Tumala Mountain
A peak in Mount Hood National Forest with views of five mountains from it's summit.
Peak Name: Tumala Mountain (previously known as Squaw Mountain) Peak Coordinates: 45.230482, -122.041065
Peak Elevation: 4770' Access: Trail
Distance: 3.24 miles (round trip)
Elevation Range: 4008' to 4777'
Ascent/Descent: +933 ft/-887 ft
Trail Type: In and out
Trails: Old Baldy Trail #502, Tumala Mountain Summit Trail, FS 180
Outing Type: Day hike
Permits/Fees: None
Notes: The first 0.3 miles of the trail has a steep slope angle. I approached this summit via the Old Baldy Trail.
Location: Near Tumala Mountain Rd (FS 4614) in Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon, U.S.A.
Administration: Mount Hood National Forest
Ranger District: Clackamas River Ranger District
Date Accessed: June 22, 2024
I've lived near this area for nearly 8 years now and have driven up Tumala Mountain Road many times. I've driven up FS 4610 to Tumala Lakes, but hadn't gotten around to hiking up to Tumala Mountain yet. So I decided to hike it with my mom on a sunny day.
We drove up Tumala Mountain Road (turns into FS 4614) to a trailhead that connects with Old Baldy Trail up to Tumala Mountain Trail. I couldn't find any name for the trailhead so I have noted the coordinates below. Even though there aren't signs, it's pretty easy to tell where the trail starts. The road is paved all the way up and the road widens near the trailhead so parking is easy to do along the side of the road.
I ended up putting bug spray on since I noticed bugs at the road. But even though there were bugs out, I didn't get bit on the hike and they weren't too much of a nuisance, which was nice. We started out down Old Baldy Trail #502 towards the south. There is a bit of a trail intersection near the trailhead with Eagle Creek Cutoff Trail #504, so it would be good to have maps to make sure you're going the right direction at the different intersections along the trail since there aren't always signs.
The trail pretty quickly starts going steeply uphill. I'd luckily done my research beforehand and read previous trip reports, so I knew the steep uphill only lasted about 10 minutes (the first 0.35 miles) of hiking and then evened out for a more gradual ascent from there on out.
It was a pretty steep grade with a few parts a bit steeper than 45 degrees, reminded me a bit of the grade on the trail to Huxley Lake. This one wasn't quite as steep as Huxley, but it was hard to go heel to toe on stride due to the slope angle. We periodically took breaks, but made it to the top of the steep section. It was more "flat" for a bit and then dropped downhill to a saddle. From then on out the trail ascended in a more gradual way. We were easily able to hike and talk.
We came to the intersection with the Fanton Trail #505 at the 0.7 mile mark and we continued on Old Baldy. The trail ran along side the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, but appears we never crossed into it. There were a lot of avalanche lilies in bloom along the trail.
As we neared the intersection for Tumala Mountain Summit Trail we saw some snow drifts off in the forest, but there weren't any across the trail. We took the trail for Tumala Mountain (at 1.2 miles) and the grade did get steeper, but was still relatively easy to hike. We climbed up hill and passed by many rhododendron and huckleberry bushes lining the trail. As we neared where the trail intersected with FS 180, we passed by a really cool rock outcropping/cliff face above the trail.
The trail spit us out right at the last corner of FS 180 (at 1.5 miles) before nearing the summit. There was one snow drift across the corner that was melting and the water was trickling down the trail. We hiked up the road the short ways to the radio tower. Near the tower there was a trail that goes up to the ridgeline and peak.
There are still steps from an old fire lookout that no longer remains. There were a lot of wildflowers in bloom along the ridge. My favorites were: Indian paintbrush and spreading phlox. There were a lot of gnats out, but there wasn't anything biting. We even had some cell service from the top with T-mobile.
On the south end of the ridge there were great views of Mt Hood, towards the middle were views of Mt Jefferson and the tip of an unknown peak (almost thinking it might be Olallie Butte?), then on the north end there were clear views of Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, and Mt Adams.
I was hoping I might be able to see some of the Tumala Lakes basin below, but it was mostly hidden behind a foothill. I think I'd have a better chance at seeing if I continued along the Old Baldy Trail to where there is a rock field along the side of a hill to the northeast. I really enjoyed exploring the ridge. On the east side there was a drop with rock cliffs.
We started our hike back to the trailhead after spending around 30 minutes at the summit. We had considered going to Plaza Lake, which would make the hike 9.5 miles round trip, but we both weren't feeling so great so we decided to save that excursion for another day. The hike back was pleasant. We only had the one uphill section and then most of it was downhill. I was glad I'd brought my trekking poles as it definitely made the decline easier on my body.
When we got back to the trailhead there was only one other car there. We hadn't seen anyone else on trail. Since there is the option to go three different directions from this trailhead, and it's not as popular of a hiking area, it's fairly likely you wouldn't run into anyone else out here. If you do it would be a limited number of people.
The only thing we heard occasionally was gunshots quite a distance away, which with living rural I'm used to hearing occasionally at home. There wasn't anyone shooting near the trailhead or the trail while we were out. There weren't any water sources along the trail. The only water we saw was from the melting snow drift.
Tumala Mountain was formerly named Squaw Mountain and was changed due to the derogatory nature of the word. From what I can tell, it appears it was changed in 2007. So on older maps it will appear as it's previous name, which is why I'm mentioning it.
Coordinates
Parking along the side of the road: 45.24615, -122.05103
Trailhead: 45.24589, -122.05081
Old Baldy Trail #502 and Tumala Mountain Summit Trail intersection: 45.23412, -122.03745
Tumala Mountain Summit Trail and FS 130 intersection: 45.23135, -122.04088
Tumala Mountain peak: 45.230482, -122.041065
View of Mt Jefferson & Mt Washington along ridge: 45.23087, -122.04075
View of Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, and Mt Adams along ridge: 45.23124, -122.04056
Resources
How to get there (from Estacada, OR)
Map
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