After 3 years, we finally found time to return to my favorite waterfall!
I was kind of harsh to the Ramona Falls trail last time, calling it boring and ugly. Outside the waterfall, of course. It feels mean, the trail isn't that bad. It's a good little hike.
THE GOAL:
See Ramona Falls again, maybe scout out other future options
THE PLAN:
Do Ramona Falls
THE TRIP:
We picked up an extra passenger for the trip, our friend Kate, who'd never been to the falls. The drive was easy enough, we got to the mega sized trailhead at 10:30ish. Put on some sunscreen and set off up the Sandy River valley.
The trail spends the first mile wandering next to the Sandy River valley. It's a very different area than the gorge and the tread I'm used to. It's very dry and sandy. The are is a big sandy riverbed, it might be a channel left by the river over the years or maybe even an old lava channel. I dunno, I ain't no rock guy.
After a bit the trail dips to cross the Sandy. There are warning signs all the way up to the crossing warning you to take heed as a hiker got taken out and drowned a couple of years ago. The river moves fast but it wasn't too deep, and several logs cross the river so it's easy for anyone paying attention to get over it.
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| Log Crossing the Sandy River |
Last time I was here, it was cloudy and overcast, but this time I could see up the riverbed and got a sweet look at Mt. Hood.
After the crossing, you have to cross a dry bed. It was bare and easy to find the crossing last time, but 3 years of bush growth made finding the trail much harder, but we eventually figured it out and got back on track. From here it's 3 miles through the woods, occasionally looking at the river valley, slowly climbing up the sides. Then the trail hits the timberline and PCT and takes a turn northeast. Maybe a 3rd of a mile later, Ramona Falls. You can hear it through the trees before you see it.
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| Human for scale |
It's just over 100 feet and makes the absolute perfect fairy veil of a falls. It's a fantastic little spot, a big open canopy in the trees where people just gathered to admire it. We hung around, and I decided to take the time to play with shutter speed variations on my camera to give the waterfall some proper motion blur.
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| High shutter speed, no motion blur |
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| Lower shutter speed, motion blur creates a beautiful effect |
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| Photo of the day |
The next mile down the Ramona loop is the best mile on the trail. It follows Ramona creek down the valley, crossing multiple times. Big cliffs of Yocum Ridge tower occasionally overhead through the trees. Then the trail becomes dry open dust again, hits a junction with the PCT, and you head south back to the original trail right after the river crossing. Cross back over, admire the view, home.
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| Zoomed in Mt. Hood summit |
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| Glacial shelf |
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| Yocum Ridge |
It's 7.5 miles and very easy in terms of elevation. The only difficulty we faced was the heat. 10 degrees cooler and the hike would have been perfect. Still a good day. I scoped out McNeil Point's road and Burnt Lake for future reference. Soon, my friends.
Another great hike to do is the Ramona Falls & Bald Mountain Loop. First you hike like normal to Ramona Falls, and then you take the trail to the left of the falls that heads uphill. If you follow that, you'll come to a fork in the trail in a little bit. Take the trail that curves around to the left. You'll find yourself traversing the entire valley. Absolutely spectacular. You even get to wade / ford a few streams as you go along. They are only about a foot deep in the summer, though, so not dangerous. Then you complete the entire loop. Spectacular views, really adds a lot to the standard Ramona Falls hike. The loop is around 13 or 14 miles total. Highly recommended.
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