Mount Lowe is the site of a former fire lookout with great views of the Oregon Cascades. It sits on the northern end of the Rhododendron (Rho) Ridge Trail #564. This trail is part of the old Skyline Trail, Oregon's precursor to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Hike Name
Mount Lowe Hike
County & State
Clackamas County, Oregon
Forest
Mt. Hood National Forest
Family Friendliness
Definitely a good jaunt for little ones as long as you stick to the Mount Lowe Hike or the beginnings of the Rho Ridge Traverse Hike.
Hike Difficulty
Easy
Elevation Gain
665 feet
Distance
3.0 miles
Route Type
Out and Back
Access to Trailhead(s)
Follow Hwy 224 south from Estacada for 43 miles to the 4670 forest road. After 8 miles, you can go for the longer hike by taking a right on the 6310 forest road and going one more mile to a saddle in the ridge and park on the right in a pullout. A jeep road is immediately behind and the trailhead is 0.1 miles up that direction.    
Another option (much shorter hike):
Instead of turning right on 6310, keep going on 4670 and cut right on a hairpin turn as you travel below Mount Lowe. This road continues up and provides a little parking area that is a very quick jaunt from a sign indicating Rho Ridge Trail #564 and is only about .25 miles from the top of Mount Lowe. 

3 miles north of Estacada and about 18 miles east of Clackamas, Eagle Fern Park is the largest park in Clackamas County and a fabulous place to take in a quick hike and let the kids hit the playground. The red cedars, old growth Douglas fir, and sounds of Eagle Creek provide excellent companionship. 

Departing from the north side of the parking lot, you are immediately greeted with a pretty awesome suspension bridge crossing the beautiful waters of Eagle Creek. Onward, a really smooth nature trail commences through interpretive signs and provided an excellent opportunity to teach the Trail Kids about the nearby creek and the makeup of the old-growth forest. 

Western hemlock, red alder, and Douglas fir above. Salmonberry, sword fern, oxalis, and trillium spread underneath. The moss was everywhere.

Past the nature trail, the way narrows and starts going up. There was a bit of blowdown still along the top of the loop, and a few garter snakes sunning themselves where it was open.

With the exception of the areas directly alongside (or over) Eagle Creek, it was a relatively safe trek for my five-year-old. As long as I didn't trip, Trail Daughter was safe and cozy in her carrier.

Fallen logs, rock overhangs, and picnic spots are abound throughout the short loop. When we had spent our share of time out there, it was time to cross the bridge and return to the park itself. A playground and more learning exhibits await, making for a perfect tandem with the short hike we just completed.

We lucked out with the time of the year, as it was empty during our weekend visit. I hear that's usually not the case, and it is so understandable why. This is an awesome place for hiking with little ones. 

This beautiful Oregon State Park is a bit on the young side, officially opened in July, 2007. Whether your thing is hiking, biking, horses, relaxing, or disc golf, this 1,500+ acre park has got you covered.

Today was all about National Trails Day at Stub Stewart State Park. The boy and I began the morning bright and early making our way to the park, and upon arrival, eating our breakfast and signing in for a joint trail maintenance venture between Oregon State Parks and REI. We even received some slick volunteer t-shirts with the phrase "Get Dirty" plastered across the front. 

After logging many, many miles upon the state's trails over the past couple of years, the timing felt right to show the lad what was behind the magic of every inch of trail we step upon. A refresher for myself was not a bad thing either!

I couldn't have been more thrilled with how things turned out. Our amazing hosts, Rangers Steve and Brandon, were phenomenal and instrumental in getting the most knowledge parlayed into our little group in a short amount of time, including personal and group safety, the lingo behind cutting trails, a breakdown of tools for the job, and the ecology of the park. 

When it was time to throw on the gloves and start maintaining some of the trails around Matchcutter's Lane, we stood at a crossroads around our instrument of choice: Loppers, a Pulaski, a hoe, a McLeod, or a mattock? Considering the boy is still the tender age of four, we went with the responsible choice of a hoe. I think neighboring volunteers breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing our choice.

Ranger Steve provided really solid lessons around drainage concerns, troubles with switchback cutters, the beauty of Oregon soil, forty-five degree backslopes, how to broadcast our organic materials, and more safety tips throughout the exercise. I will never forget the multiple times when the Ranger stomped his foot on the soil for effect, and the lad followed suit and did the same.

