Bloom Lake Hike

Distance: 3 miles round trip

Trail description: single track path, and some logging roads

Travel Time to Trail head: 1 hour 20 minutes from downtown Portland

Elevation gain/loss: 470 ft.

Special attributes: Easily accessible from US 26; short family-friendly hike.

Bloom lake is one of the easiest hikes in this book and is perfectly suited for family outings with small children in tow. Located right off US 26 it’s a cinch to find and requires no dirt road driving; you simply park on a wide pull-off on the highway.

The trail is best enjoyed on a hot and sunny day since the trail is nicely shaded and cool on a summer day. You cross a footbridge and immediately begin to ascend the hillside. The climb is moderate rising 470 ft. (from the parking area) to the highest point at 1688 ft. in .91 miles.

At about that point a trail side spur strikes out to the right. Follow this trail. It generally follows around the pond in northerly and then westerly direction. Right after rounding the northern end of the pond the trail joins up with an older road that completes the circuit of the lake. But before racing around this cute little pond let me point out a nice trail to the waters edge that diverges from the previously described trail at about 1.28 miles (from US 26) and brings you out to a scenic point on the southern shore of the pond. It’s nice spot for a picnic.

When you’re ready, double back to the road and continue to follow it around the northwestern edge of the pond. The trail is actually a bit removed from the edge of the water and there are several informal trails that will allow you to follow the pond’s edge more closely. But for simplicity and ease of navigation I have routed you back to the road that encircles the pond.

At 1.5 miles into the hike, the road intersects with another path that skirts the southwestern portion of the pond. You will turn left to follow this trail. It eventually leads you back to the trail that brought you up to the pond (and past the northerly side-spur you took upon entering the area).

In all, the circuit of Bloom Pond is about 3 miles – a very pleasant walk, indeed.