Mount Hood National Forest

Mount Hood is located in the Cascades of northern Oregon. The forest includes seven wilderness areas, the Timberline Lodge (a National Historic Landmark), the Columbia Gorge, and Multnomah Falls Lodge (a National Historic Building). Popular activities in the forest include hiking (over 1,000 miles of trails), technical climbing, mountain biking, river running, and cross-country and downhill skiing. The Clackamas River, a National Wild and Scenic River, offers several challenging whitewater runs. A section of the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the forest.

Wilderness Areas
There are 189,200 acres of designated wilderness in Wilderness Areas on the Forest. The largest is the Mount Hood Wilderness, which includes the mountain's peak and upper slopes. Others are Badger Creek, Salmon-Huckleberry, Hatfield, and Bull-of-the-Woods. Olallie Scenic Area is a lightly roaded lake basin that provides a primitive recreational experience. Wildlife in the forest includes black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, elk, black-tailed deer, and mule deer.

U.S. Highway 26 crosses the south flank of Mount Hood, and Oregon Highway 35 meets it along the east side. A hiking trail encircles the volcano, much of which is protected within the Mount Hood Wilderness, part of the Mount Hood National Forest. Mount Hood is only two hours from Portland, Oregon's largest city and a cultural capital of the West Coast.