Bunker Hill Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Trout Creek Trailhead (PCT)
- End point: Bunker Hill Summit
- Hike Type: Out and Back
- Distance: 5.8 miles
- Elevation gain: 1310 feet
- High point: 2,383 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Year round
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
The Bunker Hill Trail is a short spur trail that branches off the Pacific Crest Trail near Wind River in the small town of Stabler-Hemlock. Since the PCT crosses several roads in this area, there are many options for including this in an out and back hike, a shuttle or a backpacking trip. Bunker Hill itself is a 20 - 25-million-year-old igneous plug that rears above the Wind River valley. Most of the other volcanic features in the area are much, much younger: West Crater, for example, is only 8,000 years old. Bunker Hill is forested with one good viewpoint before you reach the summit, a former lookout site now hemmed in by conifers.
This description is for a 5.8 mile out and back trip beginning at the Trout Creek Trailhead. The starting point is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Forest Road 43. Take the trail heading east, opposite the substantial footbridge over Trout Creek. The first half of the trail is flat and travels through an open old growth forest, passing a part of the Wind River Experimental Station's field plots. After a mile and half, you cross gravel Road 417 at a hairpin turn, and enter the large grassy meadows below Bunker Hill. (This is another possible trailhead, but you can't park right where the PCT crosses the road.) Coyote and elk can be spotted in the meadow on early mornings, and their signs are evident year-round.
The trail goes across the meadow into an alder woodland, and soon the elevation change begins. After half a mile, the forest is again dominated by Douglas-fir, and you will come to the signed Pacific Crest-Bunker Hill Trail Junction. The left fork is the Bunker Hill Trail #145; the right fork is the continuation of the PCT which reaches Szydlo Road in a mile, and then continues to cross the Wind River. Head left at the fork uphill for another 1.2 miles via ten switchbacks to reach the summit of Bunker Hill. You'll encounter numerous old-growth Douglas-firs on the way up and the steep slopes host a substantial deer population.
Instead of taking the trail all the way to the top, at the last switchback, look for an obvious rock pinnacle which provides a great viewpoint to the northeast up the Wind River Valley and all the way to Mount Adams on a clear day. From here, you can easily scramble up the ridge westerly to the summit, which is completely forested. The true summit is the site of a former lookout, and five cement blocks remain to indicate its presence, however there are no views here.
Fees and Regulations
- $3 toll each way at the Bridge of the Gods
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Wind River, WA #397
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Adams Ranger District
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Gifford Pinchot National Forest
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Bunker Hill
- Bunker Hill, Jan 16th, 2023
- Bunker Hill, Wind River Valley 022222
- Bunker Hill, 6/20/21
- Bunker Hill
- Bunker Hill - a family hike, 2.17.2013
- Bunker Hill Trail #145
- 4/7/12 PCT to Bunker Hill & Whistle Punk Trail
- Bunker Hill and PCT east 4.22.09
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Bunker Hill
Guidebooks
- Washington's South Cascades' Volcanic Landscapes by Marge and Ted Mueller
- 95 Virtual Hikes of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument by Northwest Hiker
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- Hiking Washington's Mount Adams Country by Fred Barstad
- Day Hiking: South Cascades by Dan A. Nelson & Alan L. Bauer
- 33 Hiking Trails: Southern Washington Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Washington's Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Scott Leonard
- Washington Hiking by Scott Leonard
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
More Links
- Trail #145 Bunker Hill (USFS)
- Bunker Hill Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Bunker Hill (Washington Trails Association)
- Bunker Hill Lookout (Fire Lookout.com)