This fortress-shaped plateau, centerpiece of a pocket Wilderness near Molalla, offers a formidable panorama of ten Cascade snowpeaks and the Coast Range. A relatively easy trail skirts a 1996 landslide and ducks below huge columnar basalt cliffs before switchbacking up the plateau’s gentle western slope. Rhododendrons flag the route pink in early summer, while gentians dot it with blue in late summer. For a longer hike, continue on a slightly rougher path to Rooster Rock’s picturesque crag.

Start by driving to . . .

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon