It was a nice spring day. We came for a family day hike. The trail head was busy but still parking spots were available. We came at the right time. The wildflowers were blooming. We hiked to the McCall Point. Flowers were all along the trail. We then hiked further toward the south to the next ridge  but found it was not so fun up there.

The balsamroot was in full bloom at Rowena Plateau last weekend, so hurry if you want to see it! Lupine, desert parsley, wild cucumber, and more are also blooming. Of course, more wildflowers will appear throughout spring, and the views are always fantastic. We hiked between roughly 5:00 and 6:00 on a Saturday evening, and the trail wasn't overly crowded. Many come just to see the viewpoint and others were hiking the Tom McCall Point trail, which is open now (we only hiked Rowena Plateau). I expect the trail was more crowded earlier in the day. Whenever you go, bring a mask.

The weather was unusually calm, just perfect for hiking. The trail is in good shape, but the loose dirt can be slippery, and it's a bit rocky in spots. Even though there is little elevation gain, some may want to bring hiking poles. Don't forget sunscreen and a hat, as the trail is completely exposed. Look out for poison oak as well -- it thrives in the brush that grows around the small pools on top of the plateau. In some places, it's very close to the trail. To avoid it, stay on the trail and don't touch any plants that happen to grow nearby.

There are multiple viewpoints, both near the start of the trail and the end. What a gorgeous location for a spring hike! For a full write-up with more photos, please visit the website link at the bottom of this review.

After hiking to Wahclella Falls, we exited I-84 at Mosier and drove HWY 30 to the parking lot for Rowena Plateau and Tom McCall Point. The trail is open 3-1 to 10-31 and no dogs are allowed. We took the trail across the road from the main parking lot to hike the Rowena Plateau Trail. There were not a lot of flowers, but yellow desert parsley, Columbia desert parsley, yellow bells, grass widows, gold stars and filagree were flowers seen. The grass widows were mostly past their prime. The expansive views of the Columbia River and the surrounding area are beautiful! We continued east on HWY 30 and 2 tom turkeys and a female crossed the road in front of us! We watched them as the two males "displayed" for the female!

Beautiful, enjoyable hike. We went on this hike last weekend with our baby and were a little apprehensive about crowds given recent reviews, but it appears they thin out with the wildflowers; we started around 11:00 a.m. and encountered fewer than 10 (small) groups of hikers the entire time. I can imagine that with the hillsides blooming this is hike is even more lovely, but we found the gnarled trees and windswept grasses lovely, and the views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood from the top were outstanding on a clear day. The plateau where the hike begins was incredibly windy, but once we tucked into the trees its effect was greatly reduced. Would love to do this again in the spring.