Old Salmon River Trail
Our plan was to head to the Barlow Trail or Trillium Lake
for some snow play but decided to bail in Welches when mountain traffic
suddenly backed up. So what to do when you aren’t quite up the
mountain? We headed to one of our favorite family hikes: Old Salmon River Trail.
This trail is less than 5 miles round trip from the trailhead to a close Forest Service campground. The trail remains mostly flat for its entire length and follows the Salmon River through an ancient forest with huge Doug firs. There are plenty of places to rest along the way.
We recommend it for any time of year for a family hike and have explored it in the Spring, Summer, and Winter. This time of year the river is decked out in dramatic whitewater and the forest is a lovely mossy, green delight with frost and snow here and there.
Getting There: Head east on Highway 26 from Portland to Welches. Take a right on Salmon River Road (just before the Subway and shortly past the Union 76 gas station, if you get to the ZigZag ranger station, you have gone a little too far). Follow Salmon River Road for about 2.7 miles. The trailhead is on the right hand side shortly past the boundary sign for the National Forest. A Northwest Forest Pass is required for parking.
i appreciate the "outdoors" discussions. we, also, love trillium lake and are eager to learn about more places (old salmon river trail) to explore with the chitlins. thank you!
Posted by: w | December 31, 2006 at 08:58 AM
Thanks for posting this hike's information! We're always looking for new trails to explore, esp. ones that are child-friendly and we can enjoy all year long.
Posted by: cherl | January 01, 2007 at 07:37 AM
it's so good to hear about trails like this! we're avid outdoors people, but kids have thrown a new spin on our old treks and we haven't quite figured out how to balance yet. keep posting about fun stuff to do outside!
thank you for providing a place for us!
Posted by: rae ann | January 01, 2007 at 12:34 PM
This sounds great! Anyone know approximately how it takes to drive from SE or NE Portland?
Posted by: k | February 10, 2007 at 05:13 PM
Hey K,
Getting to the Old Salmon River trail for us from NE Portland takes about an hour. You need to get on to US 26 (generally we head out on 84 and take exit 16 head south until we hit Burnside and head east).
Enjoy!
Tony at Milagros
Posted by: Milagros | February 12, 2007 at 09:02 AM