Pittock Mansion is a historic house and museum in the hills above Portland. The view overlooking the city and Mt Hood is one of the most iconic viewpoints in Portland. History? Check. Views? Check. Nature? Check. Hiking options? Check! Pittock Mansion is perched in the West Hills between Washington Park and Forest Park. The forest behind the mansion is Forest Park and the Wildwood Trail.
Wildwood Trail is one of Portland’s best hiking and trail running spots, and is 30 miles from end to end. But don’t worry, the most popular Pittock Mansion hikes are 2.8-5.6 miles round trip! From the Pittock Mansion viewpoint you can see 900 feet down to the city skyline, the Willamette River, Mt Hood, and on a clear day four other mountains too (Mount St. Helens, Mt Adams, Mt Rainer, and Mt Jefferson!). So here are four different ways to hike to Pittock Mansion.
Hiking Routes to Pittock Mansion:
- Upper Macleay to Pittock Mansion: 1.4 miles with 515′ elevation gain (2.8 roundtrip) via the Wildwood Trail.
- Lower Macleay to Pittock Mansion: 2.8 miles with 900′ elevation gain (5.6 roundtrip), via Lower Macleay Trail & Wildwood Trail.
- Hoyt Arboretum to Pittock Mansion: 1.6 miles with 300′ elevation gain (3.2 roundtrip) via the Barbara Walker Crossing bridge over Burnside St and Wildwood Trail.
- Downtown to Pittock Mansion: 2 mile bus ride on #20 bus, .7 mile hike with 272′ elevation gain (1.4 mile hike roundtrip, 4 mile bus ride total) via NW Barnes Rd & NW Pittock Ave.
Upper Macleay to Pittock Mansion
Trailhead Parking: Upper Macleay or Portland Audubon Society
Trail Length: 2.8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 515 feet
Difficulty: Easy
This route to Pittock Mansion is the shortest access hike, other than just parking at Pittock and hiking around from there. It’s a quick and beautiful hike through Forest Park’s Wildwood Trail. There are some parts that can feel like a steep climb because of the elevation grade, but at 1.4 miles, it’s a short hike. And if you’re ready for more hiking after your roundtrip up to Pittock and back, you can continue on Wildwood to Witch’s Castle or explore the Portland Audubon trails!
Lower Macleay to Pittock Mansion
UPDATE: Lower Macleay to Stone House is currently closed through March 2022: “The Balch Creek Trash Rack collects sediment, large logs, and other woody debris that Balch Creek carries down from Forest Park. It is aging and needs to be replaced to help reduce the chance of future clogs, backups, and floods.” but you can still reach Pittock via the Wildwood Trail from Holman Lane or Aspen Trail.
Trailhead Parking: Lower Macleay Park
Trail Length: 5.6 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 900 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
At 5.6 miles roundtrip, Lower Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion is the longest route and feels like a decent hike! It’s one of my favorite hikes in Portland because it’s easy to get to – yet still beautiful and remote feeling – so you spend your time hiking instead of driving. This route is basically doing the Witch’s Castle hike, and then continuing on past the Stone House on Wildwood Trail for 1.9 miles. The Upper Macleay parking on Cornell Road is about halfway between Lower Macleay Park and Pittock Mansion.
Since it’s an out and back hike, you can also park on either end or even in the middle on Cornell Rd (and hiking up to Pittock and back, and then down to Lower Macleay and back).
Hoyt Arboretum & Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion
Trailhead Parking: Hoyt Arboretum
Trail Length: 3.2 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 300 feet
Difficulty: Easy
This route is one of the most unique access points to Pittock because it takes you through Washington Park’s Hoyt Arboretum. Hoyt Arboretum is Portland’s “living museum of trees” with 2,300 species of trees and shrubs, and 12 miles of hiking trails. So you can definitely just hike at Hoyt Arboretum alone, for many miles! But this route takes you from Hoyt, to the Wildwood trail, and even passes the Redwood Observation Deck. Then onward across the Barbara Walker Crossing pedestrian bridge over busy West Burnside St, on Wildwood Trail and then up 300 feet to Pittock Mansion.
Most of these routes follow the Wildwood Trail, which goes through the Pittock Mansion grounds. Wildwood Trail runs 30 miles from end to end, making it the longest forested urban trail in the US! The trail is marked by blue diamond-shape stencils, painted on trees, every 1/4 mile for wayfinding. Wildwood Trail is one of Portland’s most popular hiking and trail running trails through Forest Park.
Another option near Hoyt is the Washington Park MAX Station, which would make this trek about 4 miles roundtrip and 430′ elevation gain.
From Downtown
Bus Stop: W Burnside & NW Barnes #20 Bus stop
Trail Length: 1.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 272 feet
Difficulty: Easy
You can reach Pittock Mansion on foot from downtown (It’s about 2.7 miles one way from Powell’s Books). But with about 900 feet of elevation gain and some of the roads (Westover, Burnside) are not enjoyable or safe for pedestrian use. So it’s safer to take the #20 bus to the NW Barnes stop and walk .7 miles up to Pittock Mansion, with 272′ elevation gain. Note: this is not a hiking trail, but walking on a low-traffic no sidwalks street, with speed limit of 20mph.
And of course, you could always drive to Pittock Mansion, and hike on the Wildwood Trail for as long as you want and then turn around when you’re ready.
Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion Map
The grounds of Pittock Mansion aren’t huge, considering it sits between Forest Park and Washington Park which are some of the largest parks in Portland. However, it can feel a little confusing to connect to Wildwood Trail, which cuts through the property. On the upper end of Pittock Mansion, you’ll find Wildwood trail at the top right corner after you’ve gone up the sloped parking lot. This goes toward Upper Macleay, Witch’s Castle, and Lower Macleay Trail & Lower Macleay Park. On the lower end of the Pittock mansion property, you’ll find the Wildwood Trail after heading downhill on the sidewalk from the viewpoint, on to part of the road, and Wildwood Trail will be on your left.
Pittock Mansion Viewpoint
The grounds of Pittock Mansion and viewpoint are free to access. To go inside the Pittock Mansion museum, tickets are $12. You’ll find the viewpoint on the east side of the mansion, near some picnic tables. It really is one of the most beautiful views in Portland. And depending on the season, this is also one of our favorite spots for cherry blossoms and roses in Portland.
I hope you enjoyed this look at Pittock Mansion, and some of my favorite ways to get there! Need more Portland ideas? Check out my itinerary for 1 day in Portland.
What’s your favorite hiking trail to Pittock Mansion?
