Visit a spectacular display of wildflowers on the slopes of ancient volcanoes.

If you only do one hike in the summer, make it to the wildflower display near Cone Peak and Iron Mountain. These extinct volcanoes are located east of Sweet Home, and are a little bit longer of a drive for Eugene/Springfield residents, but the trip is worth it.

The trails here are a geologic and botanical wonderland featuring 17 different tree species and more than 60 rare plant species. The craggy rock outcroppings of this area are the weathered remains of lava upheavals 30 million years ago.

Directions: Drive I-5 north from Eugene for approximately 20 miles to Exit 216. Take a right onto Hwy. 228. Take 228 east for 19 miles to the junction of 228 and Hwy. 20 at the western end of Sweet Home. Take Hwy. 20 east through Sweet Home (it's worth stopping to enjoy the numerous murals along the way depicting the colorful history of this old logging town). Continue east on Hwy 20 through Sweet Home for exactly 36.5 miles from the junction with 228. Ignore the signs for the Iron Mountain trail at Deer Creek Road, and park at one of several small pull-offs on the highway near a sign for Tombstone Prairie. The Cone Peak trailhead is on the north side of the highway.

The trail climbs steadily through a pleasant Douglas fir forest and several small meadows crammed with wildflowers. Resist the urge to stop for long—the real treat is still to come. Almost two miles from the highway the trail traverses a giant meadow awash in color. Cone Peak looms dead ahead; South Peak and Echo Mountain are to the east. The flanks of these mountains are strewn with cinder rock. These volcanic deposits create "xeric" or dry meadows of shallow, nutrient poor soil in which wildflowers thrive. Almost all of the 300 different wildflower species native to the Cascades can be found here. Among others, you'll notice penstemon, owl-clover, cat's ears, monkeyflower, and paintbrush.

Look closely at the paintbrush and you'll see that it's a flower with everything backwards. The hot red color is not the flower, they are the leaves of the plant. The flower itself remains a pedestrian green.
This large meadow at the base of Cone Peak also affords excellent views of Iron Mountain, a mile to the west. The two heads of Iron Mountain are hardened molten lava cores, left exposed when the softer outer rock of the volcano eroded away.

The Cone Peak trail dips slightly and then climbs around Iron Mountain to an intersection with the Iron Mountain trail a mile and a half from the main meadow. From here, turn left and climb another three quarters of a mile to the top of Iron Mountain.

From here you can return to your car from the direction you came and see the wildflowers again, or turn your hike into a loop by taking the Iron Mountain trail back to Hwy. 20. For the loop, make your way back down Iron Mountain and turn left at the intersection. Stay to the left at another junction in just a couple hundred feet. On the Iron Mountain trail it's a mile downhill through an impressive forest to Hwy. 20. Cross the highway and take a left on the old Santiam Wagon Road—one of the first pioneer routes over the Cascades—after a couple hundred feet. In a third of a mile, cross to the far side of a parking lot and take a left by the gate on the Tombstone Nature trail. In a half-mile take the first left over a small wooden footbridge to your car (while doing the loop, stay to the left at every junction from Iron Mountain).

NOTE: The Cone Peak and Iron Mountain trails are badly overused. If at all possible, plan your trip on a weekday. Do not pick flowers and stay on the trail at all times. If you're interested in joining volunteer efforts to restore these excellent trails and remove non-native vegetation, please contact Forest Service botanist Alice Smith at 541-367-9125 or acsmith@fs.fed.us.