Peak Wildflowers at Memaloose Hills

A short, scenic loop at Memaloose Hills during peak wildflower season — bright balsamroot covering the rolling hills, with sweeping Columbia River views.

trailhead: Marsh Cutoff Road**
distance:** 2 miles
elevation gain:  400 ft.
difficulty: easy
best season: March-May
drive time from Portland: 1 hour 20 minutes
parking pass: none
hike description: OregonHikers.org – Memaloose Hills Loop Hike
note: ticks, poison oak, and rattlesnakes are common in this area, especially in the spring

Six weeks earlier, I hiked this loop from the Memaloose Overlook trailhead when the spring wildflowers were just beginning to bloom. I’d been wanting to return during peak season, so we came back to do the hike again.

As we drove past the main trailhead, it was already full, with cars lined along one side of the road. Instead, we continued on to Marsh Cutoff Road, where I’d noticed a small parking area and short connector trail on our last visit. Starting here shortens the hike by nearly a mile with less elevation gain — but more importantly, it gave us a way to still do the hike despite the full lot.

This time of year tends to be crowded anywhere wildflowers are peaking, but it’s hard to mind — everyone we passed on the trail was friendly, and I love that so many people appreciate the natural beauty here. That said, if no parking spots are available, please avoid parking in a way that blocks any part of the road — it creates a safety hazard.

This time, we went in the opposite direction. The trail starts out through a pretty woodland with balsamroots along the trail.

When we reached the main trail, we turned left and headed up Chatfield Hill, where the largest concentration of balsamroot was in full bloom, with a few lupines mixed in. The views of the Columbia River from the top are outstanding, and there’s even more variety in wildflowers — paintbrush, bighead clover, and others scattered among the balsamroot.

Mount Hood recently received a coating of snow so it looked brighter on the horizon than the last time we were here.

I love this view of the Columbia River Gorge.

Somewhere nearby, we could hear wild turkeys gobbling — a strange but welcome sound that made us smile.

Descending Chatfield Hill in this direction is quite steep, and the trail tilts enough to make it more challenging than the climb. One person we passed joked you may as well “tuck and roll” down. It wasn’t quite that bad, but I’ll go the other direction next time. From there, we continued on to Marsh Hill before completing the loop.

More views of the Columbia River on the way down.

We headed through another small woodland before going up Marsh Hill.

On Marsh Hill, looking back at Chatfield Hill (on the left)

Lupines are one of my favorite wildflowers, and they looked especially pretty mixed in with the bright yellow balsamroot.

Nearing the top of Marsh Hill. After this, the trail descends and leads back to the side trail we took from the road. It’s a short hike, but it packed a lot of bang for the buck!