Beacon Rock State Park - Hamilton Mountain — Friday, Mar. 11, 2005

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

Near Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge lies Beacon Rock State Park. From a parking area, a 4 mile trail runs up to the summit of Hamilton Mtn with about 2100 feet of elevation gain. Very popular on weekends due to proximity to Portland and Vancouver so be warned if you like solitude. Three weeks earlier I had done Mt. Defiance over on the Oregon side of the Gorge and hit snow at 2200 feet. The amazing thing is that just three weeks later, that snow is mostly gone and there was none to be found on Hamilton Mtn. The trail goes by a nice waterfall and is no nonsense in ascending to the summit of Hamilton but you get several nice views down to the Columbia on the way as well as nice views of Mt. Adams and the top of Mt. Hood from Hamilton. Hamilton is listed as 2488 so it isn't lofty but if you'd like a change of pace and a conditioner, this is worthwhile. It was like a summer day in March and the trail is in excellent shape. If we don't get some more snow higher up, this could be a rough year for the Cascades and the farmers in eastern washington.