Lower Lewis River Backpacking Trip – Southwest Washington

My third visit to the Lower Lewis River Trail offered quiet solitude, lush old-growth, and the perfect early-season spot to test new gear before the high country melts out.

Trip Planning Resources

• best months: April – June
• location: Southwest Washington; nearest town: Cougar
• land management: Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Mount Adams Ranger Station
• trail conditions: Lewis River Trail #31
• hike description: OregonHikers.org: Lewis River Traverse Hike
• permits: none required
• trailhead pass: none required

Our Itinerary

• day 1 – Lower Lewis River trailhead to campsite: 2.4 miles, 175 ft. gain
• day 2 – day hike: 6 miles roundtrip, 425 ft. gain
• day 3 – hike out to Lower Lewis River trailhead: 2.4 miles, 175 ft. loss

Day 1

I’m always excited for the first backpacking trip of the year, especially when the location is as serene as this one. The old-growth forest here is filled with towering trees, and the campsites are right next to the Lewis River.

Since it was midweek and early in backpacking season, we weren’t expecting much company. The trailhead was empty when we arrived, and over three days, we saw only one day hiker — he was taking a snack break at one of the campsites we passed as we hiked in.

We hiked in about 2.5 miles and set up camp next to the Bolt Camp shelter. It’s the largest site on the trail, with easy river access and only two smaller camps exist beyond this point on the Lower Lewis River Trail before it reaches the road.

Every spring, outdoor brands drop their latest gear—and 2025 is already shaping up to be a great year for upgrades. Since this is an easy trip, I brought several new pieces of gear to test that I’m reviewing, including the REI Traverse 60 Pack, MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 person tent, the updated Sea to Summit Ether Light XR sleeping pad, the 2025 version of the Zenbivy Ultralight Bed, and the updated Jetboil Flash. Check out my gear reviews of each item to learn more about them.

Day 2

We had a full day to hike and the weather was great, so we continued on the trail for several miles, passing through dense forest full of enormous trees. In sections of the trail, moss covered nearly every surface and made the moss-covered rocks and small trees look like mythical creatures. We named this amazing cedar tree “Burl C. Ives”.

The forest was also full of downed trees providing life to new plants as nursery logs.

Trilliums had just started to bloom and filled a section of the trail.

We stopped at the last camp (near the Speed Trail) to have lunch, then continued on the trail.

The last time I was here, this log was covered in moss and the end reached the other side of the creek. Since then, the creek has washed out the last section and made the addition of a board plank necessary to get across.

After we turned around to head back to camp, I heard a loud “whack” sound and looked up to see a tall tree fall apart and crumble as it hit the ground. We were thankful we had taken our time to reach this spot, and that the tree didn’t fall on us. We rounded a corner and saw where several large chunks had landed and covered the trail.

Back at camp, I wandered around and took photos of the surrounding area, then we had a campfire and settled in for the night.

Day 3

The hike out was easy, just like the hike in. We drove a short distance to check out Curly Creek Falls, then headed about 10 miles east to see Lower Lewis River Falls before returning to Portland.

Curly Creek Falls has two rock arches. The water levels were too high to see the lower arch, but the upper was easy to see.

The Lewis River Falls area is extremely popular and requires permits to park in the area later in the season, so we took advantage of not needing a permit in April. The road to get here has a rough section that washed out several years ago and higher clearance is recommended.