Top Mountains in Oregon

Oregon's mountains are overwhelmingly volcanic — the Cascade Range is an active volcanic arc, with the major peaks being stratovolcanoes built by repeated lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years.

Mount Hood (11,239 ft)
The highest point in Oregon and the fourth-highest peak in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood last erupted in 1781–1782 (there are reports in Native American oral tradition of the eruption). The mountain has 12 named glaciers; the Eliot Glacier (the largest in Oregon) and the Palmer Glacier (on the south slope, used by Timberline ski area in summer) are the most significant. The Timberline Trail (40 miles circumnavigating the mountain) is one of the finest alpine circuit hikes in the Pacific Northwest. The standard south-side Timberline Trail route to the summit requires crampons and ice axe — typically climbed May–July.

Mount Jefferson (10,495 ft)
The second-highest peak in Oregon — a remote, glaciated stratovolcano deep in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. The standard climbing route (Whitewater Creek approach, 14 miles round trip) requires technical climbing on exposed rock and snow. Jefferson's sharp summit profile — visible from much of western Oregon — is one of the most beautiful in the Cascades.

South Sister (10,358 ft)
The highest and most-climbed of Oregon's Three Sisters, near Bend. The South Sister route from the Devils Lake trailhead (11 miles round trip) requires no technical gear in summer — a strenuous hike with a steep, loose summit cone. The summit view encompasses Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, and the other Sisters as well as Cascade lakes and the high desert east of Bend.

Broken Top (9,177 ft)
A dramatically eroded stratovolcano adjacent to the Three Sisters — its summit is partially demolished by glacial erosion, exposing the internal structure of the volcano. The approach from the Todd Lake trailhead gives spectacular close-up views of the eruptive core.

Crater Lake (Mount Mazama Caldera)
Not a peak but the remnant of one — Mount Mazama was estimated at 12,000 feet before it collapsed in the eruption of 5700 BCE. The caldera rim ranges from 7,000 to 8,900 feet. Garfield Peak (8,060 ft) and Mount Scott (8,929 ft — the highest point in Crater Lake National Park) are accessible hikes above the rim.