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TRIP 4 Horseshoe Ridge Loop

Distance		10.4 miles, Loop
Elevation Gain		2700 feet
Hiking Time		6 to 7 hours
Optional Map		Green Trails Lookout Mountain
Usually Open		April to early November
Best Times		May and June
Trail Use		Dogs OK, horseback riding
Agency		Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Difficulty		Difficult
Note		Good in cloudy weather

HIGHLIGHTS Exercise is the principal attraction of this hike. The infrequent views are generally limited to ridges covered with clear-cuts. So this is a good hike to tackle in gloomy weather, as you won’t feel like you missed anything. The relatively low elevation ensures that this trail opens earlier in the season than most others in the Cascades.

DIRECTIONS Begin by driving to Battleground, either by going north on State Highway 503 from Interstate 205, or by going east on State Highway 502 from Exit 9 off Interstate 5. From the intersection of the two state highways in the middle of Battleground, drive north on Highway 503 for 16.8 miles, and turn right on N.E. Healy Road just after you pass the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument headquarters.

After 9.2 miles on N.E. Healey Road, bear left at a poorly signed junction and travel on single-lane, paved Forest Road 57. Drive another 1.3 miles, and then turn sharply left on often unsigned Forest Road 5701. Follow this rough, paved road for 3.7 miles to its end at a trailhead parking lot.

The trail departs from the north side of the lot and drops 50 feet to an intersection with the Siouxon Creek Trail. You turn right here, drop to a bridged crossing of West Creek, and then continue another 0.8 mile through lovely creekside forests to a signed junction with the Horseshoe Ridge Trail.

You turn right here and climb away from the creek on a grade that starts off fairly steep but soon becomes very steep. More than 20 switchbacks of varying length help to lessen the grade slightly, but at other times the trail simply goes directly up the extremely steep slopes. The trail is also quite narrow, so watch your step. After about 1.5 miles you reach a minor ridge crest, after which things get a lot easier.

The trail turns left to follow the ridge, sometimes climbing in steep sections and sometimes going along at a welcome level grade. Most of the trees are either western hemlock or Douglas fir, while salal, beargrass, and Oregon grape cover the ground. You pass a small rocky overlook with a decent view to the west and then travel on or near the narrow crest of woodsy Horseshoe Ridge.

The gentle path along this ridge does some short ups and downs to avoid rock outcrops but mostly stays level. Along the way you leave the forest three times and go through small, sloping meadows with lots of ground-hugging juniper bushes and a few scattered wildflowers.

After a long, very gradual climb you eventually make a couple of small switchbacks just before the ridge widens and the trail curves to the left. From here the path gradually loses about 200 feet and comes to the end of a dirt road where there is a small hunter’s camp. Pick up the trail on the opposite side of the camp and follow it over a low rise and then down a short distance to a second isolated gravel road.

To resume the trail, turn left on the road and 25 yards later bear right onto a signed foot trail. Staying on the east side of the ridgeline, this generally level route goes along a viewless ridge with lots of beargrass. After about 1 mile you begin to descend very steeply for 0.6 mile. Once you reach the first of four long switchbacks, the trail is much better graded and remains so all the way down the densely forested slopes to an unsigned junction with Siouxon Creek Trail.

To return to your car, turn left and walk this easy and very scenic route for 2.1 miles, as it passes Siouxon and Horseshoe Creek falls back to the lower junction with the Horseshoe Ridge Trail.