This hike was an easy hike but has a lot of foliage to see as well as hearing the stream the entire hike was amazing. It's a pretty straight shot hike out and hike back. Make sure if you are using all trails you download the map before you get into the hike as you lose service half way up the road to the hike. They have port a potty to use and good parking. read more

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This is an awesome trail! Drive about 17 miles past Sandy and turn right onto Salmon River Road. Drive another 2.5 miles on a paved path to a gravel parking lot. (Technically, you need a recreation pass to park at the trailhead.) The trail starts right there. It is about 1.9 miles out and another 1.9 miles back. The path is fairly flat and it goes right next to the Salmon River. The road is on your other side but you hardly notice it thanks to the sound of the river and the beautiful forest. There are some creeks that cross the trail, so wear waterproof shoes. When I visited in December, one creek crossing was big enough that I could not cross in my short booties and with my little dog so we turned around early. Would love to come back! read more

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Fabulous trail. At this time of year you get a little of everything under foot: dirt, mud, snow, slush, and ice. The trail is slightly winding with the occasional incline, decline, bridge, and stairs. It follows the river the whole way, and currently there are lots of trees and branches down across the path. We intended to finish the out n back, but finding a dryish stream crossing near the end proved a bit daunting, so we turned back at that point. Lots of stunning trees, the constant sounds of the running water, and the changes in wintry landscape made for a very interesting and never boring time to enjoy this trail. read more

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Gorgeous hike for the whole family. Fairly easy but bring waterproof boots because there are some wet areas. Everything about this trail was beautiful! read more

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A wonderful 13+ mile one-way trail around 1600-3400 feet at elevation. Great views of old growth forest and the Salmon River. Lots of birds, deer, and other wildlife. To reach the WEST end of the trail from Portland, travel 17.3 miles east of Sandy on US Hwy 26. Turn right (south) on Salmon River road and follow it for 5 miles to the parking area. The trailhead is on the left (east) side of the road just north of the bridge. That's where we started. Note there were no bathrooms there like there are at many trailheads. This trail climbs from the edge of Salmon River to a bluff with several view points and follows the north shoulder of the river. The climb is not steep and the overall hike is generally easy. However, everything is often wet due to rain and the river so prepare accordingly. Overall we really enjoyed this hike and it was easy to access the trailhead via car. read more

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We took the trail a little further up the road and hiked to the top of salmon butte. It's a difficult 12.8 mile up and back, steady incline the whole way. There were low clouds, a bit of snow still at the top. Chilly, about 50 degrees, but no wind. Great hike, soft cushiony PNW pine needles and moss. Lots of slugs and bugs, flowers, birds. Loved it. read more

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My girlfriend and I just recently hiked a small portion of this trail as we got there later in the day . Let me say just the 2 miles that we hiked you can't get much better interns of beauty and a awesome natural setting! It's an easy hike, child friendly along side the rushing river water! So much can be had here, just have to go and be! read more

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This is an excellent hike that starts down along a roadside just south of Welches and ends deep in the Huckleberry Salmon Wilderness. The hike is split into three sections - Lower (Old) Salmon River, Central Salmon River, and Upper Salmon River. Take Hwy 26 to Salmon River Rd (at the Subway in Welches) and go south about 4-5 miles. For the Lower trail, park at the where you see a trailhead on the right. I haven't hiked this section of the trail but you can see it from the road as it follows the river paralleling the road for about 2.6-2.9 miles. Then it crosses the road right before the bridge over the river. This is where you park for the Central and Upper Salmon river hikes. The Central hike starts out at the bridge over the Salmon River and follows up the North side of the river on a gently rolling trail for about two miles. This section of the trail is easy, with bridges over the side streams, lots of old growth forest and lush green moss, plenty of poison oak (watch out for it) and a ton of great river access spots. This section is worth it for the old growth alone. So pretty. Half way in you enter the federal wilderness area and need to fill out a permit (May-Oct). You can't miss the sign. Soon after this spot there is a campsite just off the trail near the river. At two miles in you hit Rolling Riffle campsites, about two or three, for backpackers. At this point the trail ascends about 700-1000 feet over the course of one mile to a pretty epic viewpoint over the Salmon River Valley. The terrain is tall trees, with a few meadow viewpoints. From here you can keep going another mile or so to Goat Creek, which has another campground with enough space for a few sites.On the way you'll have to cross a few creeks with no bridges. Be good at rock-hopping or tree balancing, or you'll get wet. Goat Creek is as far as I've gone, however the trail continues on up many more miles to Upper Salmon River, and eventually ends at another road (so if you have transport, you can through hike). The 5.5 miles or so to Goat Creek is a good moderate day hike for backpacking, with ample water sources and not too much elevation. Along the way between the first meadow viewpoint and Goat Creek, there are a couple of cut-downs from the trail to other view points. The bluffs have pretty sketchy spots. Be careful. Our stay at Goat Creek was great. Early spring brought a lot of solitude (only saw one hiker on the way in), but not so great weather. A lot of rain turning to a surprise inch+ of snow. Even in mid-April. Come prepared for wetness. No viable firewood (shouldn't really be having big fires in wilderness anyway). Didn't see much in the way of wildlife. The roar of the creek provides a great source of white noise to help compensate for the air traffic coming across overhead (which I didn't expect). That aside, I can't say anything bad about this spot. Seclusion, fresh cold water, ample camp space (I hear it gets crowded in summer), moderate hike in, great views, old growth... just what I want from a PacNW camping trip. read more

