Hiked Saturday morning (around 10:30 am) on July 3rd. Park rangers directing traffic and checking for Discover Pass - made it with plenty of space in the overflow lot then wandered back down to the start of the hike. Hiked Hamilton Mountain, past the falls, onto Hamilton Mountain trail, then circled back on the cutoff, equestrian trail, and hardy spring trail. Took about 3 hours, a little steep up (and slow ish) but easy on the way down. Trail was not too busy at all, even with the main lot full.

Worth it to hike up to Rodney falls platform! So cool! Loved all the views of the Columbia River, so many viewpoints!

Trail was mostly well maintained and easy to navigate but I was happy to have Gaia map to confirm since this was my first time. Normally I wear hiking boots but was wearing old running tennis shoes and I was ok (probably would be better in hiking shoes!). We saw some almost ripe berries, and saw black bear poop and then a small black bear on the hardy spring trail. It was right before we connected back to the main trail, a couple hikers and a dog came by pretty quickly after it ran down the hill and didn’t see it.

We camped at Beacon Rock State Park and started at Hadley Trail that connected to Hamilton Mountain. When we got back to the trailhead the parking lot was full.

The trail was very well maintained. My associates 11 and 8 did very well with the gradual elevation gain and the little amount of rock climbing.

When we got to the “false summit” the views of the Columbia River Gorge were absolutely breathtaking. My daughter asked if we could stay awhile so we ate lunch on a rock overlooking the Gorge.

The actual summit is nothing to brag over. We got to see a small glimpse of Mount Adams.

We camped at Beacon Rock State Park and started at Hadley Trail that connected to Hamilton Mountain. When we got back to the trailhead the parking lot was full.

The trail was very well maintained. My associates 11 and 8 did very well with the gradual elevation gain and the little amount of rock climbing.

When we got to the “false summit” the views of the Columbia River Gorge were absolutely breathtaking. My daughter asked if we could stay awhile so we ate lunch on a rock overlooking the Gorge.

The actual summit is nothing to brag over. We got to see a small glimpse of Mount Adams.

 The trail is in good condition. This hike has a lot of shade cover which is nice cause you will work up a sweat with the elevation and switchbacks.  Great views of the Columbia and surrounding mountains! lots of wildflowers blooming. I recommend doing a loop hike rather than just out and back several loops/trails to choose from so consult a map before heading out.

Protip: if the main parking lot is full there is room for about 6 cars to park at the trailhead by the campground. Also be sure to check out the pool of winds by Hardy falls 

We arrived to the full parking lot a little after 11:00 on a Saturday morning, and lucked out finding a spot as someone was leaving. There are restrooms with running water and soap at the trailhead. 

We hiked the more difficult trail up and the Hardy Ridge trail down. It was quite steep up, and there are several stretches of goopy, sinking mud, including on the stairs, so be mindful of that. We summited Hamilton,  but surprisingly,  the views weren't as good there as other Vista points, namely the views at the saddle.