Painted Cove Loop Hike
From Portland Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Painted Cove Trailhead
- End point: Painted Cove Overlook
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Loop
- Distance: 0.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 40 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Year round
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
Contents |
Hike Description
This is a hike through the one place in the Painted Hills where you can get right next to a "painted hill".
From the Painted Cove Trailhead, take the left fork of the trail and start on to the boardwalk. There are several interpretive signs about hills and how they were formed. The boardwalk is constructed up a natural draw and you can see the red bentonite close up of both sides of the trail. At the end of the boardwalk, the trail heads up the hill a bit. An informal side trail heads farther up to a great viewpoint of the entire area. Back on the main trail you'll come to a switchback at the head of a small valley.
The backside of the trail is just as interesting as the boardwalk. Here more signs educate hikers about the purplish rhyolite flow. Juniper trees and sagebrush on the left contrast with the bare red bentonite on the right. The trail is short and the little adventure ends all too quickly.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Regulations or restrictions, etc
- None
Trip Reports
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Related Discussions / Q&A
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Guidebooks that cover this hike
More Links
- See more information at Describe the link here
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)