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The Old Salmon River Trail was beautiful. The river kept the warm day feeling really cool. The tree coverage was very pretty. The hiking trail itself is pretty flat and easy going. If you keep walking past the bridge you come upon Salmon River Trail which is a little steeper but gets you to larger areas of the river. We were able to capture shits of large salmon, which was a nice treat. Overall, our hike was probably 5 miles round trip and took about 3 hours walking leisurely. read more

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This was an amazing hike and was only about 45 minutes to drive to from Portland. The first two miles of the hike are gentle and easy going through old growth forest along the Salmon River. You sort of feel like you're walking through one of the scenes in the movie the Hobbit. It's really magical. After about two miles the trail starts going up and continues up for another two miles. This is a more moderate hike but you end up on the top of the world with truly gorgeous vistas. I included a couple of pictures of it on my profile. Directions: Just head up hwy 26 toward Zigzag. Turn Right at the Subway Sandwich restaurant on Salmon River Road. Drive about 5 miles and park at the bridge. The Salmon River Trail is on the east side of the road and is different from the Old Salmon River Trail on the opposite side of the road. read more

Old Salmon River Trail - Hiking Near Me - Clackamas, Oregon

Im an avid oregon hiker and this is by far my favorite hike so far. It's easy enough that you can focus on scenery and not how out of shape you are. It's the perfect length. It showcases some of the most beautiful forest in Oregon, it's like walking through a scene in the Lord of the Rings, the audible river you hike beside provides a wonderful sound, and it's usually not too crowded. It's also conveniently located close to a few great Zigzag spots to grab a drink and some food after your hike. I recommend Wrapitude, Skyway BBQ, and the Zigzag Inn if you seek breakfast food. read more

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This is such a beautiful trail and great for a family hike. You'll find beautiful sceneries and will be very close to the sandy river. So close you can let your pups take a swim while taking in the peace and quiet surrounding you. We were looking for an easy hike with our kiddos and it was perfect. Our 5 year old had no trouble keeping up and we were comfortable to let him walk ahead a little due to it feeling safe out there compared to some more difficult hiking trails in the area. read more

This is a small hike downhill to get to the trail by the river. At that point, there is some small incline and decline hiking but it's easy enough. You do have to keep your eyes out for rocks and roots sticking up from the ground as the path is very rocky and uneven with many trip hazzards. There is also a step incline about two thirds of a mile in so this is all around not good for those with limited mobility. There are some massive, old growth trees along this trail. If you can walk the length of it, to the end (2.2 miles) there is a small waterfall. We walked on a freezing cold day so we didn't make it that far, but the mild rapids and path we did walk was all beautiful. It's worth the drive from the Portland area to walk this hike. There is free parking for about ten created pull-in spaces beside the narrow road, as well as some areas just past there where you can easily pull off the road enough to park in the dirt. If you go down further, you can pay to park from what I've been told. read more

Old Salmon River Trail - Salmon river - Hiking Near Me - Clackamas, Oregon

This is an awesome trail along a river in the mt. Hood forest with beautiful views, walking through the forest is so serene and peaceful here. Very popular trail amongst the locals! read more

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This trail is 5 stars because it is a quintessential Oregon hike. It has huge old growth for and cedar trees along the side of a rushing mountain river. All the vegetation is covered in moss and most of the trail is a soft bed of pine needles. I went a few days after a wind storm that brought down a bunch of trees so there was definitely a lot of trail maintenance to be done. But I'm sure it will be done soon. read more

Old Salmon River Trail - Hiking Near Me - Clackamas, Oregon

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This is a beautiful trail along the Salmon River. There's a box less than a mile into the trail where you'll have to fill out a Mostly covered with tall trees to give you some shade. Campsites are scattered along the river as well. About 3 miles in you'll start climbing until you get to where there's an abrupt edge by a cliff and the trail gets very narrow, so be extra careful. read more

Beautiful old growth forest and great views of the river. Friendly hikers, too! :) I'll post

This is a beautiful trail. It is relatively flat with easy access to the river with great places to stop and picnic and wade in the water. One of our favorite family hikes. read more