To kick off my 40 in 40 Peak Bagging challenge, I took my birthday off from work and hiked the first summit. My target was Peak 4230, a summit named only by its elevation, overlooking Smith Rock State Park. I highly recommend this hike as a way to get away from the crowded main trails of Smith Rock, as well as get a view that includes not only the famous park, but the peaks of the Cascades in the distance.

Trip Report

This hike starts, as all do, by descending the main trail from parking to the bridge across the Crooked River. Instead of heading left along the main river trail, or straight to the Misery Ridge trail, turn right along the Wolf Tree trail. Several of the climbing routes in this direction are closed due to raptor nesting, so that automatically filtered the number of people on the trail.

After about a mile, the trail starts steeply up the Burma Road Trail and crosses the border from State Park to BLM. This is where it’s legal to let the dog off leash! He was happy.

Burma Road angles up to a small pass on the ridge below Peak 4230. There appears to be a steep, steep steep use trail straight from the pass to the summit, but I wasn’t interested in sliding in the dust and gravel. Instead, we continued on the single track trail that contoured along the side of the peak.

Upon gaining the north ridge of the peak, we followed the well worn trail south to the summit of Peak 4230. As we climbed this last stretch the views toward the distant Cascade peaks just got more spectacular. A mostly clear day, we could see all the way to a bright snow covered Mt Hood to the north.

From the the summit itself, the view down into Smith Rock is spectacular. You’re far above the tall walls and get a perspective on the entire layout.

View from the summit of Peak 4230

The best part was the relative solitude in one of the state’s busiest State Parks. I’m almost scared to give away the secret, but the view is just too nice to not want to share the joy!