OregonWildflowers ![]() ![]() |
Area | Columbia Gorge (east - OR) (Mount Hood National Forest) |
Best time to visit | First half of May |
Blooming Now | YES |
Elevation | 700-1722 feet |
Trail Info | 3.5 miles round-trip, 1100 foot elevation gain |
PLANT LIST AVAILABLE | |
WILDFLOWER SEARCH | |
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS | |
Hike information - Oregon Hikers Field Guide | |
Dogs | PROHIBITED. Please respect this location by leaving your dog at home. |
Home to spectacular spring wildflower displays, this area's diversity stems from the fact that it lies in the transition zone between the moist, heavily-forested west side of the Cascades and the drier bunchgrass prairies of the east. The geology of the plateau is also intriguing. Lava flows, catastrophic floods and volcanic ash deposits shaped a mound-and-swale topography that perplexes the experts. Earthquake sorting, freezing and thawing, erosion, soil accumulations by plants and wildlife burrowing activities have all been suggested as having caused the mounds.
May 2017 update: a landslide has closed Highway 30 east of Rowena Plateau. Please check with ODOT before assuming that that has been reopened. In the meantime, Rowena and Tom McCall are still accessible via Mosier (see above).
If you are coming from The Dalles, take Interstate 84 west 8 miles to Exit 76 (Rowena). Cross under the freeway and turn right (west) onto Highway 30, and drive up the hill approximately 2.6 curvy miles to the Rowena Crest Viewpoint parking area on your left.
The trail starts next to the parking area, on the east side of the highway.
Date | Submitted by |
---|---|
Reports from previous years | |
04/22/2024 | Greg Lief |
04/06/2024 | Greg Lief |
05/12/2023 | Greg Lief |
05/10/2023 | Greg Lief |
04/22/2022 | Becky Chinn |
03/21/2022 | Greg Lief |
05/04/2019 | Laurelann |
05/24/2017 | Greg Lief |
05/14/2017 | Greg Lief |
04/21/2016 | Greg Lief |
04/10/2016 | Greg Lief |
03/18/2016 | Greg Lief |
05/08/2015 | Greg Lief |
04/19/2015 | Lisa |
04/03/2015 | Steve Luther |
03/21/2015 | Greg Lief |
05/12/2014 | Tracy |
05/03/2014 | Greg Lief |
05/05/2013 | Greg Lief |
02/20/2013 | Marianne Nelson |
05/19/2012 | Oak Aw |
05/13/2011 | Victor von Salza |
04/23/2011 | Greg Lief |
04/11/2011 | Victor von Salza |
05/20/2010 | rick wheeler |
05/02/2010 | Greg Lief |
03/04/2010 | Tom Nelson |
02/17/2010 | Marianne Nelson |
05/13/2009 | John M. Roberts |
05/10/2009 | Beth |
04/06/2009 | Betsy Toll |
03/21/2009 | Marianne Nelson |
05/24/2008 | Victor von Salza |
05/16/2008 | Victor von Salza |
05/09/2008 | Greg Lief |
04/27/2008 | Victor von Salza |
04/11/2008 | Victor von Salza |
04/02/2008 | Victor von Salza |
03/22/2008 | Victor von Salza |
03/22/2008 | Brent Miller |
03/06/2008 | Marianne Nelson |
02/26/2008 | Victor von Salza |
02/25/2008 | Marianne Nelson |
02/09/2008 | Victor von Salza |
04/30/2007 | Cheryl Hill |
03/14/2007 | Steve Hart |
Switch to historical view of wildflower reports
![]() View from Tom McCall trail #1 | ![]() View from Tom McCall trail #2 | ![]() Mount Hood from McCall Point | ![]() Mount Hood from Tom McCall Point |
![]() Mount Adams from Tom McCall Point |
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'I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.' -- Edna St. Vincent Millay