Dog Mountain — Monday, May. 30, 2016

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

We hiked Dog Mountain on Memorial Day with our dog, of course. We got to the trailhead around 8:30 AM, which was not early enough. We had gotten there just in time to park at the overflow lot maybe half a mile down. The parking area is pretty small and I would imagine would be a nightmare if you got there any later. The hike itself was really great. Well maintained throughout. About half a mile up, you get the option to take the easier or more difficult route (the harder route is .4 miles shorter but quite steep). We opted to take the easier route up and the more difficult route on the way down. I would recommend going up the easy route as there are clearings to take in the view and jogging down the more difficult route made going down really fast. There were a ton of bugs out, so make sure you bring bug spray! Overall it took maybe three hours to walk up with our puppy (he likes to stop every 10 feet to smell grass) and about an hour and a half to walk/jog down. HIghly recommend! Just make sure you come early!