beacon rock state park

Victoria201154

The one mile hike up Beacon Rock is well worth it. The views are spectacular and the footpath is very well maintained.

Brian-LM-freestyle

This is great for families or if you just want a quick hike for views of the gorge. Lots of steps up the monolith rock, and you can see miles down the gorge. Just remember to bring your Washington State park pass for parking.

LisaT503

This is a great hike with many scenic views along the way. Trails are well maintained. Trailhead has a large parking area and restrooms. It took us 4 hours to complete the hike and the additional trail once at the summit.

RhinoLoe

I have hiked up this trail numerous times. It seems like every trip goes by faster. But there are multiple switch backs on the way up. Once at the top you have 360 degree gorgeous views. I strongly recommend this hike.

NickiG555

As a child we would climb Beacon Rock with our parents, cousins and grandparents at least once every other year, with a picnic in the park. The rock is the same, of course, with additional railing at the top to keep people from doing stupid things. The picnic area is a huge disappointment. The trees are now huge and overgrown, with too many in such a small space. The area is very dark and shaded. It appears very poorly maintained, and yet they charge $10/car. The area used to be kept clean with swings, teeter totters, climbing gym, etc. for children 40-60 years ago. From what I saw there now, there is half of that, and the trees take up most all the space.

anilif

I alway forget how UP this hike is! Short but UP. We took quite a fe we breaks and it was 32 min to the top. It took 21 to get down. If it's a clear day it's a great view of the gorge to the East. Can't see much to the West from the very top.Once you wrap around the side of the rock, east side, your just about there. It opens at 8 am, there's a locked door on the path, but go early to avoid crowds. The top is small and everyone is trying to get a photo. Also keep an eye out for people rappelling from the north east side of the rock. And I've seen them right on the trail before, you'll see the rings in the rocks.

AmyB70

So glad I went on this hike. Very steep hike, but it is well paved and there are handrails. Not too crowded and only about a mile hike.

NinaE214

Our family did not have much time for a long hike in the Columbia River Valley, so this was an ideal short hike that took us about an hour. The path is very good, and there are handrails so anyone that is reasonably fit should be able to make it to the top. It is quite steep, but always safe. The views going up and down are great, and the restrooms at the bottom were clean.

LLP1957

A short drive out of the city. It truly was quite a hike to the top. An incredible view up and down the river. The cattle feeding at the base of the rock looked like ants! Kids loved it!

frugalyankee

steep short hike to very nice views of gorge. some of best views are not at top but near it. parking signs are a mess and ticket for not posting correctly is $99 which is obscene. got a ticket at 7:30 pm.

UtahMan87

This was my second time doing the hike and this time it was very cold and windy. It was still memorable and beautiful from the top.

Tundra74

This was my second time hiking Beacon Rock. The hike takes about 30 minutes to get to the top. It's not overly strenuous and the views are spectacular from both the east and west side of the rock. The parking area was strictly enforced by the State Park Ranger, so be sure you have your Discover Pass or purchase one when parking here. There's a high probability will get a ticket if you don't. Bring your camera, water bottle, and a snack for the top :)

CJH238

One of our favorite places for an energizing day hike - up to the top of Hamilton Mountain - appropriately an 8 mile round trip. Nice little campground there too

Cocozelle

The Beacon Rock SP campground is right next to Beacon Rock, on the other side of the highway, far enough removed that the road noise isn't bothersome. It's a small, old campground, which means many of the sites are quite small and not very RV-friendly. Which makes this great for tent-camping. Most of the sites are wooded and private, but there are about half a dozen sites right under power lines where the trees and the brush have been cut away, so those sites are pretty open. There is one bathroom in the center of the loop, and it has coin-operated showers. We were there in the middle of the week in August and there were plenty of sites available.We couldn't find an official swimming beach, but we swam where the locals went: By the boat ramps on the Columbia River (there are also 2 (or more?) additional tent camping sites down there). The water was great for swimming. The boat ramps and docks are in a somewhat protected area, so the river current isn't too strong there. They are great for jumping off, too.

207RobR

We live a little over an hour away and drive past it many times a year, and had put it on the to-do list. Living in this area there are so many hiking trails that it is hard to do them all. We finally decided to do it after my oldest invited us to do it with him, so my other son, who is 17, and my wife went out to conquer the "Rock". The complete distance is not that long, I think my wife read somewhere that it was 1.8 miles round trip, but it is uphill the whole way. It is not that bad though since it is all cut-backs, I believe around 50. It was a clear day around 70 degrees, so the views were great the whole way up. Since it is in the Columbia Gorge it is very windy though, so even on a nice day you may want to bring a windbreaker. The only bad part about it was when you get there, the top doesn't have very much space so people are waiting to check out the view from the top. This in turn does not allow you to catch your breathe before you head back down. All in all a must do, and something I noticed many young kids were able to do as well (7-12).