top of page

Coyote Wall & the Sleeper - Columbia River Gorge Hikes

Writer's picture: Claire Christy-TiradoClaire Christy-Tirado

You can see her as you ascend up the last stretch of Coyote wall, and turn to look south across the Columbia River...

Snow-capped Mt Hood under a clear blue sky, overlooking a lush green forest and river. Wildflowers in the foreground. Serene landscape.
Wooden trail sign on grassy hill with paths. Text reads Old Ranch Road and Little Maui. Columbia river and hills in the background, under blue sky.

The hike up Coyote wall has a few different routes you can take, the most direct being around 6 miles round trip and pretty much straight up hill. Within this route there is some zigzagging you can do with curiously named side trails like “Little Maui” and "Little Moab," but ultimately it's still a steep huff and puff to the top. 


Some longer routes, like the "Labyrinth Trail" involve winding uphill along a gushing stream and through fantastical basalt rock formations. But if you want a truly epic and arduous trek across planes of rolling grassy slopes and through quivering stands of Oregon white Oak forest (vibrant with poison oak in spring and summer) you can begin the hike to Coyote Wall at the Catherine Creek trailhead. Having taken all three routes, I think they are all worth doing. Just know that if you start at Catherine Creek it's going to be a long day… 

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the crazy thing about driving out along the Columbia Gorge, whether you’re on the Washington or Oregon side, is that most often you can't see the full scope of the landscape flashing by your car windows. All you see are cliffs, forests, and waterfalls, often with no visible summit. 


So when you stop to catch your breath part way up the Coyote Wall trail, and glance back down across the river, you suddenly realize that that whole time you were driving between Hood River and Mosier, you were at the base of an incredible landmass. This landmass, when viewed from an appropriate altitude, has the form of a sleeping woman. 

Colorful watercolor landscape depicting layered hills, a distant mountain, and a calm river below. Pastel greens, blues, and yellows dominate. mosier, mosier plateau, historic columbia river highway, oregon landscapes, mt hood, 100 views of mt hood, trail, trails, oregon hikers, ponderosa pines, oregon white oak, paint outside, en plein air, sketchbook, nature sketch, nature painting, landscape painting, pacific northwest artist, pacific northwest, oregon vistas, basalt, pnw artist, oregon artist, visual journal, nature, all season hiker, washington landscapes, columbia plateau, oregon rivers, landmasses, coyote wall, ink drawing, claire christy-tirado
Ink & watercolor study of "the Sleeper" (Her head & shoulder are on the right side)

Beautiful deep shadows and angles stack on top of each other to form her silhouette, with Mt Hood in the distance on a clear day. Needless to say, this is truly a spectacular sight. And all the more so because you never knew that she was there the whole time… resting quietly. The top of Coyote wall is a perfect place to stop, picnic, sketch, etc. and just drink in the impossible view in front of you.  


And then there is Coyote Wall… the landmass you're just summited.


An impossible, sweeping s-curve formed out of steep basalt cliffs is beautiful when viewed cruising along HWY 84, or Historic HWY 30. But if you really want to sit with that special view, you can take the Mosier Plateau Trail. 

Scenic view of a river bordered by hills and a road, under a clear blue sky with wispy clouds. Peaceful and expansive landscape.
Quiet road with white railings, trees lining the sides. Blue sky above, sign reads "MOSIER CR." Leaves scattered along the road.

This is a nice, shorter hike that takes off from a classic white, Historic HWY 30 bridge in the town of Mosier (exit 69). Trek up the hill along Mosier Creek, past the falls, and you’ll find yourself in the historic Pioneer Cemetery. Keep heading up around the back side of the hill and on a clear day you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views of rolling hills shifting into mountains that stretch southwest towards Mt Hood. 

After climbing up the final steep stretch, which involves some stairs, you’ll come out onto the plateau - a spectacular expanse of grasses, wildflowers in spring, and wind beaten ponderosa pines. Dead ahead across the river is Coyote Wall in all its incredible splendor. Beautiful in each season, the Oregon White Oaks that carpet the base of the basalt s-curve change from greyish white, to lush green, to a rusty red in fall. The grasses shifting from a soft sagey green in early spring, to a lush green, then finish their cycle in a pale gold.

This hike being on the more manageable side, offered a good opportunity for some oil painting and gouache sketches.

Painting in progress on a grassy hill overlooking a calm river and mountains. Vibrant paint palette lies beside the canvas. mosier, mosier plateau, historic columbia river highway, oregon landscapes, mt hood, 100 views of mt hood, trail, trails, oregon hikers, ponderosa pines, oregon white oak, paint outside, en plein air, sketchbook, nature sketch, nature painting, landscape painting, pacific northwest artist, pacific northwest, oregon vistas, basalt, pnw artist, oregon artist, visual journal, nature, all season hiker, washington landscapes, columbia plateau, oregon rivers, landmasses, coyote wall

Coyote wall, on the other hand, has only resulted in sketches and photos on site, saving the oil paints for my studio. But who knows, hopefully one day I'll talk myself into slogging up the hill with all my paints...


Open sketchbook on a colorful rug with landscape drawings and handwritten notes. Sketches feature hills and text descriptions of locations. claire christy-tirado

There is something I find so awe inspiring when I get to see a landscape from this kind of greater, almost macro perspective. The Gorge offers such spectacular and far reaching views that the cumulative sum of certain stretches of landscape seem to take on a form and entity of their own - forms like the Sleeper, Coyote Wall, or the landmass viewed from Lyle Cherry Orchard (which resembles some kind of giant sleeping reptile). My ongoing project is to capture my favorite stretches of landforms in the Gorge through paintings and drawings... Below is my painting of Coyote Wall and the Sleeper portrayed together, two opposing views combined into one:

Abstract landscape painting with two circular views. Yellow hills, green fields, and blue sky. Bright, vivid colors on a wooden background. Coyote wall and the Mosier plateau. Columbia river gorge. 100 views of Mt hood.
Vistas of Coyote Wall & the Sleeper, 24x48", oil on black walnut

Coyote Wall Musings:

Try these Columbia River Gorge Hikes!

for the Coyote Wall Vista:

Mosier Plateau Trail

(I love using Oregon Hikers as a detailed reference)

Distance: 3.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 760 feet

Trail Type: In & Out

Trailhead & Parking: Free parking off HWY 30 (Here) Trailhead: HERE

Season: All year!

the Sleeper Musings:

for the Sleeper Vista:

Hike Coyote Wall - Straight Up

(Oregon Hikers detailed reference)

Distance: 6.3+ miles (Depending which trails you take up the hill)

Elevation Gain: 1800 feet

Trail Type: Lollipop Loop

Trailhead & Parking: Free parking Here! Follow the path east (along Old HWY 8) to the trailhead Here.

Season: All year!

Coyote Wall - via Labyrinth Trail

(Oregon Hikers detailed reference)

Distance: 7.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1790 feet

Trail Type: Loop

Trailhead & Parking: Free parking Here! Follow the path west (along Old HWY 8) to the trailhead Here.

Season: All year!

Catherine Creek to Coyote Wall Loop

(Oregon Hikers detailed reference)

Distance: 11 miles

Elevation Gain: 1615 feet

Trail Type: Loop

Trailhead & Parking: Free parking and trailhead Here

Season: All year!


Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Monogram Cutout
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

© 2022 by Claire Christy-Tirado. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page