Ramona Falls Loop Hike - Oregon

It had been awhile since Katie and I have had a chance to go on a hike together. We were fortunate enough to get a break in the weather on Saturday and took the opportunity to hike to Ramona Falls near Zigzag, Oregon. The trailhead is about 6 miles Northeast of the town of Zigzag off Lolo Pass Rd. (North of Hwy 26). The approximately 6.9 mile loop trail gains about 1,110 feet in elevation, so it is a moderate hike. The first 1.25 miles of the trail follows the Sand River Trail # 770 to a junction. At this junction hikers have a choice of completing the loop counterclockwise, as we did, or clockwise. When hiking the loop counterclockwise, head Southeast at the junction, hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail # 2000 to the Timberline Trail # 200, to Ramona Falls Trail # 797, to the Pacific Crest Trail # 2000, and back to the Sandy River Trail # 770. The 120 foot Ramona Falls cascades down stair-stepped columnar basalt and is a great spot for photos.

Download route (round-trip) as shown in map above in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

We started our hike with our dog Bella at about 9:30 AM. There were already about a dozen or so cars in the parking lot when we arrived. It had been raining the day before, so the wet trees were glistening in the morning sun. The air was crisp and clean with a temperature around 45°F. We set off along the Sandy River Trail # 770 and soon had views of the Sandy River and Mount Hood, which had a fresh coat of snow covering it (the first of the season). The sight of Mount Hood stirred my desire for winter to come soon.

   

The well-defined trail gradually gains elevation as it travels near the Sandy River. While the river looked small today, there was plenty of evidence of how large it can get during flood events (like last year).

   

At about 1.2 miles we came to the seasonal bridge that crosses the Sandy River. Katie had called the Forest Service the day before to confirm the bridge was still in place. She discovered they planned to remove it next week. There are some downed trees and boulders in the river, so as long as the water level remains low, hikers could conceivably cross without the man-made bridge.

   

We passed several groups of hikers before arriving at Romona Falls. It was definitely worth the hike. The falls are beautiful even though they are from a small creek. The area around the falls is densely forested, so it can be cooler than out in the open. We decided to take a short break at the falls, so I took the opportunity to scramble up the right side to the top of Ramona Falls. It's a steep scramble in spots and was quite slippery due to recent rains. I do not recommend it to the average hiker. At the top, I observed just how small the creek was. I proceeded down the other side of the falls after jumping across the creek and rejoined Katie and Bella at the base of the falls. Another group of hikers were enjoying the falls before continuing on to Yocum Ridge.

   

On our way back we passed many more hikers completing the loop in the opposite direction as we did. We stopped in a sunny spot to eat lunch before heading back to the trailhead. It was about 57°F when we returned and there were 36 cars in the parking lot. It was a beautiful autumn day and many folks were taking advantage of it.