Paradise Park Gear Checklist
Paradise Park sits across Zigzag Canyon from Timberline Lodge, and every route in means a glacial river crossing with no bridge. Writers disagree on how long the trip is, from a 12-mile loop out of Timberline Lodge to an 18.7-mile circuit through Burnt Lake. What they carry follows from the place: a toilet kit because the meadow is too fragile for cat holes, a stove because the forest bans fires there, spare water capacity for the dry climb, and a plan for silty creeks.
What shapes your gear on Paradise Park Loop
- Three ways in, three lengths
- The forest says the Paradise Park Loop trail plus the Pacific Crest Trail makes a 4.6 mile loop. From Timberline Lodge you hike west 3.7 miles to reach its south end. From the Paradise Park Trailhead you follow trail 778 for 6.6 miles to reach it. Travel Oregon calls the Timberline Lodge trip a 12-mile loop with 2,300 feet of gain. A Mazamas out-and-back from the lodge is listed at 14 miles with 3,400 feet, and an onX route that starts at the Burnt Lake side runs 18.7 miles with 4,340 feet.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Loop Trail #757, Travel Oregon, Mazamas and onX Maps
- The Zigzag River crossing
- The Mazamas trip notice says an overnight from Timberline Lodge crosses the Zigzag River on both days, and snowmelt can make it a major creek crossing. It adds that the park has plenty of streams and campsites, some on open ground and some among trees.
From Mazamas
- The Sandy River logs
- On the loop that returns through Ramona Falls, a July 2026 report describes the north Sandy River crossing as two small bouncy logs. The writer crouched and used one as a handrail with a trekking pole in the other hand. At the main Ramona Falls crossing the same report found two lashed logs and a handrail.
From Oregon Hikers forum: Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026
- Camps before the park
- On the Burnt Lake side, onX counts five designated campsites at the lake, mostly on its west shore. The next 6.5 miles beyond the lake hold few camps.
From onX Maps
- Parking and facilities
- The Paradise Park Trailhead charges $5 per vehicle per day from May 1 to October 31 and has restrooms in that span but no drinking water. The forest says no pass or permit is needed to park at Timberline Lodge from May 1 to October 31.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Trailhead and Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Loop Trail #757
What the agency requires on Paradise Park Loop
A free self-issued Wilderness permit
The forest requires a free self-issued Wilderness permit from May 15 to October 15 where a portal is provided. Travel Oregon also tells readers to carry one for the Paradise Park trip.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Timberline Trail #600 and Travel Oregon
A stove, not a fire
The forest lists Paradise Park among the places where campfires are prohibited. A Travel Oregon writer says campfires are allowed in some Mount Hood Wilderness areas when fire levels are low, and also describes one camper scolding another for lighting a small one in a restricted area. Follow the forest page and cook on a stove.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Timberline Trail #600 and Travel Oregon
A tent site outside any meadow
The forest bans camping within any meadow. Trip writers describe many campsites in Paradise Park, so both statements are printed here. Ask the Zigzag Ranger District which sites are legal before you pick one.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Timberline Trail #600 and Mazamas
A recreation pass if you start at Paradise Park Trailhead
The forest says a valid Recreation Pass is required at that trailhead, and lists the fee as $5 per vehicle per day from May 1 to October 31.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Trailhead
What hikers carry on Paradise Park Loop
A toilet kit or waste bag for Paradise Park
A 2026 Oregon Hikers report buried waste at Burnt Lake and packed it out of Paradise Park. The writer calls the meadow fragile and heavily visited, mostly above tree line, and says finding soil you can dig, privacy and 200 feet from water, trails and camps is nearly impossible. Travel Oregon says plainly that the park has no bathrooms.
From Oregon Hikers forum: Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026 and Travel Oregon
A trekking pole for the Sandy River logs
The 2026 writer felt steady on the small log with a pole in one hand and the other hand on the log. The same report saw people struggling to get mid-size dogs across.
From Oregon Hikers forum: Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026
Camp sandals, or a plan to rock-hop
A fall trip report lists sandals as a must-have after a day of walking, strapped to the pack until camp. A 2008 group did not want to switch shoes at the Zigzag crossing and instead walked up the river to find the easiest line.
Sandals are a choice here, not a rule. The 2008 group crossed in their regular shoes.
