Dog Mountain Day Hike

-Trail Name: Dog Mountain

-Enter/Exit Point: Dog Mountain Trail Head

-Trail Type: in-and-out/lolipop

-Difficulty Level: Hard due to elevation gain

-Distance: 7 miles

-Elevation: 2,800

-Guide: https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Dog_Mountain_Hike

-Review: Dog Mountain is one of the most “instagramable” hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. Especially during the wildflower season in late spring. Because of this permits are required just to park at the trailhead from Late April to Mid June. You also will need a NW Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass to park any time you plan on hiking Dog Mountain.

The climb up Dog Mountain is steep and persistent. Around a mile in you are given a choice to hike the “hard” trail or the “harder” trail. If you plan to hike this as a lollipop I would recommend climbing the harder side and descend on the hard side if your knees are anything like mine. The forest provides a decent amount of shade and the trail is well groomed no matter the side you take. Eventually you walk out of the forest into a clearing where views east, west and south are some of the best in the Gorge assuming Dog Mountain is not fogged in. Enjoy a break at the near summit or climb the short trail to the true summit which is in a small wooded area and does not offer any views. As you begin your hike back down through the clearing you will enter the woods again and can take the hard or harder path which is well marked at a trail junction. The hike down is often significantly faster than the way up. Cheers!

-Rating: Hike it!

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.