McNeil Point hiking trail is one of the more popular hiking trails in Mount Hood Forest National Park. The trail is about 10 miles long round trip with about 2000ft elevation gain. So it is not a difficult hike. The trail is often filled with crowd during the summer season since it is quite close to Portland and the trail offers magnificent view over Mount Hood Forest National Park.
McNeil Point hiking trail is about an hour away from Portland. The trail head of McNeil Point hiking trail is at Top Spur trail head. To get to Top Spur trail head, you can take highway 26 towards Mount Hood. After you pass Zig Zag River Road, you will make a left turn there. This route is very similar to the one that goes to Ramona Falls. However, when you get to the intersection that branches off to cross the bridge, you have to take the gravel road instead. Do not cross the bridge! Once you get onto the gravel road, you will start to see signs to Top Spur trail head. After 7 more miles of driving on gravel road, you will arrive at a tiny parking lot with a lot of cars parking on the side of the road. If you don't get there early, chances are that you have to park on the side of the road. Many people hike this trail during early morning to catch sun rise! In addition, don't forget to bring Northwest Forest Pass with you!
Once you are prepared, you can start the hike! McNeil Point hiking trail is mostly hiking in the forest, but you should still put on sunscreen. About 20 minutes in, you will arrive at an intersection with 3 different route. This may be a bit confusing for people who is hiking this trail for the first time. You can take either 2 of the 3 routes. You can take the left route and the middle route. Both routes will take you back to the main trail. I recommend you to take the left route to avoid confusion.
On this hiking trail, there are also several look out point that gives you a gorgeous view of Mount Hood. So make sure you have your camera ready with you. In addition, one section of this trail require you to cross a very shallow stream. You don't have to panic here. There are several rocks that you can step on so you won't get wet. However, the rock surface is very slippery so please be cautious when you cross the stream here.
Moreover, be aware that you will come to an intersection with 2 routes to take. The route on the right is the old trail and is currently no longer being used. The old trail is currently under restoration process. So please do not take that old trail and let the wild flowers recover by itself. The new trail on the left is the route that you should take. Distance of both old and new trails are similar, so please follow the sign and take the new trail.
Part of the trail require you to hike through rocky field. There is one part where you kind of have to climb through big rocks. Make sure you are extra careful here because it is a cliff on the other side. Once you pass this section, you are almost at McNeil Point! You will come to an intersection with 2 routes. 1 route heads up and the other route heads down. The route heading up is to the Pinnacle. It is about an additional hour of hike and it is steep at the end of the trail. The route that goes down is the one that you should take. This route leads to McNeil Point. At the end of this trail you will reach a hut built with rocks. Have your lunch here and enjoy the magnificent view!
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