Smith Rocks State Park Loop Hike

8.3 miles of hiking • 1500' elevation gain •

My wife and I decided to get away for the long weekend to the Central Cascade area since it was going to be warm and sunny! Our first stop was to Smith Rocks State Park. We had never been here before and didn't know what to expect. When we drove in from the west on Wilcox Avenue and then turned left on Crooked River Drive we were astounded. There were literally HUNDREDS of vehicles along the roads and in the Full parking lots. The only place we've seen it this busy was in the popular national parks! We decided to drive towards the full parking lot area and were amazed that a couple was pulling out just as we arrived! What luck!

The only way to describe this area is amazing, and I don't just mean the amount of people. I couldn't stop taking pictures! Our knees were in no condition for Misery Ridge, but we'll have to go back for that fun looking ascent, which by the way was swarming with people. Instead, we went from the parking lot toward the horse crossing at the Crooked River. We then proceeded on a clockwise path around the entire park. We needed to use the bridge to cross over the river to complete the loop. The people were everywhere, but for some reason it didn't make a difference. We kept stopping and taking pictures of the amazing scenery! We also stopped to watch the multitude of climbers scaling the walls, and they were everywhere!

Once we headed around the SW boundary of the loop we caught our first glimpse of the pillar Monkey Face! This is one serious monolith, and there were three climbers ascending it! The Misery Ridge trail on the west side of the park is an easy climb to the top, but I'd start on the eastern side as it's appears a bit more aggressive. To continue the loop, we veered left at the Misery Ridge intersection and continued on around into private land. We were amazed that the crowds had gone to practically zero, and we only saw about five people for the remaining 4+ miles!

After going through the private land, the trail climbs through a seires of switchbacks around all the spires at the nort end of the park. I think the views here are also fantastic and worth seeing. You can see the volcanoes along the central cascades and nearby mountains. The trail finally intersects Burma Road and from there you descend on one long switchback, and then meet with another short trail to descend along the Crooked River. We then hiked along this trail and back to the bridge where we completed the loop.

When we were descending down Burma Road, the sun was setting, and the sunset colors on the hills to the east of us was absolutely breathtaking! It was dark when we arrived at our car, and you could see dozens of lights descending down the Misery Ridge trail, and this was magical! Also, on the return along the river there were still dozens of climbers on the various walls with plenty of laughter.

This place is a gem and should be on everyone's must see list!!!

Pictures for all these hike are forthcoming, but work starts early am tomorrow. :(