Shady Trail

Peak 3534 is a near drive up in the Tillamook State Forest west of Portland off Highway 6. It would be a good combination activation with South Saddle Mountain, W7O/NC-002.

If you are tackling Peak 3534 on its own or to start first on South Saddle, use the directions here http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7nit/2013-august-13/south-saddle-mtn-or-ju… to find the "major triangle intersection" and consider using a GPS and a good map while in the Tillamook State Forest.

These eleven miles (RT) seem much farther when you are on snowshoes - take that into account if you should decide to try this winter activation. If you have 4WD, very high clearance and nerves of steel, you you might consider driving a bad road in the summer - see the other trip report below.

The trail starts from Highway 35 - the trailhead coordinates: 45.3395  -121.5703. See the trailhead photo below with an unsigned post just north of a bridge over the Hood River East Fork.

Along Highway 22 between Salem and Detroit there is a near drive-up summit. In 2013 the road was passable (with some care) in a passenger car. (It may be a bit overgrown now.) This summit could be a  back up plan when nearby Rocky Top can't be accessed due to snow. In fact, 

Here is an urban 'pavement' activation - the closest one to downtown Portland. The summit proper for Cornell Mountain is on private property with the Activation Zone accessible from a neighborhood street with very limited shoulders. This summit is near a number of very large comm installations and 2m FM was totally blocked with S9 noise on my Yaesu VX-8G - 70cm FM might be a better choice and HF isn't a great option as there's only a small shoulder spot in the AZ big enough for HF antennas - and that's where you can park. 

A fairly short snowshoe near Mt. Hood gets you two points - in the summer this activation may be a bit more challenging in the bushwack. From November 1 through April 30 an Oregon Sno-Park permit is required - from May 15 to October 1 a National Forest Pass is required.
 

UPDATE March 2023: W7O/CE-213 has been retired (prominance 480 feet).

Awbrey Butte is a summit in suburban Bend, Oregon. Although the Activation Zone is surrounded by private property and the summit proper is a fenced site for multiple radio installations, there are several Bend city parks near the summit and a trail between them that make an activation possible. 

This yet unnamed peak deserves a good name as it's a very worthwhile activation. It's a bit out of the way but very quiet compared to nearby Lookout Mountain and the views on a clear day of Mount Hood are excellent. These are directions from the NORTH - this road is suitable for HIGH CLEARANCE vehicles that you don't much care about.

See also the trip report by N7UN and his approach from the SOUTH: http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/n7un/2012-september-05/n7un-activation-6001-near-mt-hood

Another highly recommended hike and activation - this one in the Clackamas River drainage. The trailhead is about 90 minutes from Portland and the round trip hike is 6.2 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain - getting you great views from a lovely summit.

From Estacada take 224 east about 20.5 miles to NF-4620 that leads to Indian Henry Campground. This is just before a bridge that crosses the Clackamas River.

Enjoy bushwacking? Like to climb over (and under!) a maze of large, downed trees? We've got a great SOTA summit for you in the Clackamas River area. Well, actually, there are probably dozens like this, but here's one with directions.

One of the most gorgeous hikes I've taken in Oregon, it's clearly popular during the 'summer' season but we had it all to ourselves this spectacular November Sunday. Note that there are four "Huckleberry Mountain" in the Oregon ARM - one of them is also in WV and is also 2 points - make sure you get yourself to the right one.

Although some hiking sites report this at 10.5 miles RT, we found it closer to 13 miles - and 3400 feet of gain. So it will take you some time - it's a full day to activate this one.