After having lots of experiences running into park rangers on the trails or at lookouts, this time it was definitely having an impact on the little guy. Age? Rapport? Definitely both.

The lad was able to experience a little bit of hard work, but mostly got to enjoy the immediate fruits of the labor: bugs and burrows. In the cutest manner, he would ask Range Steve a question each time he came across something new, be it a termite, an ant, or a vole burrow. 

While we weren't on that stretch for the longest time, the unspoken camaraderie between volunteers was excellent. Everyone filled in where needed, patching missed points or grooming forgotten pieces of the trail. Soon enough, we ventured down the way and past the intersection of Barberchair Trail. This stretch of trail had some good stumps therein, and we set to work maintaining the areas around the stumps. Naturally, our gear wasn't going to be doing any of the heavy work needed to deal with those bad boys.

Ranger Brandon gave us some insights into how that work would be done, and told us about some of his experiences working on the Banks-Vernonia Trail. I can't wait to do that whole trail, and you can bet I'll be thanking that man throughout it.

When the time for the activity wrapped up, we hiked back up to the hilltop day-use area and returned our tools (one-at-a-time of course). Pictures were taken and everyone went their own way, preparing for the forthcoming National Trails Day festivities.

The boy and I grabbed some bites to eat, and made our way through the nearby trails. It is a gorgeous park, and the trails were a blast to traverse, namely because of the varying ages of the surrounding Douglas firs. Some stretches are just a couple of decades old, while others have a little more age amongst them. 

The lupine, in multiple colors, was in full force among the grassy areas, which was a tranquil escape. We passed family after family, which really speaks to the appeal of this area for the little ones.

In a pleasant turn of events, we actually found ourselves returning along the same route that included the areas we had just helped work on. The little guy beamed with some pride when I showed him each area. Score.

When we finally got back to the picnic area, the festivities were in full effect. The lad cashed in on shwag, namely a carabiner (REI) that now lives on his hiking pack, a water bottle (Equestrian Society), and countless stickers. While he got to observe solar flares courtesy of an OMSI booth, I was able to sink my teeth into some amazing GIS work provided by the Upper and Lower Nehalem Watershed Councils. The blast of activities was rounded out by some disc golf, pelt petting courtesy of Rails to Trails, spore prints by the Oregon Mycological Society, and free sandwiches.

While I was pumped up and ready to continue exploring the park, the poor kiddo had definitely done his share for the day and was ready to head home. As I heavily reflected on the previous week's venture to Marys Peak, it was pretty easy to pack up and plan our return to Stub Stewart for another day.

While we did not get the chance to hit some wild and difficult trails in celebration of National Trails Day, I wouldn't have traded the day at all. It was the lad's first experience with true stewardship in an organized fashion, and the fun he had with the educational outreach programs was top-notch.

I want to thank every single person and organization involved with making our day so amazing. Happy National Trails Day, today and every day hereafter.

Marys Peak is the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range, and is listed as 11th in the state in terms of prominence (vertical distance between summit and  lowest contour). The Peak is historically referenced as a sacred location for the Kalapuya Tribe, where spirit quests were conducted.

While I always thought of it as "Mary's Peak," the correct spelling is indeed "Marys Peak." The reason for this is that the United States Board on Geographic Names stopped using possessive apostrophes in place names back in 1890 in order to not show ownership of geographic features. This is not without debate, as referenced in a recent Wall Street Journal article.

Sometimes you have to bend when you know the odds. Sometimes when the odds are against you, you have to bend. Both scenarios came about today, and I took home some pretty good parenting lessons. I've been planning a big hike up to Marys Peak in the Siuslaw National Forest for nearly a week now. The lad and I were going to trek from Conner's Camp and get to the summit via the East Ridge Trail, Tie Trail, Meadow Edge Trail, and the Summit Trail. Then the weather forecasts started going nuts for the past couple of days. Looks sunny on Sunday according to weather.com, but wunderground.com paints a bleak, wet picture. By the time Saturday night hit, all sources were reporting the latter.

Waking up this morning, I didn't think we'd be going anywhere; It's pretty amazing what small patches of blue in the Oregon skyline does to rational judgement. Gear was hastily packed and I rushed to the store for goodies to feast upon. Getting back home, it was a rush to get boots on and hit the door.

