Angels Rest

Angels Rest is a rocky promontory that juts out over the Columbia River Gorge, offering a 270-degree panorama that feels like standing on a balcony above a vast canyon. The 2.4-mile climb from the Bridal Veil trailhead gains 1,475 feet through a forest still recovering from the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire — snags stand sentinel above regenerating understory, and opened vistas now let you look down to Coopey Falls and across to Beacon Rock, Silver Star Mountain, and the Washington side of the Gorge.

The final scramble through basalt pillars puts you on an exposed spine with drop-offs on three sides. In late spring, dogbane and penstemon bloom on the summit crest; fall and winter bring fierce east winds whipping across the point. Poison oak lines stretches of the lower trail — a risk worth respecting.

Year-round access and 45-minute drive from Portland make this a weekend magnet. Parking fills by 8:30 a.m. on summer weekends — arrive early or hike midweek. Not a good choice when the trail is icy, very windy, or muddy; the final ridge has no handrails and the cliffs are real.