Lookout on top of Coffin Mtn.
My family and I went camping last weekend on the North Santium river south of Detroit. We stayed at Riverside camp ground, a lovely spot with a surprising sense of seclusion, despite its proximity to HW22. On Sat, we did the short (3.2 mile) hike up Coffin Mtn, where the Bear Grass was simply amazing. I have never seen such extensive fields of Bear Grass all in bloom.
First, a couple photos of the North Santium river and some of the flowers there.
North Santium River
Foxglove
Mutant Foxglove
Coffin Mtn is in the old Cascades just west of Mt. Jefferson. These are heavily eroded volcanic remnants. Their rocky tops, when they poke above the trees, provide fantastic views of the Cascade volcanoes to the east. According to Sullivan, Coffin Mtn. was the site of a fire back in the 70's, and it remains very open today, so the hike offers fantastic views of not only the very close Mt. Jefferson, but also North to Hood and Adams and South to the Sisters. Perhaps because of this wide open view, there is a staffed fire lookout tower at the top.
The trail head was an easy drive on forest roads just off HW 22. The trail starts in a dusty parking area with signs warning you that the fire lookout does not have water. The trail passes through a little bit of forest and quickly enters open meadows, which continue all the way to the top.
Wildflowers abound in these meadows.
But everywhere is the bear grass. At the lower elevations, the blooms had passed already, but as we climbed we encountered more and more plants at peak bloom.
Bear Grass over our heads!
After traversing through these other worldly meadows of Bear Grass, the Lookout comes into view, and is just a short walk through a small patch of forest.
A second peak to the West of the Lookout holds a microwave tower, lots of wildflowers, and superb views of the Lookout, and of course all the Cascade peaks. (Unfortunately, the day's haze prevented any good photos of the more distant mtns.)
After hiking under the blazing sun on the super hot day, we were ready to plunge into the river back at the campground. This was a fantastic hike, perfect for families. To make a longer day of it, you could combine it with the nearby 4 mile round trip Batchelor Mtn. You could even bushwack from Coffin to Batchelor for a true adventure.
