A Winter Beacon

Waterfalls on display along trails at Gorge’s Beacon Rock ||

LONGVIEW, Wash. — There’s a lot more to Beacon Rock State Park than the 848-foot-tall pinnacle of basalt it’s named after.

Yes, that towering rock is a landmark in the Columbia River Gorge, some 30 miles upstream from Vancouver.

But 5,100-acre Beacon Rock State Park also includes several stunning waterfalls and a couple of ridges that are more than 2,300 feet high, all served by a network of hiking trails. Even if you’ve hiked there before, several new routes built in the past few years invite exploration.

Winter is a good time for a hike in the park. The falls gush harder during the rainy season, the trails are typically snow free and the crowds are thinner.

Winter rains make Rodney Falls at Beacon Rock State Park on the Columbia River even more impressive. (Tom Paulu/The (Longview) Daily News)

Park ranger Vivian McNeil said park trails are popular with those getting in shape for longer trips later in the season.

Beacon Rock park is served by two parking lots. For hikers, the main lot a short distance off Highway 14 is most attractive. In winter months, the quarter-mile-long access road to the parking lot is closed to motorized vehicles Mondays through Thursdays, though hikers may park near the base of Beacon Rock and stroll up the road.

A rock summit called Little Beacon Rock (more about that later) looms above the trailhead. From the trailhead, which is about 400 feet above sea level, the wide trail heads into the woods for a half mile or so, then crosses under twin power lines. The open gash in the forest for the power lines offers a view down to Bonneville Dam, five miles distant.

The trail heads back into the mossy woods. From the parking lot, it’s 11/4 miles, with a 450-foot elevation gain, to the twin torrents of Hardy Falls and Rodney Falls. A side trail leads down to a viewpoint over the top of Hardy Falls, which tumbles over a cliff about 100 feet below. There’s no official trail to the bottom of the 90-foot-tall Hardy Falls, but it’s possible to reach them by scrambling down the hill. With the dropoffs, venturing off the main trail isn’t a good idea for small children.

A few yards farther up the trail is the much more accessible Rodney Falls. The trail crosses below the falls’ major step on a very sturdy wooden bridge. Rodney Falls descends about 80 feet.

The upper part of the falls foams through a chasm in the rock called the Punchbowl. A side trail cut into the cliff leads to the edge of the Punchbowl, which would be a good place to cool off with spray on a hot day.

The waterfalls make a good turning-around point for a short hike, but there are plenty of opportunities for additional trekking.

One of the high points of Beacon Rock State Park is Hamilton Mountain, elevation 2,438 feet. To get there, keep going past Rodney Falls.

The trail soon forks, with both directions eventually leading to Hamilton Mountain.

The shorter — and steeper — part of the loop goes to the right. It climbs sharply, with steps cut into the rock in places. The trail winds through rocky cliffs, with dropoffs here and there. On a recent hike, the upper parts of the trail were covered by 2 to 3 inches of fresh snow and bathed in fog.

The summit is something of an anti-climax, a flat expanse with heavy brush blocking the views in some directions. However, there’s a good view upriver to Table Mountain and, on clear days, across the Columbia to waterfalls dropping over Oregon cliffs.

From the summit, either retrace your steep steps back down or continue ahead down the more gradually sloping ridge top for a mile to a saddle where four trails convene.

Major trail junctions like this are well-marked with signs pointing the way back to the parking lot. Maps are displayed behind glass, too, though some are too waterlogged to be useful.

From the saddle, the route joins a network of old logging roads where horses and mountain bikes are allowed. Or take “Don’s Trail,” a hiker-only alternative.

On the way back, after you’ve once again passed the waterfalls, yet another trail offers a different twist.

The unmarked but hard-to-miss trail to Little Beacon Rock starts by a bench under the power lines. That trail eventually leads through a jumble of boulders to Little Beacon Rock, which is only a few hundred feet shorter than its bigger twin.

Past Little Beacon Rock, the trail descends to the campground, which is closed in winter. The road leads back to where you started.

The trail between the campground and Little Beacon Rock is ADA accessible.

The entire loop to Hamilton Mountain and back is 8 miles.

— Tom Paulu/The (Longview) Daily News

If You Go …

What: Beacon Rock State Park.

Where: At milepost 35 on Highway 14, west of Stevenson and Bonneville Dam.

How to get there: Follow Highway 97 to the junction with Highway 14 and follow 14 west.

Of note: A separate parking lot off of Kueffler Road serves the old logging roads that now are trails open to mountain bikers and horseback riders. A trail finished last year makes a steep jaunt over the top of Hardy Ridge, which is actually higher than Hamilton Mountain. Yet another trail is too new to be on maps.

For more: Detailed information on Rodney and Hardy falls can be found at www.waterfallsnorthwest.com. To make sense of the trail maze, see a map posted at www.portlandhikers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2331