Looking east up the Columbia River from the Rowena Plateau (bobcat)

Balsamroot on the Rowena Plateau (Steve Hart)

Rowena Pond on the Rowena Plateau (bobcat)

Young Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), Rowena Plateau (bobcat)

Showy downingia (Downingia elegans), Rowena Crest (bobcat)

McClure Lake and the Columbia River (Steve Hart)

The loop around the Rowena Plateau (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

• Start point: Rowena Crest Trailhead
• End point: Rowena Plateau
• Trail log: Trail Log
• Hike type: Lollipop loop
• Distance: 2.2 miles
• Elevation gain: 240 feet
• High point: 710 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: Year round
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: Yes

Hike Description

This is a short hike on an open scabland above the Columbia River with good views up and down the Columbia River Gorge. The plateau was scoured by the Missoula floods at the end of the last ice age, about 15,000 - 13,000 years ago resulting in a couple of kolk ponds (depressions resulting from swirling flood waters). Other features to observe are the low biscuit mounds on the plateau surface. Clifftop views let you see across to the mouth of the Klickitat River in Lyle and along the crest of the Columbia Hills in Washington. The area is most popular in spring (March through May), when wildflowers are in full bloom. Be sure to arrive early during those months. There are multiple jurisdictions on this small plateau: U.S. Forest Service, Oregon State Parks, and Nature Conservancy. Many people combine this hike with the one to Tom McCall Point. Please note that no dogs are allowed on these trails.

From the Rowena Crest Trailhead, cross the highway and walk through the fence stile. A kiosk describes the uniqueness and fragility of the habitat here. A short spur to the left allows you to look down into the small canyon of Rowena Dell, with its private dwellings and tennis court. You'll hike an isthmus of sorts where the gently sloping Rowena Plateau narrows. The area is a floral paradise in spring, with lupine and balsamroot in the starring roles, but also including wild onion, bachelor's button, buckwheat, and popcorn flower. Next, a side trail heads off to the right to a great viewpoint looking east down to Salisbury Slough in Mayer State Park, while to the north is the town of Lyle at the mouth of the Klickitat River.

You'll pass a trail coming in from the right, marking the top end of the Shasha Loop. Looking across the landscape of plateau, note the low hummocks of loess, often termed 'biscuit mounds,' basically heaps of windblown soil collected almost symmetrically over the entire surface of the plateau. Keeping left, you'll soon arrive at Rowena Pond, a kolk formation created during the Missoula Floods. There are a couple of little paths leading to the edge of the pond, but look out for poison oak here. Oak trees and fragrant June-blooming mock orange frame the setting, while yellow water lilies dot the surface.

Back on the main path, you'll pass the lower junction with the Shasha Trail on the right. Clumps of man root, or wild cucumber, twist through the grassland. Little vernal pools on the plateau dry up in spring and then sport a colorful carpet of showy downingia, popcorn flower, and hyacinth cluster lily. There's a second pond, but it's fortified by a solid barrier of poison oak. The north end of the loop heads back to the right, but first descend to a point at the end of the plateau to get more views across the river to Lyle and the Columbia Hills, while to the west on the Washington side you can see the broad sloping benches of Catherine Creek. McClure Lake below is cut off from the river by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Return and begin hiking up the east side of the plateau, passing the lower pond. The fainter trail on this side keeps close to the edge of the basalt cliffs, offering views west along Sevenmile Hill to Crates Point. Cross a basalt fissure to join the Shasha Loop and pass the east end of Rowena Pond to complete the loop back to the main trail.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Green Trails Maps: Columbia River Gorge - East #432S
• National Geographic: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Regulations or restrictions, etc

• No dogs allowed
• Parking is limited - arrive early!

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Rowena Plateau Hike

• Rowena Crest - Tom McCall Pt

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Rowena Plateau Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region by George Wuerthner
• Hike It Baby by Shanti Hodges
• Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon by Bonnie Henderson & Zach Urness
• Oregon & Washington: 50 Hikes With Kids by Wendy Gorton
• Curious Gorge by Scott Cook
• Urban Hikes Oregon by Adam Sawyer
• 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland by Paul Gerald
• Extraordinary Oregon! by Matt Reeder
• PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
• Hiking Oregon's Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
• Day Hikes in the Columbia Gorge by Don J. Scarmuzzi
• Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
• Take A Hike: Portland by Barbara I. Bond
• 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
• Trips & Trails: Oregon by William L. Sullivan
• Day Hike! Columbia Gorge by Seabury Blair, Jr.
• Oregon: The Creaky Knees Guide by Seabury Blair, Jr.
• Hiking the Columbia River Gorge by Russ Schneider; revised by Jim Yuskavitch
• Oregon Nature Weekends by Jim Yuskavitch
• 50 Hikes in Oregon by David L. Anderson
• Columbia Gorge Getaways by Laura O. Foster
• Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
• Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
• Oregon's Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
• Columbia River Gorge: 42 Scenic Hikes by Don & Roberta Lowe
• 70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge by Northwest Hiker
• Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
• Fire, Faults, and Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin by Marge & Ted Mueller

More Links

• Mayer State Park (Oregon State Parks)
• Tom McCall Preserve at Rowena (Nature Conservancy)
• Tom McCall Preserve - Lower Unit Hike - Rowena Plateau Hike (Northwest Hiker)
• Rowena Plateau Loop (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
• Rowena Plateau and Tom McCall Point (Washington Trails Association)
• Rowena Plateau Trail (All Trails)
• Hiking Tom McCall Point & Rowena Plateau (Away Gowe)
• Tom McCall Nature Preserve & Rowena Plateau (Spring 2018) (Hikelandia)
• Rowena Plateau (The Green Wolf)
• Hike 5 - Tom McCall Point & Rowena Plateau (GoalTech)
• This Easy Wildflower Hike In Oregon Will Transport You Into A Sea Of Color (Only in Your State)
• "Tom McCall Nature Preserve, Oregon" (The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey)
• Rowena Plateau (Northwest Wildflowers)

Contributors

• Stevefromdodge (creator)