Potato Butte Hike
From Portland Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Red Lake Trailhead
- End point: Potato Butte
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Out-and-back
- Distance: 7.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,700 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: June-November
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
From the trailhead, the trail starts climbing immediately. The trail crosses a powerline clearing 0.4 mile from the trailhead and joins a dirt road. Turn left on the road and then soon turn right on a spur road, which you will walk for about 200 feet before finding the trail continuing into the forest on your left by a rock cairn.
The first mile of the trail, you travel through old growth forest, passing vine maple, rhododendron, and beargrass. After climbing that first mile, the trail takes off across a plateau. It suddenly feels a lot more open, with the understory dominated by huckleberries and beargrass.
At 1.6 miles, the trail passes near Red Lake. Watch for a big stump on the right and a spur trail that will take you down to the lake. If you explore in either direction along the lakeshore, you will find plenty of places to camp.
Continuing along the trail, you pass large Averill Lake on the right, Wall Lake on the left, and Sheep Lake on the right, all of which have plenty of places to camp. Any of these lakes would also make a good lunch spot or a great place to cool off on a hot day.
As you circle around Sheep Lake, the trail follows the north shore of the lake to an unobtrusive trail junction, 2.9 miles from the trailhead. Keep your eyes open or you might miss it! The trail heads off on your left. Follow this up to a meadow, where the trail briefly disappears. Stay to the right edge of the meadow and you'll see the trail heading back off into the woods on your right.
The final push to the summit of Potato Butte is steep, slippery, and crumbly. 0.7 mile after the junction at Sheep Lake, you reach the broad and mostly-forested summit. You can see Mount Hood to the north and Olallie Butte to the east. But there is a hidden viewpoint with views to the south. To reach it, go back down the trail about 300 yards and take a spur trail on the left. This will take you to a jumble of big boulders and if you climb up on them you can see the lakes below you and Mount Jefferson directly ahead to the south.
Return the way you came, taking care on the descent from the summit.
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Potato Butte Hike
(Click here to add your own)
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Potato Butte Hike
(Click here to ask a question or start a conversation)
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington 2006-2007 edition, by William L. Sullivan
More Links
- See more information at Trail description from the Mt. Hood Information Center
Contributors
- justpeachy (creator)