Larch Mountain via Tarbell Trail is a 5.1 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Washougal, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and nature trips and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Though a 5 mile route, the view of Mount Saint Helens is at about the 2 mile point. The top of Larch Mountain is covered in service towers. You can continue from there and do the entire Tarbell Trail. You can also go to Hidden Falls. Hidden Falls is currently closed according to signs at the trailhead. Please check with park before leaving.
February 7, 2021Definitely need snow shoes to complete this trail. I made it about 2.4 miles up without them but it was up to my knees. Beautiful trail though!
January 27, 2021Check out my video trip report here: https://youtu.be/X7BOZhlfzuA This was a wonderful, very well maintained trail, and it was very nice to have relative seclusion despite a jam-packed trailhead. While most tend to head up to Silver Star, this side of the Tarbell trail gets much less use. This is of course a direct result of not really having any views, except for a couple clearings on the way up. The summit itself is occupied by a big radio installation and surrounded by trees, so there isn't much of a view at the top. Overall, it is a fun trip with a nice even grade and soft surface the whole way, but don't expect too many views.
January 24, 2021The trail was nicely kept and lightly traveled. It’s a soft trail, nice if you have bad knees or ankles. The view at the top was definitely anticlimactic.
January 23, 2021January 17, 2021Nice trail, well maintained. Gunshot noises did not bother me but were certainly loud. Happy to have taken the advice of another reviewer and keep going a ways down the service road by the radio tower to get some better views. Took a trail back from there and got some nice views of Hood. Only saw 2-3 other groups on a Saturday. Seems like most other folks who parked at the trailhead were doing the silver star trail. Main downside was all the beer cans and shotgun shells, worth it for the views.
January 10, 2021A little muddy towards the bottom closer to the lot.
December 27, 2020Great hike, 10 miles of dirt road, quiet before 10am after that constant sound of gun shots. All in all a good day.
December 4, 2020October 17, 2020Couldn’t actually get to the trail due to the few miles of unpaved road leading up to the trail. You’ll need a car with good clearance to get to this trailhead. 2 stars because the drive before we gave up was pretty.
October 7, 2020October 4, 2020September 6, 2020September 6, 2020The best view is about halfway up to the top... unless you prefer cell towers!! Overall a great and family friendly hike.
August 27, 2020Great trail. Well maintained and a pretty easy incline the whole way. Almost at the top there is a sign of two long boards on your right. Directly to the left there is currently a ground nest of bees, which my dog promptly found. When you get to the top at the cell towers, it’s the “end”. Keep going on the service road down the hill and you’ll come to great views. Without that continuation I would give this a 3. Other reviews are correct on the gun shots so if you don’t like that noise, definitely pass on this one.
August 23, 2020well maintained and well shaded trail. majority is gradual hills but there are a couple steeper areas. the dogs loved it
August 22, 2020Tarbaw trail
August 15, 2020August 14, 2020Really nice trail that’s mostly shaded. When you reach the top by the towers, continue around the road to the left. Just downhill past the gate, turn left on the short dead end for a sweeping vista and wildflowers.
August 9, 2020July 2, 2020Decent trail, mostly in the trees with a couple of openings. Dog friendly. This is the route you take when you intended to do Silver Star from Grouse Ridge but neglect to pay attention at the trail head and go the WRONG WAY!!! Silver Star, I’m coming back for you!!!!!
June 28, 2020Walking on some logging roads, can seem sketch but it’s good
June 28, 2020at first the climb is a bit hard but then everything improves before reaching the top it has many small stones, the top has a beautiful view, but it is not pleasant to hear the shots. and the road to get there is made of stone and dirt.
June 19, 2020Trail starts off on a pretty quick incline but levels off and inclines again periodically throughout the hike. Good scenery and calm sounds of the creek as you travel deeper into the trail. Your first photo op moment is when you reach a nice clearing with Mountain View’s and nice forested valleys, continue on and once you reach the cell towers you’ve made it. I recommend continuing on just a bit more and you’ll see another clearing and some spots to sit and relax. Refuel and head back down.
June 15, 2020Nice trail but the sounds of gun shots throughout the hike sucked. There must be a shooting range nearby.
June 14, 2020Nice trail. Nice day. Really enjoyed! Important note: Make sure to get your Discover Pass before driving up the long fire road, otherwise you’ll have to drive back down to get one, risk a citation, or try to get a pass online with the limited cell signal at the trailhead.
June 6, 2020Pretty drive to the TH. Hike was short and sweet. A little bit of an uphill burn in some parts, but nothing to extreme. Took my 17 yo mini poodle. He did great :) Oh, was rainy (hiker 6/6/20). Passed the viewpoint half way up and it was clouded over. But the way back, it cleared up and sun peeked through the area.
June 1, 2020June 1st 20. Nice leg stretcher, consistent uphill, with a good trail. As someone else said, the car ark was busy, but everyone must have been doing silver star, larch mountain had no one else on it apart from 3 MTBrs coming down.
May 31, 2020this hike goes West from the Grouse Vista parking lot on L-1200. The Tarabell trail is much less rocky headed west than east (it's rougher headed towards Silver Star). Not a lot of mountain or valley views on this trail, though it was cloudy the entire hike and perhaps the summit is Larch would have been more rewarding otherwise. The incline is consistent but not difficult and there was a stream about a mile and a half up the trail to fill up.
May 29, 2020Hiked this trail 5/28/20 and it was a nice stroll through the forest. Best view was before Larch mountain. No view from Larch summit which was unfortunate. Lots of mountain bikers if you go any further on the Tarbell trail.
May 28, 2020Got to trailhead around 9am (on a Thursday) and it was almost full but most hikers were going to silver star. So this hike had very little people on it. You are able to see Mt Hood, St. Helen, and a tiny bit of Mt Adams on the hike. Agree with others anti-climatic at the top but still a great hike. Did see a snake in the middle of the trail - unsure what kind.
