Oregon Cascades

Salmon River

Length: 16.5 miles
Low Point: 1600'
High Point: 3500'
Season: All Year
Scenery: 3.5/5

Difficulty: 3/5

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Directions

From Portland, drive east on Highway 26 to the town of Zigzag. Turn south onto Salmon River Road and continue about five miles to the trailhead just before the bridge.

Trail Description

The Salmon River Trail treks up a beautiful and wild river canyon with old growth Doug Fir and Cedar. Eventually the trail climbs higher up the north wall of the canyon giving great views of the entire valley.

The trail stays at a fairly low elevation for a large portion, so the trail can often times be accessed during the majority of the year. Be sure to check weather conditions before attempting the hike.

A one way shuttle trip can be made by leaving a car at the Mud Creek Trailhead. From Government Camp, drive east on Highway 26 to Road 2656, and turn onto Road 309 near Trillium Lake.

Comments

This trail is very popular. There is a tent campground at the bridge with lots of people. There are nice campsites along the river for the first two miles of the trail. It seems that eveyone camps at the campground then day hikes. Even though this trail gets lots of traffic, there are plenty of good places to pitch a tent along the river. The view at the top of the ridge a couple miles inside the wilderness boundray is great. We only hiked in four miles or so from the trail head.
2006-08-20 20:04:47
This trail tends to be open earlier/later than most in the area. It's one of the longest hikes you can find in the non-summer months.
2005-07-20 13:16:20