The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, located east of the city of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and the northern

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

valley. The Forest extends south from the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

across more than of

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes of Mount Jefferson. The Forest includes and is named after Mount Hood, a stratovolcano and the highest mountain in the state. The Forest encompasses some . Forest headquarters are located in

Sandy, Oregon Sandy is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, settled 1853 and named after the nearby Sandy River. Located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, the city serves as the western gateway to the Mount Hood Corridor, ...

A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

in the Forest was . The Forest is divided into four separate districts – Barlow (with offices in Dufur), Clackamas River ( Estacada), Hood River ( Mount Hood-Parkdale), and Zigzag (

Zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as ...

). In descending order of land area, Mount Hood National Forest is located in parts of Clackamas, Hood River,

Wasco Wasco is the name of four places in the United States: Places United States * Wasco, California, a city in California ** Wasco State Prison, located in Wasco, California * Wasco, Illinois, a former hamlet (unincorporated town) in Illinois, now pa ...

, Multnomah,

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

, and Jefferson counties.

History

Mount Hood National Forest was first established as the Bull Run Forest Reserve in 1892. It was expanded in 1893. It was merged with part of Cascade National Forest on July 1, 1908, and named Oregon National Forest with . It extended from the Columbia River to the South Fork of the

Santiam River The Santiam River is a tributary of the Willamette River, about long, in western Oregon in the United States. Through its two principal tributaries, the North Santiam and the South Santiam rivers, it drains a large area of the Cascade Range a ...

until 1911 when the Santiam National Forest was proclaimed and the southern border of the Oregon National Forest was moved north to the divide between the

and

Clackamas River The Clackamas River is an approximately tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about , the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, a ...

. The name was changed again to Mount Hood National Forest in 1924. In 1940 it was under consideration to become Mount Hood National Park, but this proposal did not materialize. A modern campaign opposed to logging in the national forest revived the push for national park status along with the

. The 1952 film ''

Bend of the River ''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, and Rock Hudson. Based on the 1950 novel ''Bend of the Snake'' by Bill Gulick, the film is about a tough cow ...

'' was partly shot in Mount Hood National Forest. In 2010, Mount Hood National Forest was honored with its own quarter under the America the Beautiful Quarters program.

Recreation

The Mount Hood National Forest is one of the most-visited National Forests in the United States, with over four million visitors annually. Less than five percent of the visitors camp in the forest. The forest contains 170 developed recreation sites, including: *

Timberline Lodge Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...

, built in 1937 high on Mount Hood * Lost Lake *

Burnt Lake Burnt Lake is a lake in the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon, United States. It is in the Sandy River (Oregon), Sandy River watershed. See also * List of lakes in Oregon References

Lakes of Oregon Lakes of Clackamas County, Oregon ...

* Trillium Lake *

Timothy Lake Timothy Lake is a lake about southeast of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is in proximity to Clear Lake and an impoundment of the Oak Grove Fork Clackamas River. The compacted-earth Timothy Lake Dam was built by Portland General Electric ...

Rock Creek Reservoir Rock Creek reservoir, also known as Scott King reservoir, is north of the city of Ardmore, Carter County, Oklahoma in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or Ame ...

* The Old

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

, including

Barlow Road The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...

Other common recreational activities in the Mount Hood National Forest include

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, boating,

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

, mountain biking, berry-picking, and

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

collecting. A portion of the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

passes through the National Forest on the flanks of the mountain. Mount Hood is a popular destination for mountain climbers. Several nonprofits lead free hikes into the National Forest to build support for further protection from logging and

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with de ...

use, including BARK and Oregon Wild. Mount Hood National Recreation Area was established within Mount Hood National Forest on March 30, 2009. The recreation area comprises three separate units.

Wilderness

Mount Hood (Oregon) (photograph by Theo, 2006)

There are eight officially designated

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s within Mount Hood National Forest collectively adding up to 311,448 acres that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Acreages are as of 2011. * Badger Creek Wilderness at * Bull of the Woods Wilderness at * Clackamas Wilderness at *

Lower White River Wilderness Lower White River Wilderness is a protected wilderness in the US State of Oregon on the southern part of Mount Hood. In 2009, Congress designated the area a National Wilderness preserve. The White River rises from White River Glacier in White ...

at not counting on BLM land *

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness The Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness is a wilderness area located on the northern side of Mount Hood in the northwestern Cascade Range, Cascades of the U.S. state of Oregon, near the Columbia River Gorge and within Mount Hood National Forest. Prior to ...

at *

Mount Hood Wilderness The Mount Hood Wilderness is a protected wilderness area inside the Mount Hood National Forest, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The area, covering , includes the peak of Mount Hood and its upper slopes, and ranges from temperate rain forests at the ...

at includes the peak and upper slopes of Mount Hood *

Roaring River Wilderness Roaring River Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Mount Hood National Forest in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. Southwest of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain, the area was created in 2009. The wilderness area is named after the ...

at * Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness at The Olallie Scenic Area is a lightly roaded lake basin that also offers a primitive recreational experience.

References

External links

Mount Hood National Forest
- US Forest Service
Mount Hood National Forest
- Wildernet.com

- GORP
Mount Hood National Park Campaign
- MHNPC {{Authority control National Forests of Oregon Columbia River Gorge Mount Hood Protected areas of Clackamas County, Oregon Protected areas of Hood River County, Oregon Protected areas of Wasco County, Oregon Protected areas of Multnomah County, Oregon Protected areas of Marion County, Oregon Protected areas of Jefferson County, Oregon 1908 establishments in Oregon