Devil’s Rest is a moderately difficult loop in the Columbia Gorge. The loop can be made by either extending the Wahkeena Falls Hike or extending the Angel's Rest Hike. The hike can be shortened by making it an out-and-back from the starting point to Devil’s Rest area.
Devil’s Rest is a Boring Volcano featuring large forest areas. Hikers are treated to beautiful views of the Columbia River and the Gorge as well as the Wahkeena Falls. You'll experience tall Douglas fir trees, and see firsthand the damage of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. While Devil's Rest may not be as popular as Angel's Rest, the hike offers unique views of the Gorge and many side trails that can be connected to extend the adventure to a day-long trip.
Because this is a high-traffic trail, dogs must be kept on a leash. Bathrooms are available at the Wahkeena trailhead.
Devil’s Rest Loop can be completed using Angel's Rest Trail or Wahkeena Falls Trail. Angel's Rest is the longer trail, being a 10.8-mile loop. For this trail, follow the Angel's Rest Trail description. Once at Angel's Rest, there are signs for the loop. Continue to head up for 0.25 miles before coming to a junction, then continue up the hill (not taking the left along Foxglove Way). In a mile you cross another junction with Foxglove Trail; again continue up the hill. Once you’ve reached the summit, you will go east on Devil’s Rest Trail. There will be a side trail quickly on your left marked by a survey marker; this side trail takes you to a viewpoint including views of Washington’s Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. Continuing along Devil’s Rest Trail, you will be looking for the intersection with Angel's Rest Trail (#415). Here, head west to go back to Angel's Rest area. From Angel's Rest simply descend the way you came.
The Wahkeena Falls trailhead is a shorter loop, but still ranked moderately difficult because of elevation gains. From the parking lot the trail begins as a paved trail before ascending along a dirt trail. At the junction with Vista Point Trail #419, take a left onto #419 Trail. After another mile of ascending through tall, burnt Douglas fir trees, you’ll reach the upper junction with Wahkeena Trail. Go right here and you will very quickly intersect with Devil’s Rest Trail (#420C). The Devil’s Rest Trail will take you to the summit of the volcano, where you can use the Angel's Rest Trail to connect the lolli-pop loop, or head back down the way you came.
Both loops feature stunning views of the Columbia Gorge and River, glimpses of mountains such as Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainer, and exploration of a forest thick with tall Douglas fir and western hemlocks. Despite the recent 2017 fire, much of the forested area in Devil’s Rest managed to stay out of the fire’s main burn. Besides the views, the experience of the different degrees of 2017 fire’s damage makes this area well worth exploring.
Devil’s Rest is a Boring Volcano formed just a million years ago in the Boring Lava Flow. Devil’s Rest is one of 99 other Boring Volcanoes, while the very close area of Angel's Rest was formed from a lava flow from Larch Mountain. The area has been severely burned in the 1991 Multnomah Falls Fire and the more recent 2017 Eagle Creek Fire.
The area was originally inhabited by indigenous people before the arrival of white settlers. The migration west, driven in part because of Western Manifestation and the Oregon Trail, brought diseases such as smallpox that wiped out most of the native populations.
The area now known as Devil’s Rest was owned in the early 20th century by an Englishman named Charles Coopey. In the 1920s he gave the city of Portland the land, which owned the popular area of Multnomah Falls. In 1939 Portland relinquished its control of the area when it transferred control of the Columbia Gorge area over to the U.S. Forest Service.
