Mc Neil Point

Mt Hood National Forest – Parkdale, Oregon

WOW … This Trail that has it ALL

Recently, I took the advice of #GypsyBoots a full time truck camper couple and hiked the McNeil Point Trail. This is an amazing hike within the Mt Hood National forest. The hike has everything, from flowers to waterfalls, meadows to lakes, historic shelters, mud, cliffs, awesome views and even deep snow in June!

The trail starts at a small parking area located on NF 118 and the Top Spur Trailhead. This is a very popular trail and when I arrived the parking area was completely full. Luckily there are areas along the forest service road to park with a short walk to the starting point. At the trailhead there is a sign indicating what trails are available and mileage. There is also a restroom to take care of any needs before hitting the trail.

The McNeil Point trail is not listed on the trailhead sign as the trail does not become its own trail until about 3 miles up the Timberline Trail. Don’t let that confuse you.

From the trailhead the trail enters a land of massive trees and immediately starts to climb. This is a great section to hear birds, spot flowers and just enjoy the greenery.

After a half mile the trail intersects the Timberline Trail. The Timberline trail is a 41.5 mile loop trail that circles Mt Hood and is a popular backpacking trail. The entire loop can be completed in 4 days depending on your pace and hiking strength. If it was me I would just lose track of time and not rush. Most of the hike to McNeil Point shares this trail and from what I saw it would be an awesome adventure!

Once reaching the Timberline Trail turn right and soon you will see a large board with a map of the Mt. Hood National Forest. The sign indicates the various trails in this section and there is box to complete the free self registered permit if camping overnight. From this point the Timberline Trail splits forming a loop around Bald Mountain. I took the left trail as it was the more direct to my end goal but either will work.

The trail from here skirts the side of the mountain and is laced with Avalanche Lilies. I am not overly familiar with this flower but it must have been at the height of its bloom as they littered the forest floor.

The trail continues to make a steady climb through the Lillies and then suddenly opens up into a large meadow boasting the grandest view of Mt. Hood that I had seen. After spending 2 weeks in the area I had seen Hood many times but this view took the cake.

I think it was the closeness of the mountain that made it stand out from other views. It just did not seem real and more like a postcard so I stopped, sat down and gazed at this magnificent mountain and the valley below.

The meadow was full of colorful wildflowers and on the far side of the valley a huge waterfall dropped from the side of the mountain.

The next section is where things became interesting. I spoke with a few hikers returning to the trailhead and they informed me to expect snow after the meadow. Obviously Mt. Hood was covered in snow but I assumed I would not reach that elevation and at best I only see remnants of snow along the shady slopes. Well that theory was quickly dispelled.

At first the trail was only intermittently covered but after traversing several large snow drifts and crossing McGee Creek (with a nice cascade) the snow got serious.

The snow in this section completely filled the valley and covered the trail. I was now at the mercy of the footprints left by earlier hikers.

It sounds easy… just follow the foot prints, right? But after awhile I realized these footprints were not leading to where I wanted to go, instead they were leading me away from my goal. Could the trail be teaching or reminding me of a life lesson?

Although off trail I never considered myself lost so after a brief re-navigation I realized the trail was to my left at the top of a steep hillside. Once identifying how to get back on trail I bushwhacked up the hill and was back on trail.

Once on trail again I could see the next daunting task, a huge glacier. In the distance I could see three hikers crossing this large and steep snow embankment. This created a little extra anxiety turning an already fun hike into a great hike. If you look close you can see where a hiker apparently took a short cut to the bottom, this is a shortcut I wanted to avoid.

When I reached the edge of the rock field my apprehension grew. The three hikers ahead of me were young college age men with a no fear attitude. I on the other hand am older and thereby “wiser.” In other words a scaredy-cat.

In the end there was nothing stopping me so with a step of faith I stepped onto the snow and crossed as if I was on a Himalayan expedition. In the end, the glacier ended up being an easy traverse with no slips or shortcuts taken.

Once on the other side the trail reappear in the mud and within a few 100 feet I had summited the greater Mc Neil Point plateau. The actual McNeil Point is marked by an old stone shelter located right on the point of this plateau .

At the shelter I had an awesome up-close of Mt Hood as well as a sweeping view of the valleys below. I could even see the big meadow where I stopped earlier to gaze at Mt. Hood and was amazed at how far I had traveled.

The alltrails app showed that this hike could be done as a loop. However as I made my way up the mountain I didn’t see any trails that connected the loop. Once on top however I could see the second half of the loop as it literally stepped off the side of the mountain at the shelter. The advantage of this route was that it cut off a significant amount of miles. The downside was that it was nearly vertical. After giving it some thought I opted for the perilous steep trail, of course!!

This section of the trail was not well defined so it was a slow process of picking my way down the rocks. It wasn’t long though before I rejoined the Timberline Trail just a short distance from the large meadow. I believe that in July or August this path would be visible but today it was covered in snow and it appeared that I was the first to attempt it. You Go Bill!!

The remainder of the hike was a gradual downhill as I retraced my steps. However, whether going up or down it was beautiful and I found myself stopping and taking even more pictures. Eventually I reached the trailhead and crawled into the Jeep.

While driving back to the RV, I stumbled on a great view of Mt. Hood. From this point in the road I could see McNeil point and where I had been. It looked so small compared to Mt Hood.

The Mc Neil Point hike is hands down my favorite hike in the Mount Hood National Forest. That is not easy to say after hiking Ramona Falls but McNeil Point offered so much diversity, big views, unique features, waterfalls, alpine lakes, flowers, a shelter and so much more.

My advice is don’t miss losing track of time hiking this trail or the many side trails along the way.

~slow-LEE hiking