Silver Star via Ed's Loop hike

The Silver Star scenic area is a popular hiking area within easy pickings of those in the Portland metro area. But there are two main options in how to access the summit, one from the north via the Moulton Falls area (Silver Star via Ed’s Loop) and one from the south via the Camas area (Silver Star via Grouse Vista).

I had heard that you really do need a 4x4 to come in from the north if you plan to park at the trailhead. Not being the owner of a 4x4, I arranged to hike with another dad and daughter and this bit of info turned out to very much be true. A few parked a couple of miles down the road and added distance to the 4.7 mile hike. We had planned some hiking, scrambling, map/compass work and geocaching to round out a lovely day in the woods as we kept in mind the goal of adventure race training.

We visited on May 29, 2021 and recognized just an hour into our hike that we wouldn’t be able to get past the rock archway due to heavily angled snow fields blocking the path. Rather than turn around and backtrack, we slowly scrambled up the side of the steep mountain to reach the other trail that was safe. But other than this change of plans, slightly dangerous but a lot of fun, the rest was just a treasure-hunting walk in the woods. We hit plenty of snow, but it was easy to walk on top of even without spikes or snowshoes.

The vistas from the top are pretty spectacular with views of all of the region’s mountain peaks.