2014 Edition
You must have javascript enabled to see the above contact information
All rights reserved - may not be copied without permission
Hike the Crown-Zellerbach Trail
An approximately 34 mile round trip hike
I did this in segments that started on December 16, 2010
Part one -
Chapman Landing to the Nahalem Divide Summit
Part two -
Nehalem Divide Summit to Pittsburg
Part three -
Camp 8
Part four - The Crown-Zellerbach Nahalem Divide Trail Tunnel
Crown Zellerbach Nahalem Divide Train Tunnel (East Portal)
Crown Zellerbach Nahalem Divide Train Tunnel (West Portal)
Part five -
Camp 8 to Vernonia, linking up with the
Banks-Vernonia Linear Park Trail
GETTING THERE AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
So I'm back in 2014 to see how much this trail and hike has improved over the
past four years.
Segment one:
Chapman Landing to the "official" CZ trailhead
Segment two:
The "official" CZ trailhead to the Nahalem Divide Summit
Segment three:
The Nahalem Divide Summit to Camp 8
Segment four:
Camp 8 to the Vernonia trailhead
Segment five:
Camp 8 to the Pittsburg trailhead
Segment six: The Nahalem Divide trail tunnel
East Portal
West Portal
Segment seven:
Connecting the Banks-Vernonia and Crown-Zellerbach Trails
Segment eight:
Scaponia County Park
The Crown Zellerbach Trail begins at the junction of the S-V Highway and Highway
30. However, there is no parking allowed there... an odd "oversight" by the Planners
IMHO since there is obviously room for a few cars (and many motorcycles) here.
The official trailhead is 2 miles Northwest of Route 30 and across the street from
the B&B Market. Lat. 45 47.0174 Long. 122 54.1691
There are several trailheads closer to the Nahalem Divide Summit if you want to
do a shorter hike. There is at least some parking at all of them and some can
accommodate a lot of vehicles. Distances stated are all from the Sam Blehm
Trailhead.
Walker Road. 2.7 Mi
Cater Road 4.1 Mi
Hale Road 4.61 Mi
Chapman Grange Road 5.37 Mi
Chapman Road 5.46 Mi
Distance to tunnel trail fork: 8.99 Mi
Distance to summit: 9.75 Mi
The Alder Creek crossing near Walker Road used to be very difficult (above)
before they kindly built a bridge across the creek (below) a few years ago.
No idea what this boulder on a pedestal is supposed to signify, but it's
new.
This truck hasn't moved in at least four years....
The bench, dedicated to the Spauldings, was a welcome sight on the return trip.
My usual hikes rarely exceed 12-14 miles. This one was quite a bit longer.
There are some "interesting" structures along this stretch of the
Crown-Zellerbach Trail.
You'll be leaving "civilization" not far past this point. The property owners
placed a very inviting rest grotto here which I presume is for the benefit of
weary hikers. Very nice gesture and most appreciated.
This creek crossing used to be VERY difficult before they built this levee.
The scotchbroom is very high and very green. Will make a pretty colorful
weeds shot in a few months when they bloom.
It took several visits before I was able to find the trail that led down to
the tunnel portal. Some local told me to look for "a box with dials on it".
It's a very short spur hike and well worth the effort, in my opinion. This
time of year there is a lot of deep, standing water when you get near the
portal.
The Nahalem Divide summit. This is the highest point on the C-Z trail.
The bridge is on the S-V highway. You're never more than a few thousand
yards from the Scappoose-Vernonia Highway at any point along this trail although at
some spots it would be quite a bushwhack to get to it.
This is a wide, easy to follow trail. Getting lost out here would not be easy.
This time of year, a headlamp ot two would be advised as well as water. There is
a little over 1,000' of elevation gain on this hike, most of it in the last mile.
It's unlikely that you will see anyone between Chapman Road and the summit so
be prepared.
The Original Easyrider®
Motorcycle Touring Forum
HOME
These pages were designed for high resolution, wide screen monitors
on computers with a high speed Internet connection
Copyright 1990-2014 Easyrider LAN Pro
All rights reserved - may not be copied without permission