Hillockburn Trail Elevation Profile
Note: This trail was damaged in the Riverside fire. It is currently inaccessible due to road 45 being closed.
This is an easy to get to trail and a good half day romp. The trail is becoming increasingly damaged by illegal ATV and motorcycle use. Much shooting in the area on weekends.
There is no sign at the trailhead. Once you enter the National Forest you climb the ridge, descend into a saddle and cross over to the other side of the ridge. At this point start climbing again about a hundred yards and there will be a parking area on the left. An abandoned spur road on your right as you pull in is the start of the trail.
The trailhead is usually accessible all year. If there is a little snow you will soon be out of it as this trail descends to the South Fork of the Clackamas.
SOUTH FORK HEADING OUT TO SEA
For the savvy adventurer-woodsman, an abandoned and long unmaintained trail continues up the other side of the canyon through more untouched area for about a mile and a half to a new road about a quarter mile north of a silvaculture research area. It is fairly easy to follow to an area of giant trees and springs. Beyond this it is hard to find and there are many trees to climb over. There are often ribbons guiding the way but there are no assurances they will be there when you get there. The river is safest to ford late in the Summer and before the rains.
Both the maintained and the abandoned parts of this trail are essentially wilderness inspite of the proximity to town. All the appropriate precautions should be taken.
Hiked this trail today – 4/1/2016 – good shape – only a couple of logs down on the trail. As usual a lot of shooting damage at the top of the trail – 3 trees were destroyed by shooters and have fallen at the beginning of the trail.