It’s called Devil’s Rest, but you have to pass through Heaven to get there

As Halloween rolls up, I thought it would be fun to feature a hike appropriate for the season. Enter Devil’s Rest, the sinister sounding (and less-visited) counterpart of the ever-popular Angel’s Rest in the Columbia River Gorge. Devil’s Rest is a forested hill that sits some 2200 feet above the Columbia River. Why is it called Devil’s rest? Perhaps because at the top of the hill sits a jumble of grotesque, moss-covered boulders, and the surrounding area has lots of large bushes that have somewhat spooky, twisted branches of the sort you’d expect in the yard of a haunted house. My other theory is that there is actually no view at the top of Devil’s Rest! It is so thickly forested at the top that you will see nothing but trees. That is only disappointing, of course, if you were expecting a view at the top. Don’t worry, though: There are several breathtaking views before you reach the top (if you are taking the route I’ll describe), and the last one before the top is the best.

Devil's Rest

You can get to Devil’s Rest from Angel’s Rest, but I’ll describe the route from Multnomah Falls. Starting from the Multnomah Falls Lodge, follow the throngs up the paved trail to the top of the falls. This is just under a mile. At the top, you will start onto the unpaved Larch Mountain Trail, which crosses Multnomah Creek right away and follows the creek on the right side. After about another mile, you’ll come to a split in the trail. Go right, leaving Multnomah Creek and skirting around a ridge for about another mile. You will then come to a junction where the trail splits off in several directions. One of these goes up to Devil’s Rest. It is clearly marked, but you would have no trouble finding it anyway, because it is the only one going up! From here it is 1.6 miles to the top. The round-trip mileage for the hike is just under 8.5 miles.

You will have several great views along the Devil’s Rest Trail, but the last one before the top is the best. On a clear day, you will see Mount Adams rising above the distant hills across the river. Upon reaching the top, you and your hiking partners can sit on the boulders and swap ghost stories; the surroundings are perfect for that!