Miles: 1+ miles RT (a longer loop is possible but currently closed for restoration)
Elevation Gain/Highest: 230ft/500ft
Map: state park brochure
Favorite Eats After Hike: Crush Cider, Walking Man Brewery, Backwoods Brewery, Thunder Island Brewing, Cascade Locks Ale House, Farm Stand Natural Foods, Dick’s Primal Burger, Back To Eden Bakery, Kyra’s Bakery, Bierly Brewing Company, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike details:
Horsethief Butte is one of four distinct areas in 3,637 acre Columbia Hills State Park that offers views of the Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood as you wonder its craggy rock formation. The butte is popular with rock climbers, but an official trail does take you up onto the butte itself (it is no longer possible to walk the trail that circumnavigates the butte). Expect to scramble up rock using your hands.
Take care for poison oak, rattlesnakes and ticks in spring, along with marked culturally sensitive areas. Weekday visits are suggested in peak season (April-May) as hikers flock for views of wildflowers.
My trip report:
3/7/2021
We woke up to rain in White Salmon so we drove east until conditions began to dry and the sun poked through the clouds, landing us at Horsethief Butte! We took about a mile hike up into the butte, scrambling up the rocky trail into the middle into a network of dirt paths and endless scrambling opportunities.
In searching for the “summit” we wandered and climbed a bit to the east on the butte, eventually finding a route that took us to the top at 500ft. The terrain in this area is so varied and intriguing, the terraced steps in the cliff walls and what appear to be “mima” type mounds spread out between SR 14 and the Columbia River.
Coming down from the summit, there was a route that led down to the trail that circumnavigates the butte but is currently closed. Stick to the left or you will end up on the other side of the closure.
Grass widows, desert parsley and Jeffrey’s shooting stars were making their yearly appearance and we could have easily spent half a day scrambling the rock.
Directions: Take SR 14 east along the Columbia River Gorge from Camas through Lyle to the junction with US 197. Continue east for 2.8 miles to the signed trailhead parking area on the south side of the highway. Privy, picnic table and garbage can are available. You will need a Discover Pass.
Per the state park website: Archaeological sites and artifacts are protected by both federal and state laws, and their disturbance and/or removal is illegal and carries severe penalties.
Thank you so much for stopping by Must Hike Must Eat!
If you need some healthy eating inspiration start here:..
Need some eating out suggestions when friends want to stop after a hike? I have a Pacific Northwest Eating Guide here.
Find out what’s been happening outside the blog:
If you have a question you don’t want to post in the comments, you can ask them here: