Saddle Mountain - Clatsop Co. High Point

Oregon County HP: #14
Difficulty: ⭐️ ⭐️ (on a scale of 5)
Summit Elevation: 3,228 feet
Mountain Range: Oregon Coast Range
Ancestral Lands: Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Alsea, Chinook, Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of the Siletz

PLANNING DETAILS

Location: Saddle Mountain is located in northwest Oregon approximately 30 miles south of Astoria. The closest small town with services is Seaside, Oregon.

When to Visit: Saddle Mountain State Natural Area is open year-round, but its steep slopes can be difficult to ascend and descend during rainy, icy, or snowy periods. The most popular time to visit is between May and September when the wildflowers are in peak bloom. Some of the rarest species of wildflowers in the Oregon Coast Range can be found on Saddle Mountain, including early blue violet and Saddle Mountain bittercress.

Fees/Permits Required: There is no fee to visit Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, but the park is limited to day-use only (dawn to dusk).

Getting There: This county high point is reached via Saddle Mountain Road on peak’s southern side. From the Saddle Mountain Trailhead, a dirt trail zigzags up the peak’s slope before terminating at the summit.

Directions from Astoria:

From downtown Astoria, head south on US-101 toward Seaside and the Oregon Coast.
Approximately 13 miles south of Seaside, take the exit for US-26 toward Portland and head east.
Between milepost 10 and 11 on US-26, you will the see a road sign pointing left toward Saddle Mountain State Natural Area. Turn left at this sign onto Jubilee Road (Note: After 400 feet, this road automatically becomes Saddle Mountain State Park Road.)
Follow Saddle Mountain State Park Road north for 7.2 miles until you reach the Saddle Mountain Trailhead and parking area.

Directions from Portland:

From I-405, take US-26 (exit 1D) toward Beaverton and drive west for 64 miles.
Between milepost 11 and 10 on US-26, you will see a road sign pointing right toward Saddle Mountain State Natural Area. Turn right at this sign onto Jubilee Road. (Note: After 400 feet, this road automatically becomes Saddle Mountain State Park Road.)
Follow Saddle Mountain State Park Road north for 7.2 miles until you reach the Saddle Mountain Trailhead and parking area.

Parking: The Saddle Mountain Trailhead has a paved parking lot with enough room for approximately 20 vehicles. There are vault toilets, picnic tables, and trash cans at the trailhead, but no potable water.

Pets Allowed: Yes, however all dogs must be on a leash no longer than six feet to protect the fragile environment adjacent to the trail. Additionally, the second half of this trail currently has wire mesh laid over the trail’s surface to help with traction, and the loose wires on the edge of the mesh can be harmful to dogs’ paws.

Kid Friendly: Due to the length and steepness of this trail, it is best suited for older children.

Hiking Distance: 4.8 miles round-trip

The Summit: Saddle Mountain’s summit had piped fending around the 95% of its perimeter to prevent visitors from accidentally walking too close to the steep cliffs that drop off. A picnic bench and diamond-shaped bench sit atop the summit inside the fencing, but there is no geodetic survey monument or visitors log. A side trail to a second viewpoint sits just below the summit.

TRIP SUMMARY

Date Visited: April 14, 2024

Route Used: Saddle Mountain Trail – 4.8 miles (round-trip)

Saddle Mountain has been on my bucket list of Oregon hikes for a very long time, but I’d yet to make it out there because the peak was literally closed to the public for about 3.5 years.

Like with most of the other state parks, Saddle Mountain State Park closed during the early period of the pandemic in 2020. Before authorities had the chance to re-open the area though, a landslide took out some of the trail and a footbridge. That hazard was followed by a string of other calamities, including a faulty septic issue, some facility issues at the (now-shuttered) campground, and a park labor shortage.

All told, it took Oregon State Parks until September 2023 to completely re-open Saddle Mountain to the public. But I was off hiking in Scotland by then, and didn’t return to Oregon until too late in the season to make a go of the summit.

Saddle Mountain continued to elude me until the spring of 2024, when I finally had a sunny, warm day to hike to the top of Clatsop County. I intended to combine my trip with a quick visit to Columbia County’s highest point (Long Mountain) as part of a “highpointing two-fer” in northwest Oregon.

