Trail was great in most places, though there are definitely places that require scrambling and careful footing because of steepness/large step-ups and erosion. Some of the erosion has been caused by people cutting off the switchbacks and straying from the trail. The repairs planned will be most welcome on the heavily used Hamilton Mt trail.

I highly recommend doing the loop if you’re looking for more solitude (and for a descent that is kinder on your knees). While it was quite busy on the way up, I didn’t see a soul after I left the false summit that you first arrive at from the Hamilton Mt trail. Hiking to the saddle (true summit) was a quiet walk in overgrown wildflowers and bushes; the raptors swooping nearby were the only others around. Then, more solitude down Don’s Cutoff and the various trail sections that led to the Hardy trail, reuniting with the Hamilton Mt trail just before the waterfalls. Beautiful pine forests and a lack of rocks, roots, steps and scree on the trail made for easy, peaceful, and fast walking on the descent.

Some bitey flies at the false summit prevented me from lingering long at the views of Adams and Hood.

Arrived at 8am to about 10-15 cars in the parking lot.  Very quiet on the way up the Hamilton mountain trail, saw very few people.  Rodney falls and the pool of the winds was great.  The trail to the top had several spots that required use of hands to take a big step up where the trail was decaying.  The views on the way up were excellent and only got better with elevation.  I was surprised to see both Hood and Adams from the top.  I continued along the top of the ridge to take the Hardy creek trail back to the trailhead. This was much easier on the joints going down and plenty of shade.  Excellent loop and excellent hike.  By the time I got back to the trailhead the lot was full and there were folks walking over from the Beacon Rock trailhead parking lot.

First time visiting Beacon Rock State Park. Decided to climb Hamilton and we really enjoyed it. Stopped at the falls (including the Pool of the Winds) before heading up. It's a bit of a slog in the heat, but there are numerous access points to a lovely breeze, and plenty of shade along the way. The top offered partial views of Hood and Adams, with lots of the smoke haze and clouds. Overall a great conditioning hike that also has lots of gorgeous scenery. Very popular, however, so know that the solitude of nature isn't really available here.

We hiked to Hamilton Mountain saddle by the "back door" on an in-and-out hike. We birded and admired wildflowers along the way.

The "back door" involves starting from the Equestrian Trailhead at Beacon Rock State Park and hiking up the main fire road to the saddle on the north side of Hamilton Mountain. The hike via this route is 7 miles round trip with about 1,500 feet elevation gain.

We encountered only a couple of other hikers on this route until we crossed Hardy Creek, where our route overlapped with the Hamilton Mountain-Hardy Creek loop and we encountered more hiker traffic.

We observed 40 species of birds, including many singing warblers (10 species), woodpeckers, turkey vultures, bald eagles, and we heard a northern pygmy-owl at the trailhead.

We hiked to the saddle on the north side of Hamilton Mountain by the "back door."

We started at the Beacon Rock State Park Equestrian Trailhead and followed the main fire road to the saddle. The hike was 7 miles round trip with about 1,500 feet elevation gain.

We encountered only a couple of other hikers until we reached Hardy Creek, where our route overlapped with the Hamilton Mountain Trail-Hardy Creek Trail loop. We encountered about a half dozen other hiking groups as we continued up to the saddle.

We found a sunny spot with views for our lunch break. We watched as the clouds cleared around Mount Hood. Through binoculars we could see seals catching salmon in the river just below the Bonneville Dam Second Powerhouse and we watched bald eagles and turkey vultures cruise by on the updrafts.

We birded along the way as we hiked. Many warbler species were singing in the trees. We also saw woodpeckers and heard a northern pygmy-owl. We identified 40 species of birds.

Wildflowers were blooming along the trail, predominantly stream violets. Much of the road was lined with salmonberry, but only a few plants were blooming yet. We encountered one blooming red-flowering currant being guarded by a rufous hummingbird.

We returned the way we came.