Mount Hood National Forest

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The Mount Hood National Forest is located 20 miles east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than 60 miles of forested mountains, lakes and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes of Mount Jefferson. The Forest encompasses some 1,067,043 acres. Forest headquarters are located in Sandy, Oregon. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 345,300 acres. The Forest is divided into four separate districts - Barlow (with offices in Dufur), Clackamas River (Estacada), Hood River (Mount Hood-Parkdale), and Zigzag.

In descending order of land area the National Forest is located in parts of Clackamas, Hood River, Wasco, Multnomah, Marion, and Jefferson counties.

History

Mount Hood National Forest was first established as the Bull Run Forest Reserve in 1892. It was merged with part of Cascade National Forest on July 1, 1908 and named Oregon National Forest. The name was changed again to Mount Hood National Forest in 1924.

Recreation

The Mount Hood National Forest is one of the most-visited National Forests in the United States, with over four million visitors annually. Less than five percent of the visitors camp in the forest. The forest contains 170 developed recreation sites, including:

• Timberline Lodge, built in 1937 high on Mount Hood
• Lost Lake
• Burnt Lake
• Trillium Lake
• Timothy Lake
• Rock Creek Reservoir
• The Old Oregon Trail, including Barlow Road

Other common recreational activities in the Mount Hood National Forest include fishing, boating, hiking, hunting, rafting, horseback riding, skiing, mountain biking, berry-picking, and mushroom collecting. A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the National Forest on the flanks of the mountain. Mount Hood is a popular destination for mountain climbers, making it the second most climbed mountain in the world.

Several nonprofits lead free hikes into the National Forest to build support for further protection from logging and off-road vehicle use, including Bark and Oregon Wild.

Wilderness

There are more than 295,917 acres (1,198 km2) of designated wilderness on the National Forest.

• Mount Hood Wilderness at 67,320 acres includes the peak and upper slopes of Mount Hood.
• Badger Creek Wilderness at approximately 28,140 acres
• Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness at 61,340 acres
• Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness at approximately 64,960 acres
• Bull of the Woods Wilderness at 37,607 acres
• Roaring River Wilderness at 36,550 acres
• Mount Jefferson Wilderness at 111,177 acres, though only part of the wilderness is located in the Mount Hood National Forest

The Olallie Scenic Area is a lightly-roaded lake basin that also offers a primitive recreational experience.