From Six Moon Designs and Oregon Hikers forum: West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008
Two water filters, or a backup treatment
The Six Moon Designs writer says silty alpine water can clog a filter and recommends bringing at least two. His group learned this at dinner on the Gnarl Ridge night of their Timberline loop, when the filters clogged on river water.
From Six Moon Designs
More water capacity than the climb seems to need
A 2008 group filled up at Ramona Falls, then ran dry before reaching Paradise Park on a hot day. The forest notes the Paradise Park Trailhead has no drinking water. A Travel Oregon writer filled hydration packs from a clear stream on arrival in the park.
From Oregon Hikers forum: West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008, Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Trailhead and Travel Oregon
A solid footprint under the tent
The Six Moon Designs writer says every tent site he saw, including his Paradise Park camp, was sandy or rocky and calls a ground sheet a must.
From Six Moon Designs
A rainfly and a puffy jacket
A 2008 pair left the rainfly off, felt drops overnight at Paradise Park, then saw lightning over Portland and moved their camp down to trees. The Six Moon Designs writer says it gets cold up high and lists a puffy as a must-have. The Mazamas notice warns of possible snow on a July sunrise walk above Split Rock.
From Oregon Hikers forum: West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008, Six Moon Designs and Mazamas
Bug protection for midsummer
The 2008 report calls the biting fly swarms exceptionally bad, forming whenever the group stopped for a drink. The flies were gone on a side walk uphill from camp without packs.
That is one trip in August 2008. The 2026 report does not mention bugs.
From Oregon Hikers forum: West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008 and Oregon Hikers forum: Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026
Going as a group? Split this list between you so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Paradise Park Loop
Trail runners with little ankle support
The Six Moon Designs writer got by in trail runners on the dusty, rocky tread but wished for more ankle support at times.
From Six Moon Designs
Leaving the rainfly in the bag
Two campers at Paradise Park woke to drops, rushed to pitch the fly, then found they were exposed during a lightning storm and had to move camp.
From Oregon Hikers forum: West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008
Scrambling off trail for water
On the Gnarl Ridge night of his Timberline loop, the same Six Moon Designs writer ran up a nearby ridge and down a canyon at dusk to fill a container. He calls it a tough rock scramble and would not advise it, and the silty water clogged the filters anyway.
From Six Moon Designs
Gear questions for Paradise Park Loop
Do you need a permit for the Paradise Park Loop?
The forest requires a free self-issued Wilderness permit from May 15 to October 15 where a portal is provided. A recreation pass is separate, and the Paradise Park Trailhead lists a $5 per vehicle per day fee from May 1 to October 31.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Timberline Trail #600 and Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Trailhead
Are campfires allowed on the Paradise Park Loop?
The forest lists Paradise Park as a no-campfire area. One Travel Oregon writer says fires are permitted in some parts of the wilderness when fire levels are low, so confirm the rule for your site with the Zigzag Ranger District and bring a stove.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Timberline Trail #600 and Travel Oregon
How long is the Paradise Park Loop?
It depends on the start. The forest gives 4.6 miles for the loop itself. Travel Oregon puts the trip from Timberline Lodge at 12 miles, and an onX route through Burnt Lake runs 18.7 miles.
From Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Paradise Park Loop Trail #757, Travel Oregon and onX Maps
What do you do about human waste on the Paradise Park Loop?
A 2026 trip report says to carry it out from Paradise Park in a toilet kit or waste bag because cat holes are close to impossible in the fragile meadow. Travel Oregon notes the park has no bathrooms.
From Oregon Hikers forum: Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026 and Travel Oregon
Sources
- Paradise Park Loop Trail #757 · Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- Paradise Park Trailhead · Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- Timberline Trail #600 · Mt. Hood National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- Burnt Lake to Sandy River July 2026 · Oregon Hikers forum, glaistig · Trip report
- West Zigzag to Timberline Lodge : 8/14 - 8/17/2008 · Oregon Hikers forum, trinitrotoluene · Trip report
- Hiking the Timberline Trail by Rory Pedrick · Six Moon Designs, Rory Pedrick · Blog
- Overnight at Mt. Hood's Paradise Park · Travel Oregon, Jon Bell · Blog
- Paradise Park (Wy'East) backpack trip · Mazamas · Trip report
- Paradise Park Loop via Burnt Lake · onX Maps · Blog