Impressive mountain views! Dazzling seasonal wildflowers! Fun trails! There’s a lot to like when you ride out of Knebal Springs Campground, on the east side of Mt. Hood.
Moderate trails
30+ miles of riding
Elevation 3,850 feet
The Riding
From Knebal Springs Campground, you can ride a fun loop to the top of Fivemile Butte. It offers spectacular views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier, plus expansive views to the east.
You can do an out-and-back ride to wildflower-filled Eightmile Meadow. Along the way, you’ll have impressive views of Mt. Hood.
You can ride the Knebal Springs Loop, a relatively easy trail with an astounding amount of variety: stands of trees so dense that sunlight barely penetrates, sun-dappled forest with wildflowers, and clear-cut areas with views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.
You can ride to the spectacular summit of Lookout Mountain, either by starting at Knebal Springs or by trailering to the Bottle Prairie Trailhead. It’s hard to beat the “WOW!” factor of this trail because it offers a 360-degree panorama featuring nine major volcanic peaks.
You’ll be sharing the trails around Knebal Springs with mountain bike riders, but don’t let this scare you off. Other than the trail to Lookout Mountain, the trails don’t have significant elevation changes, so the bikes aren’t going too fast. And the lines of sight along the trails are open, so you can see them coming.
The Camping
Knebal Springs Campground has seven sites, three of which have corrals. Non-horse campers are allowed. The camp’s amenities include a toilet and a spring-fed water trough. You’ll need a Northwest Forest Pass for day-use parking, or you can pay a fee for overnight camping.
Learn More
You’ll find more information about Knebal Springs Campground and its nearby trails in Riding Northwest Oregon Horse Trails, by Kim McCarrel, available at www.nwhorsetrails.com.