the menu draws on Oregon's agricultural and foraging traditions with elk tenderloin, wild mushrooms, and seasonal produce from the Willamette Valley farms below. A proper sit-down dinner after a full day of hiking, and a natural stop on the Highway 26 drive back to Portland.
5:00 PM📍 See location
🚗
Drive
Sandy River Delta → Portland, OR
30 min6:00 PM → 6:30 PM
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