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TRIP 8 Cold Creek Trail to Larch Mountain

Distance		12.8 miles, Out-and-back
Elevation Gain		2400 feet
Hiking Time		6 to 7 hours
Optional Map		USGS Dole, Larch Mountain
Usually Open		May to early November
Best Time		Mid-May to June
Trail Use		Dogs OK, mountain biking, horseback riding
Agency		Yacolt State Forest
Difficulty		Difficult

HIGHLIGHTS Located a little to the southwest of Silver Star Mountain, Larch Mountain is lower in elevation, but it features many of the same attributes of its larger neighbor: open wildflower meadows, good views, and wildlife. There are two good trails to this high point, the more interesting of which is the long climb up the valley of scenic Cold Creek.

The trails here are used mostly by mountain bikers and equestrians, but why should they have all the fun? Hikers are also welcome, and it’s high time we came to see what everybody else has kept secret. As always, be sure to give horses the right of way by stepping off the trail on the downhill side to let them pass. Motor vehicles are prohibited from most of the recommended trails, although you will cross several motorcycle tracks. Many riders seem to view the official trail restrictions as merely optional and routinely ignore the rules, so you can expect the quiet of your wilderness experience to be rudely broken by the noise of motorbikes, especially on weekends.

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. The two state highways intersect in the middle of Battleground. From here drive north 5.7 miles on Highway 503. Turn right on N.E. Rock Creek Road, which soon becomes Lucia Falls Road. After 8.5 miles turn right on N.E. Sunset Falls Road. Go another 2.0 miles on this road, and then turn right again onto N.E. Dole Valley Road. Stay on this road for 5.2 miles to a junction and the end of pavement. Veer right on Road L 1000, following signs for the Larch Corrections Center, and drive exactly 0.8 mile before parking in a pull-out on the left. A large sign here gives trail mileages to various destinations.

The recently rerouted trail parallels Road L 1000 for about 100 yards through a logged area, turns left, and then enters a dense second-growth Douglas-fir forest. For the next 0.7 mile the trail works its way slowly uphill, before turning left and switchbacking down to reach Cold Creek.

The trail now goes upstream closely following the splashing creek. The forest floor is almost completely covered with bracken and sword fern, bleeding heart, oxalis, salmonberry, thimbleberry, and other common species in various shades of green. The “river music” of cascading water and the songs of birds, especially those of the ever-present American robin and winter wren, provide audio stimulation and enjoyment. The trail does lots of small ups and downs but gradually gains elevation. At about 1.9 miles you go straight across an unsigned junction where an unofficial mountain bike trail comes in from the left. Shortly thereafter, you cross Cold Creek on a plank bridge. A horse-hitching post and two wooden benches make this a good rest stop.

Continue hiking amid increasing numbers of lovely, droopy-limbed western hemlocks. You briefly pull away from the creek and switchback up a heavily forested hillside. After this you make bridged crossings of two branches of Cold Creek about 0.4 mile apart. At the second crossing are a decent campsite and an unsigned trail heading downstream. You go straight on the main trail and switchback uphill, gradually leaving behind the sounds of “river music.”

About 0.4 mile after the last creek crossing, you pass diagonally through a confusing and unsigned junction with a motorbike track and then switchback to the right on top of a wide, forested ridge. More climbing takes you up to and around a small rockslide and cliff where red paintbrush, purple penstemon, white beargrass, and yellow golden pea grow profusely.

After climbing a little more in forest, you come to a lovely open slope of shale rock with lots of June-blooming lupine, lomatium, and beargrass. There are also fine views here, especially northeast to bulky Silver Star Mountain and north to Mounts Rainier and St. Helens. Several roads and clear-cuts mar the scene somewhat, but it is still very attractive. A lone picnic table just below the trail is signed as the FLINTSTONE PICNIC AREA. It provides Fred and Wilma, or any other visitors, a first-rate lunch spot, although this exposed location is often windy.

Above the rocky slope you enter open, mid-elevation forests of Douglas fir and Pacific silver fir, with lots of star-flowered smilacina and bunchberry covering the ground. Go straight through an unsigned four-way junction and 100 yards later you will come to a signed fork in the trail. The path to the left goes down to Grouse Vista (see Trip 9), but your route turns right and climbs 0.2 mile to a junction with another motorcycle track.

The only sign here says HORSE TRAILS, and it points to the trail you came in on. To reach the top of Larch Mountain, bear left and walk uphill on the motorcycle track past a large beargrass meadow on your right and through nice forests to the rather disappointing summit. There is a nice view southwest to Vancouver and Portland, but most of the scene is despoiled by a clear-cut right at the top, as well as by a gravel road and microwave and cellular-phone towers—the modern plague of so many mountain tops. To enjoy your lunch where the views are better, go back to the meadows you passed near the junction below the summit.

Cold Creek Trail