TABLE ROCK (MOLALLA)

Table Rock Stats:

  • Distance: 7.4 miles out and back

  • Elevation Gain: 1,500 feet

  • Trailhead elevation: 3,382 feet

  • Trail high point: 4,890 feet

  • Season: June – October

  • Best: June – July

  • Map: Opal Creek Wilderness (Imus)

Directions:

  • From Exit 10 on Interstate 205, drive 16.5 miles southeast on OR 213 to Molalla.

  • At the traffic light on the edge of Molalla, turn left on OR 211.

  • Drive 2.1 miles through the town of Molalla to the edge of town, where OR 211 curves away to the left at an intersection.

  • Veer right on South Mathias Road here.

  • Drive this road for 1 mile south to a junction with S Feyrer Park Road, and veer left again.

  • Continue on this road for 1.6 miles until you cross the Molalla River and meet South Dickey Prairie Road.

  • Turn right on Dickey Prairie Road and drive 5.4 miles to a sign on your right marking the Molalla River Recreation area.

  • Turn right and cross the Molalla River, and immediately turns left and becomes the Molalla River Road.

  • Continue on this road for 11 miles to a junction with the Horse Creek Road on your right.

  • Continue straight (ignoring the road veering downhill to the right) and drive another 1.7 miles to a junction with the road to Table Rock. You will see a sign for the Table Rock Trailhead.

  • Turn left onto gravel Table Rock Road and drive 2.5 miles to a junction with a road up to Table Rock. You will again see a sign for the Table Rock Trailhead.

  • Turn right and drive 4 miles to the end of the road. There is a pit toilet and room for at least ten cars.

  • Note: Online maps show that you can drive from Molalla direct onto the Molalla River Road, thereby avoiding several steps in the directions above. While this is true, this stretch of the Molalla River Road passes through private timberland and is sometimes gated. The directions described above are always open and easier to follow than the directions indicate.

Hike: By far the most popular hike in the small Table Rock Wilderness, the trail to the summit of the wilderness area’s eponymous peak is surprisingly well-graded and fairly easy. The views from the summit are magnificent and wide-ranging, and there are even a couple of campsites at the summit if you feel like camping overnight (bring water, though). If you time it correctly, you may even come home with a bag full of delicious huckleberries – a delightful treat indeed!

Begin by following the old road, now a wide trail east to where it washed out in 1996. At 0.3 mile, the trail cuts uphill to the right into a lovely forest of lichen-draped hemlocks to avoid the washout that closed the road. After a few tenths of a mile, the trail rejoins the road, which you follow for almost a mile to the old trailhead. Turn right here.

The trail passes a decaying signboard and begins a moderate ascent up the surprisingly gentle north face of Table Rock. After one mile of uphill, the trail switchbacks under the massive, fortress-like rock face and talus slopes below the summit. Here you will likely hear the meep of the pika, a small, round-eared mammal that lives in rockslides. Wear boots on this hike – this stretch is quite rocky as the trail follows cairns through this maze of rockfall. The basalt formations on the huge walls of the mountain are among the most impressive in this part of the Cascades. Once past the rockslide, the trail climbs to meet an unsigned junction with the trail over to Rooster Rock. Turn left here and climb 0.6 mile, skirting along the huge basalt cliffs but never close enough for discomfort, to the wide summit. Here the view is incredible – you can see snowpeaks from Mount Rainier to the Three Sisters, as well as most of the Willamette Valley. What is less impressive, so to speak, is the tremendous number of clearcuts visible below – a testament to the small size of the Table Rock Wilderness as well as the huge amount of logging on BLM land. There are a few campsites if you feel like spending the night but make sure to bring your own water – there is none anywhere close to the summit.

Return the way you came, or head over to Rooster Rock to extend your hike. If you choose this second option, however, be warned that the stretch of trail over to Rooster Rock is far rougher and steeper as it rides the rollercoaster of Table Rock’s broad ridge 2 miles to Rooster Rock.