Old Salmon River Trail

This is an awesome trail along a river in the mt. Hood forest with beautiful views, walking through the forest is so serene and peaceful here. Very popular trail amongst the locals!

This trail is 5 stars because it is a quintessential Oregon hike. It has huge old growth for and cedar trees along the side of a rushing mountain river. All the vegetation is covered in moss and most of the trail is a soft bed of pine needles. I went a few days after a wind storm that brought down a bunch of trees so there was definitely a lot of trail maintenance to be done. But I’m sure it will be done soon.

Beautiful old growth forest and great views of the river. Friendly hikers, too! :) I’ll post

This is an excellent hike that starts down along a roadside just south of Welches and ends deep in the Huckleberry Salmon Wilderness. The hike is split into three sections — Lower (Old) Salmon River, Central Salmon River, and Upper Salmon River. Take Hwy 26 to Salmon River Rd (at the Subway in Welches) and go south about 4 – 5 miles. For the Lower trail, park at the where you see a trailhead on the right. I haven’t hiked this section of the trail but you can see it from the road as it follows the river paralleling the road for about 2.6−2.9 miles. Then it crosses the road right before the bridge over the river. This is where you park for the Central and Upper Salmon river hikes.
The Central hike starts out at the bridge over the Salmon River and follows up the North side of the river on a gently rolling trail for about two miles. This section of the trail is easy, with bridges over the side streams, lots of old growth forest and lush green moss, plenty of poison oak (watch out for it) and a ton of great river access spots. This section is worth it for the old growth alone. So pretty. Half way in you enter the federal wilderness area and need to fill out a permit (May-​Oct). You can’t miss the sign. Soon after this spot there is a campsite just off the trail near the river. At two miles in you hit Rolling Riffle campsites, about two or three, for backpackers.
At this point the trail ascends about 700‑1000 feet over the course of one mile to a pretty epic viewpoint over the Salmon River Valley. The terrain is tall trees, with a few meadow viewpoints. From here you can keep going another mile or so to Goat Creek, which has another campground with enough space for a few sites. On the way you’ll have to cross a few creeks with no bridges. Be good at rock-​hopping or tree balancing, or you’ll get wet. Goat Creek is as far as I’ve gone, however the trail continues on up many more miles to Upper Salmon River, and eventually ends at another road (so if you have transport, you can through hike). The 5.5 miles or so to Goat Creek is a good moderate day hike for backpacking, with ample water sources and not too much elevation.
Along the way between the first meadow viewpoint and Goat Creek, there are a couple of cut-​downs from the trail to other view points. The bluffs have pretty sketchy spots. Be careful.
Our stay at Goat Creek was great. Early spring brought a lot of solitude (only saw one hiker on the way in), but not so great weather. A lot of rain turning to a surprise inch+ of snow. Even in mid-​April. Come prepared for wetness. No viable firewood (shouldn’t really be having big fires in wilderness anyway). Didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. The roar of the creek provides a great source of white noise to help compensate for the air traffic coming across overhead (which I didn’t expect). That aside, I can’t say anything bad about this spot. Seclusion, fresh cold water, ample camp space (I hear it gets crowded in summer), moderate hike in, great views, old growth… just what I want from a PacNW camping trip.

Im an avid oregon hiker and this is by far my favorite hike so far. It’s easy enough that you can focus on scenery and not how out of shape you are. It’s the perfect length. It showcases some of the most beautiful forest in Oregon, it’s like walking through a scene in the Lord of the Rings, the audible river you hike beside provides a wonderful sound, and it’s usually not too crowded. It’s also conveniently located close to a few great Zigzag spots to grab a drink and some food after your hike. I recommend Wrapitude, Skyway BBQ, and the Zigzag Inn if you seek breakfast food.