Memaloose Hills Wildflower Hike

3 miles

600 ft gain

Moderate

No pass needed

The Memaloose Hills Trail is a great year-round hike. In spring it’s an enchanted dreamland where benevolent fairies and frolicking unicorns would fit in perfectly. A short trail takes you to the top of two hills with views of Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge. During peak wildflower season, it’s hard to see grass in the thick carpet of lupines and balsamroot. This hike is extremely popular when the wildflowers are blooming. Visit on an off time if you can. If not, have a backup hike planned. I’ll give some suggestions. Here is everything you need to know about hiking at Memaloose Hills.

Balsamroot on a hill in front of the Columbia Gorge — *Views from the Memaloose Hills Trail*

Know before you go

The Memaloose Hills wildflower hike starts at the Memaloose Overlook on Highway 30. Don’t park at the Memaloose Rest Area on I-84. Hikers are no longer allowed to park there.
Parking at the Memaloose Overlook is free. You don’t need a pass or permit.
The parking situation is a problem during wildflower season. Way more people visit than can fit in the lot. I’ve done this hike multiple years and it’s been getting more crowded. People park along the road and some cars spill over into the lane. My last visit was on a Tuesday evening. A couple of spots were open when I came at 5:30 PM. When I left around 7:30 PM, the lot was full and about 20 cars were parked illegally. Come early in the morning on weekends or, if you can, during the day on weekdays. Have a backup hike in mind when you visit. Mosier Plateau is an awesome wildflower hike with tons of public parking. Rowena Plateau, Tom McCall Point, and the Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail are also great alternatives within a few miles of Memaloose Hills.
Late April and early May are usually the best times to see the wildflowers at their peak.
Leashed dogs are welcome on the Memaloose Hills Trail.
There are no restrooms or other amenities at the trailhead.
This hike is unofficial. It’s on public land, but the trail gets close to private property. Stay on the trail to avoid trespassing.
Watch for poison oak and rattlesnakes.
Don’t pick or step on the wildflowers. Don’t spread a picnic blanket over the flowers and then sit on it with 12 of your friends like one group I saw. Please don’t crush the flowers for a photo shoot. I see people taking the blooms for granted every time I do a wildflower hike and it’s frustrating. They’re more fragile than they look.

Lupines and balsamroot bloom on hillside — *Wildflowers at Memaloose Hills*

On the Memaloose Hills Trail

Distance: 3-mile lollipop loop

Elevation gain: 600 feet

Difficulty: Easy/moderate

Pass required: None

Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.

ADA access: No

Season: All year. Visit in April or May for wildflowers.

Memaloose Overlook sign — *Park by this sign*

The details

Once you’ve done the hard part (finding parking), head down to the Memaloose Overlook to admire the Columbia River views. Then, cross the road to start the hike. Look for the unmarked trail directly across from the overlook.

Dirt trail through the grass with some small trees — *Start here*

The Memaloose Hills Trail starts flat and easy, winding through a grassy oak and ponderosa pine forest. The wildflowers are sparse at first but get more plentiful as you go.

Lupines next to dirt hiking trail — *Lupines bloom along the trail in spring*

Early bloomers like prairie stars and desert parsley open first. During peak season, you’ll see balsamroot, lupines, and larkspur just about anywhere you look. Bees flit obsessively between the blooms and show no interest in human visitors.

Bee on yellow flower — *Bee visits balsamroot*

The wildflowers along the Memaloose Hills Trail look too showy and abundant to be natural. Even in the shadier areas of the forest, they’re a carpet. Balsamroot and lupines steal the show. Looking closer, you’ll see many others like coastal manroot, larkspur, fiddleneck, prairie stars, buttercups, ballhead waterleaf, and desert parsley.

Many wildflowers growing in the grass — *Lupines, balsamroot, and buttercup along the trail*

After about a mile, you’ll reach a fork in the trail. If you’re doing the loop hike, take a right towards Chatfield Hill. For a shorter and easier version, go left toward Marsh Hill. If you go to Marsh Hill as an out-and-back hike, it avoids the steep climb up Chatfield Hill and most of the elevation gain. If you don’t mind some hill climbing, do the loop. Chatfield Hill is stunning.

Trail junction — *Go right towards Chatfield Hill*

We’ll go right to do the loop. The broken sign pointing toward Chatfield Hill helps with the directions.

Broken sign on tree points toward Chatfield Hill — *Follow this sign*

The trail stays nice and flat for about five steps, then begins to climb steeply.

Balsamroot blooms along Memaloose Hills Trail in shady forest

I described the Memaloose Hills hike as moderate intensity, but it would be more accurate to say that it’s an easy hike with a difficult quarter mile. The climb up Chatfield Hill isn’t long but it’s very steep. The wildflowers are a welcome distraction during panting breaks. Once you leave the tree cover, you’re almost there.

Steep climb to top of hill with wildflowers growing — *Almost done*

The top of Chatfield Hill will make you forget your burning thighs. Wildflower-covered slopes surround you in every direction. Looking west, the Columbia River makes a lazy bend through the Gorge behind fields of balsamroot and lupines. Bright red paintbrush blooms also enter the mix.

Columbia Gorge behind field of wildflowers — *View from Chatfield Hill*

To the north, you’ll see the columnar basalt cliffs of Washington along the Columbia River.

Hill covered with wildflowers has Columbia Gorge views

Chatfield Hill is the best picnic on the Memaloose Hills Trail. It has a bare patch where you can sit without crushing flowers or blocking the trail. The views are unbeatable, stretching out in a 360-degree panorama.

Wildflowers cover hill in front of farmland and Cascade Mountains — *Chatfield Hill*

On a clear day (or in my case, mostly clear), look south to see Mount Hood’s summit.

Mount Hood summit partially covered by clouds — *Mt Hood*

A fence marks the border with private land. Through it, you can see more fields of blooms and Columbia Gorge views. When you’re ready to move on, follow the trail next to the fence down the hill.

The southern slope of Chatfield Hill is solid wildflowers. Beyond it are farms, vineyards, the Cascade foothills, and Mount Hood’s summit.

Hill with wildflowers and Mount Hood in the background

As you head down the hill, the Memaloose Hills Trail makes a turn toward the east.

The wildflowers thin at the bottom of the hill. The trail continues next to a field where cows graze. It passes a small wetland where you’ll hear frogs croaking. When you reach a junction with a sign asking hikers to stay out of sensitive habitat, keep right to head away from it.

Signpost at trail junction in grassy field — *Keep right here*

In about a quarter mile, you’ll reach an unmarked trail junction. Keep left to start climbing Marsh Hill, the second incredible destination on the Memaloose Hills Trail. After a short climb, the wildflowers return in force. Mount Hood looms in the distance behind the fields of balsamroot and lupines.

Snow-capped mountain behind field of yellow flowers — *Look for Mount Hood beyond the flower fields on a clear day*

Marsh Hill is a place to see the world blanketed in flowers. Every other hiker I passed was saying something about how it looked too idyllic to be real. A few people were doing professional photo shoots. Everyone else was doing informal ones (but please not on the flowers like some of them!)

Lupines and balsamroot on hillside — *Marsh Hill*

Follow the trail across Marsh Hill and head down the other side. At the bottom, you’ll reenter the forest. You’re nearing the end of the loop.

Clump of balsamroot in front of forest and hills — *The trail returns to the forest after Marsh Hill*

You’ll pass an unmarked trail junction. Keep right. Cross over a lil’ stream on the plank bridge. Just ahead, you’ll be back to the junction with the Chatfield Hill trail. Keep right to return to the parking lot.

Memaloose Overlook

I glossed over the Memaloose Overlook at the beginning to get to the hike, but it’s worth a deeper dive. This viewpoint overlooks the Columbia River, Memaloose Island, and Washington’s cliffs. When massive glacial floods tore through the Columbia Gorge around 15,000 years ago, they exposed the vertical columns of basalt that make the cliffs so distinctive.

Columbia Gorge from Memaloose Overlook — *Memaloose Overlook*

The informational sign at the Memaloose Overlook is gone now but told a sad story. Memaloose Island was once a place where local tribes brought their dead (Memaloose comes from the Chinook word memalust, meaning to die). A white settler named Victor Trevitt had a good relationship with the Native Americans and, at his request, was buried with their dead on the island. When the Bonneville Dam was built, water levels rose in the Columbia River. All the human remains on Memaloose Island were moved to another resting place except Trevitt’s. His headstone is the single grave marker on the island, a monument to loneliness.

Memaloose Island in Columbia River with gravestone — *Memaloose Island*

Getting there

The Memaloose Overlook and Trailhead aren’t searchable in Google Maps. You can search for the GPS coordinates: 45°41'37.8"N 121°21'02.4"W or just drive down Highway 30 until you see the sign. From Portland or Hood River, take I-84 until Exit 69 toward Mosier. Turn right onto Highway 30 and continue for about 3 miles until you see the Memaloose Overlook on your left. The drive from Portland is about 70 minutes.

Don’t navigate to the Memaloose Rest Area or Memaloose State Park. They will take you to the wrong place.

Enjoy your hike at Memaloose Hills!

With love,

Emma

Explore nearby

Balsamroot along hiking trail near Columbia River — When you can’t park at Memaloose Hills, check out the **Mosier Plateau Trail**. It’s a legit great wildflower hike, not just a consolation.

Lupines in front of Columbia River — Check out the **best wildflower hikes in the Columbia Gorge**.

Hiking trail through field of wildflowers — Find the **best wildflower hikes in Portland**.