The Marvelous McNeil Point

One of my top summer trails, I've been hauling myself up to Mt Hood's McNeil Point for many years.  Introduced to me by one of my hiking friends, its stunning wildflower meadows and mountain views kept me coming back each summer.  Multiple notes in an old hiking book show visits dating back to 2000, and nearly every year in the decade and half since then.  However sometime around 2020, thanks to social media, this lovely slice of paradise was "found."  The trail and parking area became so crowded, I decided to forego my annual trek for awhile. 

But last year I started missing McNeil's summer flower show.  It was time to go back!  Trying to avoid the crowds, I hiked there via lower elevation, longer trail.  It was such a slog, this year I decided to suck it up and return to the usual route.

A new sign!

I recruited my friend Catherine to join me for my McNeil Point revisit.  Since she's a teacher and has summers off, we decided upon a late July weekday in hopes of encountering less people.  That, coupled with a fairly early start, ensured us a spot at the small trailhead parking area.

Heading up the ridge

It was a beautiful day!  The sun was out, the temps moderate, and the bugs few and far between.  Catherine and I headed up the first steep climb before junctioning with the Timberline Trail.  We then ascended up this trail, taking in occasional mountain views, wildflowers, and butterflies before coming to a sign pointing the way towards McNeil Point.  I was surprised to see the old, weather-beaten wooden sign that had been here for years replaced with a brand-new version.  To memorialize the occasion, I had Catherine pose beside it for a few pics.

Avalanche lily

After the obligatory sign photos, we began climbing again, this time following the spine of a rocky ridge.  Ducking in and out of scrubby fir forests Catherine and I finally came to a clearing with amazing views of Mt Hood and the adjacent Cascade peaks.

Orange Indian paintbrush highlight this colorful meadow

Past an old trail junction, we contoured along a slope into an alpine wonderland.  Wildflowers bloomed in the meadows here - orange Indian paintbrush, purple penstemon, pale purple asters, white avalanche lilies - and many others.  A few patches of snow lingered nearby.  Our trail even crossed a small snowfield, a bit slippery but doable.

Our goal is in sight

The alpine meadows directly below McNeil Point erupt into a kaleidoscope of colorful wildflowers in July.  Some years are better than others - rainfall, heat, and amount of winter snow all affect the vibrancy and timing of the bloom.  Back in 2013 I witnessed the absolute best wildflower show I've ever seen on this trail.  The pink heather and magenta Indian paintbrush was so prolific - the entire area was absolutely stunning!  (I blogged about it in this post.)  Since that year I've never seen it as good.

We came upon this most excellent meadow

I thought maybe we'd be too late to catch peak bloom.  After several years of either just missing it, or having a less-than-stellar wildflower show, I'd set the bar low.  So imagine my surprise and delight when I came around a bend in the trail to an entire meadow filled with pink heather and magenta Indian paintbrush, all in full, colorful bloom.

Heather and magenta paintbrush as far as the eye could see

As you can imagine, forward progress ground to a screeching halt, as cameras came out and photos were taken.  Many, many, photos!

Absolutely gorgeous!

The wildflower bloom was so amazing it nearly rivaled the fantastic 2013 show.  It certainly was the best I'd seen up here since.

A distant Mt. Adams anchors the skyline

Catherine and I lingered in this wonderful meadow for quite a long time.  (We probably would've gotten going sooner if not for me and my "just one more photo" mentality.)  But finally I decided I had enough images, and we still had a bit of distance and climbing to reach our final destination on McNeil Point.  Onward!  

Lots of wildflowers in this meadow!

The wildflower show wasn't over yet.  We passed by an area of lupine so lush and purple, we nick-named it "lupine alley."  And once upon McNeil Point's plateau, I ran into more flower fields, each as colorful as the next (but not quite as good as that heather/paintbrush meadow below.)

Catherine playing in the snow

Seeing a large snowfield above the trail, Catherine couldn't resist hiking up to it and sliding around.  

Poor McNeil Point stone shelter has seen better days

Despite all our dilly-dallying we did finally reach McNeil Point proper, defined by its old stone shelter.  Built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp, the poor structure was looking pretty dilapidated.  A blue tarp covered the roof, anchored by rocks.  With its stability in question, I chose not to go inside.

Flower field and Mt. Hood view

Usually the meadows directly above this stone shelter host a wide variety of wildflowers.  Most noteable are the Western Pasque flower seed-heads, whose wild-haired poofs look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.  (I've affectionately nick-named them "Hippy on a stick.")  This year's meadow show wasn't nearly as good as in years past.  I really haven't seen a spectacular bloom here since that wonderful day in 2013.  Since 2020, this area has been horribly overused and I suspect the wildflowers have suffered as a result (people - this is why you should stay on the trail!)

We dubbed this spot "lupine alley"

Catherine and I found an unused campsite near the shelter and perched on the rocks for lunch with a view.  Our vantage high above the Sandy River gave us panoramic vistas of the terrain below as well as Mt. Hood's craggy west face with her shrinking glaciers.

So lovely!

Catherine and I returned the way we came, retracing our steps across the McNeil plateau, down through lupine alley, and once again past the wonderful heather and paintbrush meadow.  More photos may have been taken here!

A plethora of paintbrush

From high on the ridge, we spotted the nearby Cascade peaks of Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens.  In addition, smoke from a large wildfire burning in the Columbia River Gorge could be seen.  This one a human-caused wildfire, it's always sad to see more of the forest burning.

Beautiful mountain stream

On the way down, Catherine and I stopped by a lovely mountain stream, fed by snowmelt high on the mountain.  It wound through a patch of green vegetation, highlighted by bright spots of wildflowers, most notably purple lupine.

And there were butterflies!

The warm afternoon temps had brought out the butterflies and as we trekked downhill, I tried to capture a few as they settled onto the wildflowers.  I didn't have the best luck - usually as soon as I pointed my camera on these winged beauties, they nearly always flew away.

Two butterflies caught in a not-so-private moment

However, I was fortunate enough to capture two butterflies busy in a (ahem!) not-so-private moment.  I think they were too busy with each other to notice my camera.

Enjoying the views

It was so good to be back at McNeil Point again for the summer wildflowers.  And although we saw a few hikers, the meadows and shelter area weren't very busy at all.  My overcrowding fears didn't materialize.  Sometime you just have to say "what the heck" and go anyway.  I've found I'm always glad that I did!