Amazing hike! I highly recommend it, especially with how many wildflowers are blooming. I drove down to meet a group at Dog Mountain to hike yesterday, and I'm glad I got there when I did. The parking lot was filling up fast! I got there at 9:45 and after meeting everyone else, we began our hike at about 10:30. We went counter-clockwise around the loop so that we'd have the easier grade on the way down, which was nice. The trail climbs up through the trees and levels out for maybe one five-second interval. It's pretty steep, but the views at the top are totally worth it. We hit the lower viewpoint at about 11, then the Puppy Dog viewpoint at noon, then reached the summit shortly after. Once we got out of the forested area, the wind picked up, which felt great as we climbed up. At the top, we were able to see Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. There were lots of people sitting and enjoying lunches - it was beautiful out! After our lunch, we began the trip back down, continuing our counter clockwise route. We passed the turnoff towards Augspurger Mountain, which looks like fun. The views on that side of the route aren't quite as exciting as on the other side, but there were still great photo ops of the river, flowers, and trees. It was very peaceful. We finished our hike at about 4:15. Many hikers had dogs with them, which was awesome. Quite a few dogs were let off leash, but they were all very friendly, so that was fine. Our way down the mountain also had a growing number of bugs, but as long as we kept moving, it wasn't so noticeable. I can't wait to do more hikes like this! It was amazing :)

Fantastic late afternoon hike at Dog Mountain, well worth the drive from Seattle. The entire trail is in excellent condition and has a sweet and inviting feel to it, both within the lower forest and in the upper meadows/summit. Wildflowers are in full bloom now: expansive fields of balsamroot in the upper meadows, interspersed with purple lupine. Phlox on the trail as well. Come hike it soon to get full effect! The views of the Columbia Gorge are stunning. Yes, you will have to tolerate some crowds, but it's worth it. A weekday outing on a clear day might be perfect. Hike Details: Trail: Instead of the loop, I chose to do an up and back on the eastern part of the loop trail, which offers better views. Ascent: 1hr, 50mins Descent: 1hr Total hike time: 2hrs, 50mins Was pushing it pretty hard with speed, so normally that would probably have taken a little longer.

You know it's a popular hike when you pull in to the trailhead and there is a guy there directing cars on where to park. As others have said, the flowers are prolific, as are the people. The bloom is at its peak. Here are some of the many flowers we saw: Balsamroot, larkspur, phlox, popcorn flowers, chocolate lilies, currant, palmate coltsfoot, early columbine (no bloom), wild roses, starflower, woodland stars, chickweed, hooker's fairybells, miner's lettuce, wild strawberry, salmonberry (no berries yet), fringcup, three leaved anemone, sedum, thread leaved phacelia, triteleia, vetch, pea flowers, vanilla leaf, buttercup, parsley, shooting stars, big headed clover, sea blush, trillium, death camas, and lupine. Just to name a few.

This was a day hike up to Dog Mountain to see the fields of flowers. We were not disappointed! The Balsamroot flowers are in full bloom. The Lupine are blooming at the lower level of the trail but are just budding in the upper fields. All the flowers are blooming on this trail, its a beautiful hike. The trail is in good condition. Outside of nearly getting blown off the mountain, it was a great day. We found a spot off the top around the east side where we had lunch and not very windy!

Cool and damp today but the trails are in good condition. The balsam root are really starting to pop on the lower half of the flower fields but are still thin nearer the summit. Should be in their glory in one to two weeks, then we will see how long before they begin to fade.