Devil’s Rest Loop Day Hike

-Trail Name: Angel’s Rest, Devils Rest, Wahkeena Loop

-Enter/Exit Point: Angel’s Rest Trail Head

-Trail Type: Lolipop

-Difficulty Level: Difficult due to elevation and poorly traveled trails

-Distance: 11 miles

-Elevation: 3040 feet

-Guide: https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Angels_Rest-Devils_Rest_Loop_Hike

-Review: Devil’s Rest and myself have had a bit of a contentious relationship ever since I attempted to hike it as a young man and became quite lost. Back then I had a map and compass as well as a trail guide. The guide noted how poorly traveled and maintained the trail was and eventually I became lost and found my way to a road and another trail back down to my car.

Nearly 2 decades later I decided to return with a GPS in hand and make the attempt again. The Angel’s Rest Trailhead is very popular, especially on weekends and during the summer time, so I got an early start and a good parking spot. I have hiked Angel’s Rest countless times but it is still a favorite of mine due to its sweeping views and butt kicking elevation gain during the first 2 miles. Once you get your fill of views atop Angel’s Rest you will being to climb the trail southwest and up in elevation. I did this loop portion counter clockwise and followed the signs and occasionally slightly overgrown trails to Devil’s Rest where I took a lunch break and enjoyed the solitude.

After lunch I continued the trail downhill toward the east where I eventually connected to the Wahkeena Trail and stopped at the Wahkeena Spring to rest and top off my water bottles for the climb ahead back to Angel’s Rest. Wahkeena Springs is so far the prettiest place I have ever filtered water. Thankfully I walked 10’ past the initial water access and a small oasis was my reward. After Wahkeena’s spring I saw no other hikers until I reached Angel’s Rest again. Because of this the trail was often over grown with bright green vegetation and flowers but the trail was still easy to follow. Eventually I reconnected my loop portion and began my descent down toward Angel’s Rest and then quickly made the 2 miles down trail and back to my car. Cheers!

-Rating: Come Back (but only if you’re needing to train for elevation)

Rating Guide:

-Gram it: Check out the pictures on Instagram because this one is not worth seeing in person

-Hike it: It’s short and sweet. Might as well knock it out in a day

-Bag it: Pack a bag and spend the night

-Bring a friend: Easy enough to bring a friend. Maybe this is where you can introduce someone to backpacking.

-Come Back: I will keep doing this trip it’s so good.