Trail Overview
Turning off Highway 35, the unmarked entrance to Barlow Butte Road (FS 3560) drops you onto a smooth, single-lane gravel track through dense pine forest. Early on, you'll find some brush creeping into the driving corridor, but the road stays easy to follow. About halfway through the 3.5-mile run, you carefully duck under a large downed tree hanging low across the road. Standard rigs clear it fine, but it blocks taller vehicles like truck bed campers, RVs, and Sprinter vans. Past that, the road narrows briefly, then opens to a sweeping viewpoint of Mt. Hood and the White River Valley. Keep on the smooth gravel, staying right at any forks, and near the end, you'll hit two large fallen trees that are completely impassable. From that dead-end, a short walk past the timber gives you another clear view of Mt. Hood and the valley.
Difficulty
Barlow Butte Rd - FS 3560 comfortably earns a Level 1 Easy technical rating (Green) because its underlying gravel surface is exceptionally smooth, well-graded, and free of aggressive rock crawling obstacles or steep, rutted hill climbs. The primary challenges along this 3.5-mile track are entirely related to overhead clearance and localized water pooling. Drivers must possess spatial awareness to safely squeeze under the large, low-hanging tree situated mid-route, which acts as a hard barrier for high-profile overland setups. Additionally, a few sections feature wide, shallow potholes that collect water and mud, requiring slight deceleration. While High Clearance 4x4 is recommended, the terrain is forgiving enough for most standard SUVs, provided they can clear the overhead log and don't mind a brief hike at the end where two massive downed trees make the final stretch impassable to all vehicles.
