33. Fifteenmile Creek Loop 

Summary

Length                                10 ¾ mile loop

Difficulty                             Difficult

Season                               Late spring to autumn

Elevation range                2,750 – 4,640 feet

Human imprint                  Moderate (mountain bikes, roads, past timber harvest)

Information                      Mount Hood National Forest (Barlow Ranger District)

Primary old growth features

Iconic ponderosa pine old-growth.

Description

Impressive groves of old ponderosa pine still stand east of Mount Hood along the bluffs above Fifteenmile Creek. Douglas-fir, grand fir, and other conifers mingle with burnt-orange pines in the much drier conditions prevailing east of the Cascade crest. The Cedar Creek Trail joins the Fifteenmile Trail in two places forming a scenic loop through the finest forest remaining in the area. This loop is popular with mountain bikers, who also accomplish much needed trail maintenance.

Start downhill on the Fifteenmile Trail (456) from Fifteenmile Campground, and turn right onto the Cedar Creek Trail (457) in about half a mile. Cross the bridge over Fifteenmile Creek and angle across the slope towards the ridge separating Fifteenmile Creek from Cedar Creek. The forest over this first 1 ½ miles is quite mixed with a few large pines and Douglas-fir mixed in.

Follow the trail along the ridgeline for the next 1 ½ miles through an extensive stand of striking old ponderosa pine mixed with Douglas-fir and grand fir. Park-like pines reign over a sparse herb and shrub understory in some places, and overtop dense thickets of younger trees in other spots. A couple rocky perches provide break spots with views into the Fifteenmile Creek gorge.

Continue steeply down the spine of the ridge temporarily leaving the old forest behind. Patches of scrubby Oregon white oak adjoin the trail. Cross the bridge over Fifteenmile Creek and rejoin the Fifteenmile Trail about 5 miles from the trailhead.

Follow the Fifteenmile Trail west then southwest up the north bank of Fifteenmile Creek through a scenic canyon for 2 ½ miles. The lower portion of the trail is mostly in scrub white oak for the first mile or so, then in a mixed-age stand with scattered large ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and grand fir. Some of the larger trees are over 400 years old, and a few big western redcedar and black cottonwood hug the stream.

The trail then switchbacks up to a secondary ridgeline where scattered large ponderosa pine grace a relatively open, grassy site. Follow the Fifteenmile Trail south then southwest through mostly younger forest before briefly entering a pretty pocket of pines on the edge of the picturesque gorge. The trail closes the loop at the junction with the Cedar Creek Trail ¾ mile later.

30 years of change

The forest is very similar, although high mortality continues in many areas of dense forest.

How to get there

From Highway 35, turn northeast onto FR 44 (Brooks Meadow Road) about 25 miles south of the town of Hood River (13 ¼ miles north of the Highway 26/Highway 35 junction). Turn right onto FR 4420 in 8 ½ miles, then continue straight onto FR 2730 in another 2 miles. Fifteenmile Campground (“Forest Camp”) is on the left 2 miles later. There are a couple of parking spaces to the left inside the campground, and wide spots along the road.