Larch Mountain Crater Loop

Larch Mountain is the largest of the three shield volcanoes in the Boring Lava Field, a set of more than 90 volcanoes that dotted the Portland area between 2.7 million and 57,000 years ago. From the city, its distinctive profile is second only to Mount Hood on the western horizon. Few visitors realize Larch Mountain has its own crater. Badly eroded now, the bowl supports old-growth Douglas-fir, western hemlock, noble fir, and silver fir, with bogs, ponds, and summer-blooming meadows. The route starts high, so most of the elevation loss comes at the beginning.

From the Larch Mountain Trailhead at 4,000 feet, the loop drops along a ridge trail, crosses the gated Road 315 with rhododendron and bear-grass in bloom, and joins the Multnomah Creek Way Trail. A footbridge crosses Multnomah Creek in salmonberry and skunk-cabbage bottoms. A spur leads to a swampy meadow inside the old crater where cotton grass, elephant's head lousewort, bog orchid, asphodel, and paintbrush bloom in summer. The trail climbs through old-growth, joins an old logging railroad grade festooned with avalanche lilies, and reaches an opening with views across to Table Mountain, Birkenfeld Mountain, and the Washington Gorge. The route turns up Trail #424 through secondary forest past springboard-notched stumps, then joins Larch Mountain Road near the summit.

The final push climbs paved path to the Sherrard Point volcanic plug — an exposed lava outcrop with guardrails and long views on a clear day. From the plug, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier all stand in line. The summit road is open to vehicles in summer, so the parking lot can be busy even when the loop itself is quiet. Keep to trail near the Oneonta Trail junction on the Bull Run watershed boundary — off-trail travel is prohibited.