Umbrella Falls and Mt. Hood Meadows

Saturday, July 10, 2021

We had heard reports of good beargrass displays at Mt. Hood Meadows so that’s we headed today. We started off on the Elk Meadows Trail then turned onto the Umbrella Falls Trail. There was some blowdown to deal with:

Umbrella Falls Hike

We had a view looking south along one stretch:

Umbrella Falls Hike

We started passing through wildflowers:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Then we started seeing some nice beargrass:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

This little footbridge needs some help:

Umbrella Falls Hike

After 2.25 miles we reached lovely Umbrella Falls where we took a break:

Umbrella Falls Hike

After our break we continued on, crossing the creek:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Nice patch of valerian:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

We crossed the road to the ski resort and picked up the trail on the other side:

Umbrella Falls Hike

After half a mile we took a side trail to the right heading to the Mt. Hood Meadows lodge:

Umbrella Falls Hike

We wound our way through the ski complex:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Saw a nice patch of Western Pasque flower:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Mt. Hood Meadows recently constructed a network of hiking trails. So after stopping for a bathroom break at the lodge, we hiked to the bottom of the blue ski lift and turned onto the new Beargrass Trail:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Looking back:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Looking down on the lodge:

Umbrella Falls Hike

The trail lived up to its name and we saw a lot of beargrass:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

View of Mt. Jefferson:

Umbrella Falls Hike

We took the spur trail out to Picnic Rock and took a break here. A resort employee hiked by and said that another employee had spotted a mama bear and her cub near here the day before, so we should be on the lookout. We didn’t see any bears, though:

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

Umbrella Falls Hike

We looped back to the Umbrella Falls Trail and returned to the car. It was a hot day. Considering there were dozens of cars at the trailhead, we didn’t see many people, which is always a win!

Gaia stats: 7.2 miles, 1,300′ elevation gain