The last two miles of the access road to the Grassy Knoll trail are really in tough shape with potholes over 4 ft in diameter. I made it in my Ford Contour but the road is more suitable for cars with more ground clearance or SUV's.

The Grassy Knoll trail is in good well maintained condition between the trailhead and Cold Springs Camp (about a mile above Grassy Knoll). Between Cold Springs Camp and the top of Big Huckleberry Mountain there are more than 20 trees down across the trail. There is one 100 ft stretch of trail with more than 8 trees down over the trail. Some of these trees are over 30 inches in diameter. Some have been there so long that there are well worn paths around the blow-down.

The trail is so overgrown in areas above Cold Spring Camp that is difficult to see the trail under the overgrowth.

The views from the Grassy Knoll, Grassy Pass, and Big Huckleberry Mountian were well worth the trouble.

Expect to see numerous mountain bikers on the trail.

It's a shame that the access road and the trail above Grassy Knoll are in such bad shape given that this is one of the trails that requires a NW Forest Pass. This experience has made me even more cynical about the NW Forest Pass program.

Jory

Wildflower meadows and views of the Columbia River, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood are the prime attractions of Grassy Knoll.

To find the trailhead, drive through Carson on the Wind River Highway, cross over High Bridge, and, at 4.2 miles, turn right on Bear Creek Road. Follow the paved county road for 3.6 miles. Then it becomes gravel Road 6808 for an additional 7.2 miles to Triangle Pass. Go straight onto Road 68 for 2.1 miles to the trailhead parking area on the right. Northwest Forest Pass required.

This former segment of the Pacific Crest Trail (before it was rerouted to the west), starts in a flower-filled meadow at 2830'. At the peak of bloom, botanists may never get past this point. On this day, the meadow was awash in cat's ear, aka Cascade mariposa lily, and scalloped onion. Paintbrush, larkspur, and stonecrop added color accents.

The trail climbs steeply through Douglas-fir woods for 1.2 miles before leveling off near a cliff-top viewpoint looking towards Mount Adams and Big Lava Bed. On this day, the magenta of rock penstemmon brightened the cliff-face.

The trail continues down across a saddle and then climbs Grassy Knoll, where balsamroot was in bloom. Foundation piers mark the site of the former fire lookout at 3648'. The view southwest is of the Columbia River Gorge and the town of Stevenson. Mount Hood rises to the south above Nick Eaton Ridge on the Oregon side of the river.

Continue on for another mile, climbing along the rolling ridgecrest through more and more flower meadows. When the trail takes a sharp turn to the right and plunges into deep forest, you have reached the final meadow and viewpoint. This spot, at 3.2 miles, often is called Grassy Pass although it really is a shoulder of the Grassy Knoll ridge. This is the turn-around point for most hikers, although the strong can keep going for another 2.2 miles to the summit of Big Huckleberry Mountain.

Did the Grassy Knoll/Big Huckleberry Mtn. walk on Sat July 3 in mild overcast weather. Great wildflowers...a good year for beargrass' Saw a few fresh bear excavations in ant colonies along the trail. Discontinuous snow patches approx. 1-2 feet thick in treed areas near Cold Springs Camp.