March 31, 2022

Hiking (Climbing) Horsethief Buttes

Horsethief Lake is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge about 2 hours from Vancouver and Portland. The lake is known for its trout fishing and Native American pyelographs which sit on display. We drove from Portland in February to see the pyelographs only to discover the lake area is closed from November-March. Wah Waahhh… The good news was the trail around the nearby buttes is open year-round! We drove just up the road and began out hike. There are two ways to explore Horsethief Buttes. One trail goes around the entire butte and the other goes up and through it. Being our adventurous selves we chose to climb up the buttes and to get some awesome views from the top. The stats below are from our hike through the buttes.

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Trail Stats

Distance: 1.5-2 miles
Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 250-300 meters
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Little sketchy with young kids, but we survived
When to Visit/Seasons: Year-round
Trail Coordinates: Lat 45.65075 Long -121.09856

On the Trail

At the parking lot there is a place to pay the daily fee of $10. Or if you have the PNW Pass that is fine as well. At the head of the trail there are bathrooms and the trail starts to the right of this building. Immediately after the start of the trail there are various bushes and foliage surround the path. These bushes open up to a magnificent view of Mt. Hood.

After the trail continues to an exposed grassy area which stretches out to the buttes. Here wildflowers bloom during warmer months and I’m sure it is a beautiful site to see. At the split of the trail you can chose to go left to do the loop around the buttes or straight to hike up through the buttes. We chose to hike through.

The initial wall of Horsethief Buttes was a bit difficult to climb with two young kids. The trail is a mixture of footpaths leading to the rim of the rockface. Once over the rim hiking in and around the top of the buttes isn’t difficult.

We winded our way through the different columns, jumped off rocks and saw amazing views across the Columbia River. From the top we walked down the buttes to the main loop trail. Once again Mt Hood was seen in all its glory from the loop trail. From here the loop finishes and leads back to the parking lot.