And then something happened that struck me wickedly hard, but in the best of ways; For one of the first times ever, the boy did not complain once about leaving. He was more excited than I was! No whining? To be fair, his usual gripes disappear the second we're in the car. That noted, the absence of whining was just leaving me dizzy and confused. Shaking it off, we hit the road southward for Marys Peak.

Rain and sunshine kept swapping scenes during the drive, giving me hope we would have at least some views at the summit and relative dryness under the canopy when we hit the trail. When we got closer to Corvallis (itself wonderfully dry and sunny), I abandoned all hope when I saw our destination shrouded in dark clouds, a fog mound without the mound. I knew we were playing against the house, but it looked like the weatherman was showing a Queen and we had 16. 

I looked back at the contented boy in the car seat behind me, and then saw myself in the rear-view mirror debating whether or not we should keep driving. The boy doesn't complain at all and is super excited to go hiking, but I'm taking him directly into a den of rain and cold. That has never worked out well, and I'm amazed that our coldest and wettest hike through Salmon Creek didn't extinguish any and all desires of his to be outdoors. Do we stick with the original plan? Shave off a leg or three of the hike? Grab a hot cocoa and call it a day? Maybe it will all disappear once we get up there? Of course, storm winds capable of magically arriving and doing that trick would be a blast to hang out in.

I stopped with the inner dialogue and brought the lad into the fold. I think I'm still getting used to the fact that he is as sharp as he is, and that ownership in these decisions is important for him as well. He wanted to continue, so ahead we went. Driving up the turnoff from the highway toward the Coast, we made our ascent up Marys Peak and into the clouds. All of my plans of starting down the mountain dwindled and we drove up to the campground so that we could hit the Meadow Edge Trail. Upon getting out of the car to go pay our five bucks for the day-use fee, the boy's demeanor went south quickly. Even bundled up, the saturation of mist and bone-chilling wind were too much for him.

He was so excited an hour ago...

It was executive decision time. Make him rough-it, or acquiesce? I put him back in the car and we drove up to the viewpoint. We got out, paid our fee, and the excitement of seeing some snow on the ground overcame anything else that was bringing him down. Some quick snowballs later, we were on our way up to the top.

WIth avalanche lilies, Indian paintbrush, field chickweed, and penstemon popping up along the hike, we had a great time pointing out the different colors. It was a welcome distraction from the cold wind that came and went. Moving up the short hike and passing the other trails we were destined to take before the climate intervened, I had a chance to embrace that he was having a good time despite the weather. Had I pushed him, I can say that this would not have been the case. Score one for parenting.

After passing a couple of folks on their way down, we finally made it to the infamous rock garden near the summit, a lithosolic (weathered rock fragments on steep slopes) community that is on the south-southwestern side of the top. The explosion of flowers in this barren little area is jaw-dropping, especially considering that the area is surrounded by snow above and below.

A few hundred yards later, we were at the summit of the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range. While awesome, our visibility was limited to about 200 feet. Furthermore, the summit offered no protections against the wind. While we could have just turned around, the boy channeled up some desire and asked to go further, especially when he saw a huge patch of snow. We cruised down from the summit and slid around in the snow for a spell. It was a blast, and when he said he was ready to go, I was kind of thrilled because my nippy hands and ears were telling me the same.

A quick jaunt down the trail, and we were back through the meadows and at the observation area parking lot. Before going all the way back to the car, a quick turn was taken and we arrived at a plaque memorializing the Benton County veterans of World War II who never made it home. That was a perfect opportunity to tie in the importance of Memorial Day with my son, and I'm thankful it turned out just as it did.

Back in the car with the heater on, I had a very happy little hiker on my hands. Despite every desire I had to push forward with bigger and better hikes on a day full of rotten weather, I am fully behind the decisions to include him on the eventuality of our plans and to fold things up the way we did. Marys Peak will be there next week, or next month, or next year, and I want a happy lad to enjoy it as much as possible given any conditions. 

Today was the perfect balance achieved by a little bending from both of us, and not an ounce of real complaining.

I think I beat the house this time.

Marys Peak Scenic Botanical Area (Oregon Plants, Oregon Places)
 - A great read! History, geology, and botany, oh my!

Portland Hikers Field Guide - Marys Peak Summit Hike

Wildflowers of Marys Peak Meadows, a Pocket Guide

Peakbagger.com - Marys Peak, Oregon