Cool Creek Trail to Devil's Peak is a 6.6 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Government Camp, Oregon that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until September. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
SEASONAL CLOSURE: This area is subject to seasonal closure due to weather conditions. Users have reported that bridge crossings are closed throughout this trail in Winter.
Travel Oregon, 670 Hawthorne St, Suite 240 , Salem, OR, 97301, Phone: 800-547-7842
Directions from Sandy: Travel east to the edge of Rhododendron and turn right (southeast) onto Forest Service Road 2612. Follow 2612 southeast to the trailhead on the right. Parking is available on the shoulder.
February 8, 2021Group of us hiked in Saturday morning from the Cool Creek Trailhead using the Still Creek road route, didn't use our snowshoes until the return trip Sunday with the fresh powder. Snow is about 3 feet and shoes are recommended for the last part of the trail. The trail is longer than we thought (friend's smart watch said ~5 miles one way). The cabin was awesome, very community based, with lots of stuff donated. Loved this trail and place
February 5, 2021Heads up - Headed up tomorrow morning 2/6 with a crew to snowshoe in and stay overnight at the lookout. Checking if anyone else is planning the same. Been many times before and looking forward to this fresh powder.
January 30, 2021If coming from Portland, still creek road is BEFORE rd 20 on the right. Lots of fresh snow, snowshoes recommended. Yak tracks just held us back bc they were collecting mounds of heavy snow as we walked. Had to turn around with 0.2 miles to go as the snow got too deep (waste high) over passing a drop off and we didn’t want to pioneer the trail. If someone pioneers the trail before you, super easy finish. Great hike all around, can’t wait to make it to the top next time with snow shoes and possibly a shovel.
January 24, 2021Absolutely stunning experience. Lots of crusty iced-over old snow at the top. Snowshoes would be overkill,, highly recommend micro spikes or something similar. Clear skies on the hike in provided humbling views. Very steep at first. But not impossible. Still Creek Road open again after recent mudslide, all bridges closed.
January 24, 2021Found a pair of Yaktrax today on the trail. If they’re yours - give a holler!
January 17, 2021Beautiful hike. All uphill on the way to the peak. There’s a few downed trees, but nothing impassable. Snow at the top!
January 11, 2021Zach, I found a snowshoe! Please reach out and I can return it to you!
January 4, 2021Amazing hike! Brought snow shoes but didn’t really need them to get to the lookout, micro spikes helpful going back down. Bridge over Zig Zag on road 20 is still closed, if you park at the bridge it adds 4 miles round trip, use Still Creek road further up Hwy 26
January 2, 2021Please take yak tracks! At 3 miles I turned around because it got super slippery with packed snow. Snow shows not needed now - too warm for the rain to turn to snow. Super fun - good challenge. Pretty steep pitch the whole way. Beautiful Forrest. Minor views, but I loved it for the challenge!
December 30, 2020Went up from hunchback and then down from still creek. Snowshoes weren’t needed but had some on my pack, ended up having one fall off. Would be extremely appreciative if someone found it and let me know!
December 28, 2020December 28, 2020Great hike. Went 12/26. Very steep beginning but levels out nice for most the hike. Awesome views from the ridge and the cabin. (when cloud cover permits) Cabin is super cool and open to hang out in just be respectful. When I went it was muddy and rainy up until 3,000 feet. Then slushy or a few inches of snow from 3,000-4,500. Then above 4,500 it gets really deep(a few feet deep and the top) and nearly impassible without snowshoes.
December 24, 2020December 23, 2020What an amazing day of hiking this was. I completed the trail on Saturday, Dec 19, just a bit late to posting, so some of the conditions may vary with the extra snow that the mountains received the last couple days. I was going into the hike expecting a lot of snow and downed trees early on, but that was not the case. I climbed the first 2,000ft in just over an hour, as the trail was pretty clear with the exception of a few tiny patches of snow. The last 750ft of gain did have decent snow coverage, but easily doable without the use of any flotation. I brought crampons just in case but they stayed in my pack the entire day. The only "sketchy" portion is the 200ft traverse along the ridge with a steep drop. It is very stable, just a bit tense if you are uncomfortable with heights. I also had an ice axe in one hand and a trekking pole in the other for added support. There are some fresh boot tracks but they may deteriorate over time, so I'd highly recommend GPS as well (GAIA GPS is my go to). Spent about an hour at the fire tower and round trip was about 5 hours total!
December 12, 2020Soooo cold today! Lots of fresh snow on the trail. We put our snowshoes on 1 mi in and didn't regret it. There are quite a few obstacles to navigate - logs, high steps, sharp turns, rocks - which do make snowshoeing tricky. Loved the challenge and the beautiful views of Mt Hood. We went inside the watchtower for a few minutes to thaw out our toes before the return trek. We switched to mini spikes about halfway back, then just boots the last mile, which was quite slippery due to the steep terrain and patches of snow and ice. Took us six hours total, a very slow pace for us. Also we followed the advice to take Still Creek Rd from Hwy 26. No passes required.
December 12, 2020Hiked 12/11/20. Mostly snow-covered, but was able to do it without snowshoes or spikes. The trail gets difficult to follow in some places near the top with the amount of fresh snow (and it was snowing a lot during the hike, covering footsteps to follow back). Nevertheless, if you download the map or have a GPS, you’re totally fine. It’s mostly easy enough to follow - just watch the switchbacks .anddowned trees. I loved this hike.
December 10, 2020does anyone know if you can camp up there right now or if it’s boarded up?
November 29, 2020Great strenuous hike that is currently about 50 percent snow covered.
November 25, 2020Chelsea I got your jacket! Respond here or DM me at superplemaire. If you drive from Portland make sure you don’t try to take the last few forest roads to the trailhead: bridges are closed. Trail was great, brought snow shoes but never really needed them/
November 25, 2020I hiked this on Saturday 11/21 and I think I left my blue Columbia rain coat in the black camping chair at the top. If anyone saw it or took it, I’d love to get it back because I just got it and I need a rain coat, I work outside. Please let me know! Thanks
November 14, 2020Don’t let the dry TH fool you, there is lots of snow & the path is hard to follow. We almost made it to the top, but without the correct equipment decided to be safe. 2-3 feet in many places at the top. But it was still a beautiful journey.
November 12, 2020We actually only made it 1 mile in before coming across fresh cougar tracks and urine on the trail in the new snow. We didn't feel prepared so we turned around, but it was beautiful!
