a legal trailhead, go right (uphill), still on the Bells Mountain Trail, and continue through pretty forest for 0.5 mile to another trail junction. This junction comes immediately before the main trail crosses the gravel access road to Cold Creek Campground. To reach the nearest legal parking area, go right and in about 0.6 mile of gradual climbing through second-growth forest come to the Cold Creek Trailhead on Road L 1000 (see Trip 8 for directions).
TRIP 7 Tarbell Trail to Hidden Falls
| Distance | 10.0 miles, Out-and-back | |
| Elevation Gain | 1100 feet | |
| Hiking Time | 5 hours | |
| Optional Map | USGS Dole | |
| Usually Open | Mid-March to November | |
| Best Time | April to June | |
| Trail Use | Dogs OK, mountain biking, horseback riding | |
| Agency | Yacolt State Forest | |
| Difficulty | Moderate | |
| Note | Good in cloudy weather, recent logging activity along the first mile of the trail has created unsightly conditions and confusing skid trail |
HIGHLIGHTS More than 100 years ago, a man named George Tarbell lived alone in the roadless forests northwest of Silver Star Mountain. He made a living by farming and mining for gold. His isolated cabin was connected to the outside world only by a narrow 6-mile-long trail that led to the nearest wagon road. Walking in the hermit’s footsteps leads to a spectacular waterfall that remains nearly as unknown today as it was in Tarbell’s time.
DIRECTIONS Begin by driving to Battleground, either by going north on State Highway 503 from Interstate 205, or by going east on State Highway 502 from Exit 9 off Interstate 5. The two state highways intersect in the middle of Battleground. From here drive north 5.7 miles on Highway 503. Turn right on N.E. Rock Creek Road, which soon becomes Lucia Falls Road. After 8.5 miles turn right on N.E. Sunset Falls Road. Go another 2.0 miles on this road, then turn right again onto N.E. Dole Valley Road. Exactly 2.4 miles farther on turn left onto gravel Road L 1100, which is marked with a small brown sign for the Tarbell Picnic Area. After 2.2 miles, turn right at a junction. Fifty feet later, park in the signed lot on the left side of the road.
You begin by a sign saying that Hidden Falls is 4.75 miles away. Walk through a pleasantly rustic picnic area, and then turn right at an unsigned junction. Soon thereafter you come to a second junction—this one with the Tarbell Trail, which is heavily used by horses. The sign here says that Hidden Falls is now 5.8 miles away. Apparently the falls is not only hidden, it is also a moving target! Actually neither sign is correct. Hidden Falls is actually 4.9 miles away.
Turn left onto the Tarbell Trail, which wanders gradually uphill in a typical, second-growth, Douglas-fir forest. With just over a century of growth since the 1902 Yacolt Burn, most of the trees are little more than 1 foot thick, but a few are as much as 3 feet thick and nearly 100 feet tall. Vegetation covers almost every square inch of the forest floor, especially Oregon grape, oxalis, thimbleberry, salal, false lily-of-the-valley, and sword and bracken fern. There are also lots of vine maples, whose leaves turn scarlet and orange in late October.
Two switchbacks climb past the edge of a clear-cut and take you up to a crossing of a narrow gravel road. The small seam of sunlight created by this road is just enough for June-blooming iris to thrive. Continuing past this junction, you make a series of gentle climbs and level walks through dense foliage that creates a sort of living tunnel. In places horse hooves have churned the tread into a muddy mess, so wear boots rather than tennis shoes.
After topping a low rise, you turn east and cross a very isolated old road in the middle of an equally old clear-cut. Trailside thimbleberry and the enormous spreading fronds of bracken fern are racing to capture as much light as possible before the rapidly regrowing Douglas firs cover them with a shady canopy. Shortly after reentering an older forest, you cross a rarely used motorcycle track and then wander along the south side of low and rounded Klootchman Butte. Several openings in the forest provide room for flowers like vetch, iris, golden pea, dandelion, beargrass, and wild rose. There are also some partially obstructed views of Silver Star Mountain to the southeast and Larch Mountain to the south. The trail loses some elevation among the trees and crosses more partially forested slopes before making a long, looping contour into a densely forested valley on the northwest side of Silver Star Mountain.
You should eventually come to a junction with a newly constructed route that is part of the planned Chinook Trail, which will one day be a loop route along both sides of the Columbia River Gorge. This section of it leaves the Tarbell Trail and goes to the left on its way to Silver Star Mountain. The signs here give distances to various destinations, but like the signs at the trailhead, these are not to be trusted. One sign claims that it is only 2 miles back to the Tarbell Picnic Area where you started. The actual distance is close to 3.5 miles.
Hidden Falls along Tarbell Trail
In any case, the trail stays level for a short distance before it descends six quick switchbacks and makes a bridged crossing of North Fork Coyote Creek. After this, it contours around a forested ridge and switchbacks downhill to take you into the next creek canyon. This canyon holds South Fork Coyote Creek and 92-foot-high Hidden Falls, just above a log bridge.
A wooden bench at the base of this lacy falls makes an ideal lunch spot and turnaround point. Beyond the falls, the trail makes a tough switchbacking climb onto a shoulder of Silver Star Mountain. Since you can reach this area more easily from Grouse Vista (Trip 10), be satisfied with the falls and return to your car the way you came.
TRIP 8 Cold Creek Trail to Larch Mountain
| Distance | 12.8 miles, Out-and-back | |
| Elevation Gain | 2400 feet | |
| Hiking Time | 6 to 7 hours | |
| Optional Map | USGS Dole, Larch Mountain | |
| Usually Open | May to early November | |
| Best Time | Mid-May to June | |
| Trail Use | Dogs OK, mountain biking, horseback riding | |
| Agency | Yacolt State Forest | |
| Difficulty | Difficult |
HIGHLIGHTS Located a little to the southwest of Silver Star Mountain, Larch