Well, I *sorta* picked the right day to do this one: no crowds, but no view from the top either. Arrived at the trailhead about 09:15 (started hiking at 09:30), and I first one there. I actually didn't see anyone else at all on this hike until I was on my way back down the mountain, which I thought was odd considering I had read about how popular it is. Anyways, I hiked up through the fog and arrived at the cold, windy summit at about 11:15 with absolutely no view. Decided to hang around for a bit anyway to see if the active weather would favor me with a glimpse of the river below, but no such luck-- until I reached the lowest viewpoint on the descent. On my way back down the sun started to come out and when I got back to that lower clearing the views were fantastic! Trail conditions are quite good: trace snow at the very top but none on the trail, a couple of blowdowns that were easily stepped over, and some mud. I did encounter a few folks on my way back down (including one guy who ran past me on his way up and then again on his way down), but probably only a total of 10 or so on the whole trip. I think there were 5 additional cars in the lot when I got back to mine. Apparently Monday is the day to do Dog Mountain if you don't want to see a lot of people!

Had been wanting to hike Dog Mountain for a while and decided to climb a mountain on the super bowl. Made it from Seattle to the trail head in just under 4 hours, arriving around 10am to about 15 other cars in the parking lot (still plenty of parking). We opted for the more difficult trail vs the most difficult. Trail is in great condition, no blow downs but STEEP. Took a couple of breathers before making it to the first intersection. Again took the less difficult route to the first view point. This part of the trail is steep at first but levels out through the forest and opens up to a nice view point with a small bench. Good snack spot. The next part of the trail to the old fire lookout is steep and we came across some snow that had turned to slush with the sun being out. I was glad to have poles but plenty of people seemed to be fine without them. Top of the trail was beautiful with Mt. Hood and Mt. St Helen's poking out. Began our decent on the Augspurger Trail and stopped for a quick lunch. This trail had slush and ice for about the first mile. It's on an exposed cliff side so careful steps are a must. The rest of the trail had few views but did seem to be more knee friendly. It's not as well maintained and there were a few blow downs that were easy enough to get around. Made it back to the trail head by 3:45pm and grabbed pizza and beers at the Walking Man Brewery which was delicious and the service was great.

Good hike - challenging but straightforward. At a slow pace with breaks, it took about 2.5 hrs to get from the Dog Mtn Trailhead to the Dog Mtn Summit using the "less difficult" route (turn right at the Y), then 2 hrs to get back down. Trail is well-maintained, with an even forest floor most of the way, no steps or big roots. Steady incline almost the whole way up. There are signs, easy to follow. There is not a high number of viewpoints on this trail, but a viewpoint about 1/3 of the way up, plus the last bit toward the summit should show some nice views (it was too socked in for me to see anything). There was snow starting at ~2000', then ~7" at ~2300', and at least a foot near the top. I used microspikes and poles which was perfect. You could do it without, but I would advise shoes with decent traction since there are some areas near the top where you don't have a ton of buffer if you slip. Wind was brutal for the last 30 minutes - it was almost hard to walk at some points. With similar weather you would want a good windbreaker, gloves, and ear covering. From 10am-2:30pm, I passed about 12 parties, mostly twosomes. Up in the Olympics, Mount Ellinor is one of my favorites. Although it's very different from Dog Mountain, I think if you can do one, you can do the other.

The trail was pretty slippery in places due to snow/ice. Good shoes are a must.

there's been an ongoing dilemma concerning the Dog Mountain trailhead. We had the traffic deaths just in the last 8 months involving West Linn young people who were planning to hike the Dog Mountain trail and missed that turnoff. We also had the truck that crashed into the freight train near the trailhead. On top of this there's been many rescues in the last year and access to these victims has been very, very difficult. Is it even legal for the USFS to have that Dog Mountain parking area when that parking area is owned by BNSF? Wouldn't that make the Dog Mountain trail illegal access? Certainly, something needs to change here. There is hope my fellow trail users. There is another trail at Collins Creek that would create easy access to Dog Mountain by connecting to all the trails. The trail had been closed because of private property, but that property is now being purchased by Friends of the Gorge. This historic trail shows no damage from the ice storms, no erosion problems, no rock slides, not steep at all. This trail is really wide so it would accommodate large groups. The real treasure here is the Gorge view from the open meadow along this trail. This viewing area is protected from the cold east winds. It's less than a mile from the trailhead so it would be easy to reach for children and the elderly. Yes, this is what Dog Mountain has needed for a very long time. If anyone would like to see this trail, I am available to show it.