Tire Mountain Trail

Pluses for this trail: Lots of shade Lots of wildflowers Some wonderful views Lightly traveled Amazing forest Minuses: As stated before, the last half to one mile not maintained. Lots of trees to climb over. Very little signage No view - or anything- at the top

Beautiful trail that has mild up and downs. Great views and lots of flowers. There were bikers using the Alpine Trail but we did not see anyone after we turned off to Tire Mountain. The driving directions are perfect but there is no sign at the trailhead saying either Alpine or Tire Mountain.

Great single track trail that goes in and out of forests and ridge meadows. Views of The Three Sisters, Mt Bachelor, and Diamond Head. Lots of wildflowers, especially in the last meadow. We were a little late for the balsamroot. We ran into a few groups of mountain bikers on our way out.

Beautiful trail through an incredible variety of landscapes. At times felt more like a portrait gallery than a hike - mellow grade, new views at every turn, and a nice balance of shade and sun along the way. Significant blowdown over the last half mile, but not impossible to get to the end. In any case, the wildflowers were the main attraction here. No bugs, few bikers, and beautiful views.

Went up to scout for a future mountain biking trip. Beautiful hike. Still a ton of wildflowers. Trail is very muddy right now so wear boots or waterproof shoes.

Gorgeous wildflowers! We hiked to the top (no view), but the best part was all the meadows we passed on the way up filled with a beautiful diversity of wildflowers. Best views were within the first 1.5 miles. Lots of downed trees, but passable, in the last 0.5 miles. Took NFS 1910 up no problem, road in good condition with few potholes.

Amazing wild flowers right now!!! Couldn’t make it the last mile out because of down trees but still worth the hike out. Limited parking at the trailhead (which is about 10 miles of dirt road after the main road) so go earlier in the day if possible and go in a car that can handle rough roads.

Beautiful wildflowers. We hiked all the way to the top. To be honest, if we were to go again, I'd hike till the lookout or (option 2) till spot where those yellow daisy-looking flowers grow and then turn around and go back. b/c hike after that continues uphill and last .5mile till the top has too many fallen trees to climb over. the view on top...well, there is no view (trees obstruct). the first lookout panorama was amazing, though and it is probably a mile or so from the start of the trail. we saw 3 mountain tops covered in snow and lots of wildflowers. few bicyclists and few other hikers today. limited parking space (when we got there at 12 there were 10 cars and when we completed hike around 5 pm, we were last car...)

Heads up, the road to the trail isn’t cleared yet!

Beautiful day. Lots of wildflowers left in the Meadows.

Nice but longer than I thought

beautiful sunny day with all the glorious wild flowers in bloom!

I hiked the Tire Mountain trail in mid-May, following the route shown on this trail's page. I give it 4 stars mostly for the "steep-slope meadows" and the wildflowers that strive there. There ARE a some views when the trail crosses the meadows; mostly, this means looking down on the valley around Oakridge, sighting Diamond Peak on the southeast horizon and, looking northeast at one point on the Alpine Trail, spotting the 3 sisters in the distance. As mentioned in other posts, the top of Tire Mountain offers a spacious and flat area, albeit w/o views, that can be a good snack/lunch spot to break the hike. I was a tad early in the season for the full wildflowers show but there were still enough "early birds" to make the 8-ish miles hike worth every step. While I was the first at the parking lot and on the trail at 8:30, bikers and hikers were a bit thick for the last 1.2 miles or so on the Alpine Trail portion before returning to the parking lot shortly after noon. The trail itself can be broken down in three sections: the Alpine Trail section (1.2 miles), the Tire Mountain traverse section (2 miles) and the Ascent to the top (.5 miles). The first two sections follow and cross ridgelines and are globally horizontal-ish with low grade roller-coaster profiles. The meadows are all found in the first 2 miles as the trail alternately goes through wooded and barren spots in a rather pleasant manner (never too shaded, never too hot...at least in May). After the well maintained (and more heavily traveled) Alpine trail, the 2 miles traverse to the foot of Tire Mountain is a narrower track with slightly more encroaching vegetation. The ascent to the top, via a handful of switchbacks, is even a bit more narrow and attention to footing a tad more important; this ascent is also the only really sustained uphill. That is however just for about .5 miles. Lastly, NF road 1910 was in good shape: the 8 miles from Aufderheide Dr / Hwy 19 were negotiable by any vehicle, with just a few shallow potholes, a gravel surface (some washboard) and a gentle grade. The parking area can easily accommodate more than a dozen cars just by the trailhead and more alongside the road.

I did the summit via the trail head on the west side, off forest rd 5824. 5824 is off North shore rd, which follows lookout point and the North fork of the Willamette, across the river from hwy 58. It's not recommended to take a passenger car up this rd, but is passable with an AWD or 4x4. It's a cool offroad drive up the mountain. Just follow the "main" rd 5824 without turning off and you can't miss it. You will see a hiker symbol on the left next to a small parking area. From there the hike is 8.7 miles round trip and is an easy to moderate hike. Tons of giant old growth fir and cedars from 3' to 10' in diameter. Great hidden gem on that side, but still not a great view on the summit. Worth it for the trees alone. Great hike!

Loved it!

A fantastic hike for wildflowers! You find them right away at the trailhead, and every turn brings more. We didn't go all the way to the mountain, just to what are referred to as "meadows", which are hillside gardens with many wonderful wildflowers. The second meadow had a mass of Arrowleaf balsamroot, and that was a good point to turn around at. Lots of mountain bikes, so be careful on the narrow trail

A fantastic hike for wildflowers! You find them right away at the trailhead, and every turn brings more. We didn't go all the way to the mountain, just to what are referred to as "meadows", which are hillside gardens with many wonderful wildflowers. The second meadow had a mass of Arrowleaf balsamroot, and that was a good point to turn around at.

Went out first weekend in June and wildflowers were in full bloom. Beautiful views along the way. Saw many other hiking couples and dogs on the trail, along with mountain bikers. We were told it was unusual the amount of people though. Great mix of shaded and open sunny trail, will be returning.

I thought this trail was wonderful. The wildflowers are just starting to bloom. It is easy to follow. It’s a a light moderate, the isn’t a view at the top, but it’s nice to relax and get some sun

Amazing views and open fields on cliff sides. A must see!

Did this hike yesterday. Lots of bikers (which I was fine with). Lots of mosquitos. The trail is a good workout. It's is pretty up and down and if you go all the way to the summit you will have a steep trip for the last bit. There is nothing really to see at the summit, no views. Would only recommend going that far if you wanted a longer hike (at least 8 miles round trip to summit NOT 7) or you wanted to pitch a tent. Very flat up top. If I went again I would stop at the false summit, good views there. Also a nice view of Diamond peak a little ways in.

Loved it here! With the elevation, distance and being on cliff side often, small amounts uphill I'd rate this MODERATE not easy. We went in June beautiful wild flowers rank to one mother son couple. Otherwise the fields of wildflowers were ours. I choose not to summit to tire mountain since it's completely over grown with views no more. I stayed at the last field of sunflowers and wild cucumber plants with my dog and had lunch. Your way out there. I had my handgun. I would recommend spray or gun. Their was cougar and bear prints and poo. Distinct differences. The broken down bones and the berries, roughage

Beautiful views and easy trail. It should be noted 4.8 miles round trip to the meadows and back. It's more like an 8 mile hike to the summit, which offers no views.