Besides getting the views of Mount Hood right from its base, there are numerous ridges and smaller peaks around that offer first row views of our magnificent mountain. One of those is Zigzag Mountain. Located in Zigzag (I don’t know if the town named the ridge or the ridge named the town), this ridge offers some of the best views of the South West side of the mountain. There are several trails that can go to either of these lookouts and one that connects them together giving the possibility of doing a loop hike. We started from one of the access points to Burnt Lake which is a steady uphill hike thru a dense forest without any views until you get to the ridgeline. Once there, the scenery just becomes fantastic as you get an incredible view of Mt hood. Down bellow, between the tress you can easily make Burnt Lake which is also a nice hike and even better spot to camp. From the junction we continued south until we got to our first stop, the East Zigzag lookout. It’s a rocky top with open views of the valley that extends to Mt Adams, Mt Rainier and St Helens. On the other side of the lookout, we started descending a bit and took a detour to Cast Lake. This lake is relatively close to Burnt Lake but not as visited. It does have some nice camping spots but people usually prefer Burnt as it offers a clear view of Mt Hood. Cast on the hand, is very secluded so you only see the trees around you. After a nice lunch, we headed back to the Zigzag Mountain trail on our way to the West lookout. After a bit of ups and downs and some meadows, we finally got to it. Although this lookout doesn’t have a clear view of Mt Hood, it does offer a good view of the towns of Zigzag, Rhododendron, Boring and the Hwy26 corridor. We also found the remnants of the old fire lookout that once stood here. Exploring around, we circled the ridge and found another good spot where we took our last pictures of Mt Hood before heading back down to the car.
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