I enjoyed clear, blue skies and sunshine the entire morning and early afternoon as I finished up my first CoHP. But all that changed as I drove west over the Oregon Coast Range toward Clatsop County. Dark gray clouds loomed overhead. A few fat raindrops began to fall. And the temperature dropped from nearly 60 degrees to the low-40s in just a matter of miles!

When I turned off US-26 toward the Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, the weather only got worse. The drive up the curvy 7.2-mile road to the trailhead seemed to take me directly into the clouds.

Thanks to my late arrival on this Sunday afternoon, I crossed paths with several cars coming down the narrow road. Other hikers were already beginning to wrap of their own visits, which meant I had no problem finding parking when I ultimately reached the modest lot beside the trailhead.

Once I got out of my car, I was greeted a bevy of metal signs with ominous-sounding warnings about the upcoming hike. It was a bit overkill, with guidance and notices such as:

ATTENTION! The trail ahead is difficult and very rugged. For experienced hikers with proper footwear and equipment only.
Caution Ahead. Beware of loose wire ends on wire mesh trail surface
The challenges of the 2-mile summit trail include a continuous elevation gain, changes in the weather, and loose footing above treeline.
Wood cutting prohibited.
No water provided.
Feeding wildlife with park area is prohibited.
Camping Prohibited
Keeps all pets under physical control and on a leash not more than six feet at all times. The handler is responsible for animal’s behavior, containment, and removal of animal’s waste.

That was a lot of warnings for a 4.8-mile roundtrip hike! And I wondered to myself how hard this trail was really going to be.

Some of the many warning signs at the trailhead!

I’d driven close to 200 miles to get here. Rain or shine, I was going to climb this high point. So I clipped the dog to her least and set off up the trail.

As promised, the trail began its ascent almost immediately as we worked out way through old growth forest. With the low clouds and with moss clinging to the trees, there was an almost eerie feeling about this trek uphill.

The trail zigzagged up switchbacks, with a couple of side trails splitting off. I spotted a sign for a side trail to a viewpoint of nearby Humbug Mountain barely 0.2 miles into the hike, but there was no point in heading out there. The visibility was now down to about 1000 feet, and it was shrinking with each step higher into the clouds.

Wooden posts with distance markers sat beside the trail each quarter mile until I reached the picnic bench near the end of the first mile. Thereafter, the posts seemed to disappear. Maybe they were damaged during the trail repairs. Or perhaps I was just tired from effort of keeping the dog from pulling her leash as she ached to go faster than me uphill. This old lady was no match for her 18-month old boxer energy.

I passed a distinctive rock outcropping named Topknot Rock shortly beyond the one-mile mark. I was now mostly above tree-line and the opaque gray clouds obscured all the epic views I’d been expecting on this famous hike.

Photos of this peak usually show a green, round hilltop, but that was not the view today. Everything was concealed by the clouds and fog.

As a consequence of the limited visibility, my focus during the uphill portion of this hike tended to be more micro instead of macro. I was taking in the early season wildflowers and mossy trees.

A half mile later (near mile 1.6), I reached the sketchiest part of the hike. True to its name, there was a saddle in the terrain up ahead. I’d need to head downhill on a ridgeline down to a saddle before continuing uphill the opposing ridge toward the summit.

Wire mesh akin to chainlink fencing was laid over the trail’s tread to allow for soil stabilization and traction during this second mile. But it wasn’t a great addition, in my opinion. I worried about my dog’s paws and how this twisted metal might feel on them far more than I worried about my own traction on the trail.

Eventually though, we made it to the summit, where we had exquisite views of… absolutely nothing.

We were 100% socked in by the clouds up there today. If I strained, I could see there was a steep drop-off from the flattish summit. But how far down, the steep sides dropped, I couldn’t say for sure. All I know is there was a piped fence surrounding the top of the narrow peak to make sure hikers didn’t wander too close to the edge.

After waiting 3.5 years to see the epic views on Saddle Mountain, the reality was a little disappointing. What’s more, there were no signs on the summit to show I’d even arrived (apparently the sign budget was used up at the trailhead). There wasn’t even a survey marker or a trail register to sign my name in.

All told, the absence of these items wasn’t all that much different than the county high point I’d done earlier this morning. It was just a lot more physical effort with a ton more people. Still, given that this destination was inside a state park that gets plenty of visitors now that it’s re-opened, I’d expecting a little more fanfare. Instead, all I’d get was this mediocre selfie.