Length
Elevation Gain
Highest Point
If you want to do the whole loop, take note - the trails get considerably more rugged in the top half of the loop, from Sturgeon Rock trail to the start of the Chinook Trail near Silver star. Be sure you are comfortable scrambling, and check trip reports; if there’s snow on Ed’s trail it can be fairly dangerous to hike.
Beginning from the Rock Creek Campground, set out hiking counter-clockwise, on the Appaloosa Trail. This gradually inclined trail was built with support from WTA and Back Country Horsemen of Washington, who helped formalize a social trail into a more sustainable route.
Amble through quiet second-growth forest in a former timber harvest where Douglas-fir trees overhang and the soft trail underfoot makes you want to linger. Cross a small creek (Coyote Creek) and turn towards the heart of Yacolt Burn forest, climbing a bit more steeply before connecting with a former road bed.
You'll be on this for half a mile before turning back onto the Appaloosa trail, which parallels Coyote Creek again for a short while before ascending some switchbacks and connecting up with another road bed. The trail ducks off the roadbed to the right, and crosses it a couple more times, climbing ever more steeply for about a mile and a half.
The trail through here enters cool, quiet and peaceful forest before linking up with the Tarbell Trail.
Here, you'll turn right and head downhill slightly on some switchbacks. The Tarbell Trail is a long, multi-use trail that crosses the Yacolt Burn State Forest. You may see mountain bikers or equestrians on this trail, heads up and know the standard for who yields to whom.
After 0.4 miles on this trail, turn a corner to come face to face with Hidden Falls. This aptly-named waterfall is a plunge falls, dropping an impressive 90 feet to a small pool hidden by vegetation.
Take a rest here before pushing on. Steel yourself for more of a climb - you'll get a forgiving mile of forest walking on the Tarbell Trail before arriving at a junction with the Sturgeon Rock trail.
Turn left and take a deep breath. The Sturgeon Rock Trail is a steep, rutted and extremely rocky roadbed, that is, at best unpleasant to walk. It's also quite overgrown with brush and limbs overhanging the trail. But luckily it's short, relatively speaking. You've got a little bit more than a mile total on this trail, and it does moderate after the first 2/3 of a mile.
0.69 miles up the trail is a side trip where you can head to the summit of Sturgeon Rock. It's only 0.3 miles, but you can't get down the other side, so you'll end up doing 0.6 miles roundtrip. If you opt for this side trip.
Back on the Sturgeon Rock trail, continue around the east side of the Rock to a junction with the Silver Star trail, which switchbacks, sending you back west 0.2 miles to another junction, marked by a huge pile of rocks.
A right turn here will take you to the summit of Silver Star Mountain (trail 172) 0.4 miles away. Otherwise, continue another 0.1 miles to a third junction, this one for the Silver Star trail or Ed's Trail.
Ed's Trail is certainly the more rugged choice. If you have any trepidation at all about heights or exposure, opt for Silver Star, since it's a former road bed, meaning it's wide and much less steep.
If you opt for Ed's trail, dip around to the north side and weave through some trees before popping out onto the slopes. This extremely rugged trail has a scrambly section about 0.4 miles from the junction you were just at. You'll enjoy views of Bluff Mountain and Silver Star Mountain before arriving at a scenic overlook where you can see Mounts St. Helens and Adams.
From the overlook, you have to scramble down a small rock face. Maintain three points of contact here and move slowly. The trail remains quite rough and not very well bedded. Luckily, you can be a little distracted by a neat rock arch that few people visit.
Past the arch the trail improves, and you can start moving faster. Continue less than a mile to a connector with Silver Star. Turn right, and after about 0.5 miles arrive at an unmarked junction with the Chinook Trail.
The Chinook Trail is a lovely, 2-mile switchbacking route that swings you back and forth down the shoulders of the lower hills of the Yacolt. It's gorgeous and almost completely unshaded. Have sunscreen with you.
After 1.66 miles here, arrive at a junction with the Tarbell Trail and a road. Cross the road, hop onto the Tarbell Trail. Enjoy 2.5 miles here, then hop onto the Silver Shadow, a trail that WTA recently built to help hikers create loop options in this area (like the one you're on).
Silver Shadow weaves in between forest and open timber harvest, continuing to afford you great views of the area.
You're almost done. At the bottom of Silver Star is another junction with the Tarbell Trail. Jump on it, and follow the trail to the left, finishing out the timber harvest area and heading into the lush, gorgeous forest near the Rock Creek Campground.
Cap off your day by crossing two sweet little bridges and heading back to the parking area. You did it!
WTA Pro Tip: You can camp at Rock Creek and make this a long vacation. After your day on this loop, take your mountain bike and head to the other side of the forest for some swoopy, flowy trails, or just take it easy at camp, maybe taking a little drive to the signature Moulton Falls Bridge
Trailhead
