Oregon
Choose Your Pace: Hiking Mt. Hood and Cascade Mountain Lakes
Program No. 4895RJ
With experts, hike the scenic trails of Mt. Hood and the Cascade Mountains at your pace, discovering hidden waterfalls and lakes and the National Historic Landmark Timberline Lodge.
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Protecting the Environment
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7 days
6 nights
17 meals
6B 5L 6D
2
Old Growth Forest Hike
Eagle Creek
3
Timothy Lake Hike, Little Crater Lake Hike
Eagle Creek
6
Tamanawas Falls, Trillium Lake
Eagle Creek
7
Program Concludes
Eagle Creek
At a Glance
Hike along sparkling lakes with majestic Mount Hood towering over the landscape, to vistas overlooking the forested Cascade Mountains and to hidden gems like Little Crater Lake. Each day, pick a trail option based on your pace preference and set out with a small group and a nature expert to learn about the history, geology, birds and plants of the area. Enjoy the summer flowers or fall color of vine maples as you hike through old growth, mountain meadows and timberline scenery.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Choose Your Pace
Each day, choose from multiple hiking options based on your desired level of challenge and pace, ranging from 3-8 miles on varied terrain. Elevations of 3,000-6,500 feet.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Visit Timberline Lodge — a National Historic Landmark located at the slopes of Mount Hood — and explore the grounds of this local treasure.
- Hike to the exquisite Tamanawas Falls, a 100-foot waterfall that stems from Cold Spring Creek.
- Experience the beauty of the lakes nestled into this beautiful region, including Mirror, Timothy, Trillium and Little Crater.
General Notes
Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Suggested Reading List
(11 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Choose Your Pace: Hiking Mt. Hood and Cascade Mountain Lakes
Program Number: 4895
Eden Seekers-The Settlement of Oregon 1818-1862
Good summary of Oregon’s history between 1818-1862.
Salmon without Rivers-A history of the Pacific Salmon Crisis
Easy to read book on Salmon, and hatcheries.
In Search of Ancient Oregon
Geology is an extremely visual subject, and In Search of Ancient Oregon is a beautifully photographed, expertly written account of Oregon's fascinating geological story. Written by a passionate and professional geologist who has spent countless hours in the field exploring and photographing the state, In Search of Ancient Oregon is a book for all those interested in Oregon's landscapes and environments. It presents fine-art-quality color photographs of well-known features such as Mount Hood, Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Steens Mountain, the Columbia River Gorge, and Cannon Beach, and scenic, not so well known places such as Jordan Craters, Leslie Gulch, Abert Rim, Hells Canyon, Elkhorn Mountains, and Three Fingered Jack. Each of the more than 220 stunning photographs is accompanied by readable text, presenting the story of how Oregon's diverse landscapes evolved — and what we may expect in the future. Until now, no book has presented this dynamic story in a way that everyone interested in Oregon's natural history can easily understand. The combination of extraordinary photographs and the author's lucid explanations make this book both unique and essential for those curious about our own contemporary landscape.
Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest
Presented here with 52 photographs, these traditional stories, first collected in 1910, reveal myths and traditions of creation, the salmon and noted geographical features of the territory.
A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest
The Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest inhabit a vast region extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from California to British Columbia. For more than two decades, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest has served as a standard reference on these diverse peoples. Now, in the wake of renewed tribal self-determination, this revised edition reflects the many recent political, economic, and cultural developments shaping these Native communities.
From such well-known tribes as the Nez Perces and Cayuses to lesser-known bands previously presumed extinct, this guide offers detailed descriptions, in alphabetical order, of 150 Pacific Northwest tribes. Each entry provides information on the history, location, demographics, and cultural traditions of the particular tribe.
Among the new features offered here are an expanded selection of photographs, updated reading lists, and a revised pronunciation guide. While continuing to provide succinct histories of each tribe, the volume now also covers such contemporary and sometimes controversial issues as Indian gaming and NAGPRA. With its emphasis on Native voices and tribal revitalization, this new edition of the Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest is certain to be a definitive reference for many years to come.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest
Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest belongs in the home of every Pacific Northwest resident and in the suitcase or backpack of every visitor. This compact volume contains:
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the region's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;
A complete overview of the Pacific Northwest's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky;
An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.
The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
Abridged, version of the journey.
Northwest Exposures-A Geologic Story of the Northwest
Northwest Exposures chronicles the events that shaped the region's rock and landforms through the ages. The tale of the Northwest's geology began more than two billion years ago when an ancient continent split, creating oceanfront property in what is now western Idaho. Pacific islands mashed into that coastline, making large parts of Washington and Oregon. These events were followed by monstrous volcanic eruptions, catastrophic ice age floods, and mountains rising to an accompaniment of earthquakes.
on Mount Hood a Biography of Oregon's Perilous Peak
On Mount Hood is a contemporary, first-person narrative biography of Oregon's greatest mountain, featuring stories full of adventure and tragedy, history and geology, people and places, trivia and lore. The mountain itself helps create the notorious Oregon rains and deep alpine snows, and paved the way for snowboarding in the mid 1980s. Its forests provide some of the purest drinking water in the world, and its snowy peak captures the attention of the nation almost every time it wreaks fatal havoc on climbers seeking the summit. On Mount Hood builds a compelling story of a legendary mountain and its impact on the people who live in its shadow, and includes interviews with a forest activist, a volcanologist, and a para-rescue jumper. Jon Bell has been writing from his home base in Oregon since the late 1990s.
100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon
Good description of hikes we will be hiking.
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast-Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska
This easy-to-use field guide features 794 species of plants commonly found along the Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers, aquatic plants, grasses, ferns, mosses and lichens. PLANTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST covers the coastal region from shoreline to alpine, including the western Cascades. Includes:
* 1100 color photographs
* More than 1000 line drawings and silhouettes
* Clear species descriptions and keys to groups
* Descriptions of each plant's habitat and range
* 794 new color range maps.
Rich and engaging notes on each species describe aboriginal and other local uses of plants for food, medicine and implements, along with unique characteristics of the plants and the origins of their names. For both amateurs and professionals, this is the best, most accessible, most up-to-date guide of its kind.