Looking for a great post-Thanksgiving hike around(ish) Portland, OR

November 2, 2017 6:58 PM

Due to the fires a lot of my go-tos in the Gorge are closed. I'm okay with rainy hikes and driving up to a couple of hours, and am not too concerned with hike difficulty (easy is fine, tough is fine). It'll be late November -- what're some trails that have something unique to offer this time of year?
posted by curious nu to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

Best answer: At the risk of stating the obvious, Forest Park is amazing.
posted by aniola at 7:07 PM on November 2, 2017

Best answer: Silver falls outside Silverton is nice, and oft overlooked!
posted by furnace.heart at 7:19 PM on November 2, 2017 [3 favorites]

Falls Creek Falls, on the Washington side of the Gorge, is about an hour from PDX. It offers a pretty spectacular waterfall, as well as a nice and mellow approach along the creek through a variety of forest types, new- and old-growth. The lower out-and-back route (152A) is the easier and more scenic, but if you want more elevation gain you can do the upper trail loop that takes you higher up the falls.
posted by mumkin at 7:27 PM on November 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

We went to Hunchback Mountain near Mt. Hood recently. Had some great views of the area and of Mt. Hood and was pretty much deserted - I am not sure if anyone knows about it! Warning that it's a bit of a trudge - steep and unrelenting uphill!
posted by knownfossils at 9:18 PM on November 2, 2017

I came to suggest viewing eagles on the Klickitat or going to Conboy Lake, but Gorge Friends has you covered.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 9:45 PM on November 2, 2017

Best answer: Seconding Silver Falls State Park. It's one of my favorite places in the world and it never gets old.
Hiking the trail of ten falls will help you digest that turkey.
posted by sacchan at 1:52 AM on November 3, 2017

Response by poster: We did Forest Park and it was excellent. We'd actually already had plans to head to Silver Falls today, so thanks for that rec as well. =)
posted by curious nu at 10:14 AM on December 18, 2017