Take Photos at Oregon’s Best—and Least Visited—Hood Viewpoint

There's a free binocular platform, but on clear days you'l need no help making out the mountain's snowy features.

(Laurel Kadas)

This tiny park—cut discreetly out of the sidewalk on the outskirts of Sandy, where drivers zoom by on their way to church or to drop off students at the city’s high school—hosts one of the best views of Mount Hood you can find. Small, weather-worn plaques with snippets of historical information on Oregon Trail pioneers lie on either side of a free binocular platform at Jonsrud Viewpoint (15652 Bluff Road, ci.sandy.or.us/maps/location/JonsrudViewpointPark). But on clear days, you’ll need no help making out Hood’s snowy features. Even when skies are overcast, the rarely crowded viewpoint is a peaceful place to pause and survey the landscape of emerald green trees, which is cut through in sweeping strokes by the Sandy River.

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