Mt. Hood National Forest

The Memaloose Creek Roadless Area in the Clackamas Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest is located 15 miles southeast of Estacada.

The Memaloose Creek drainage contains some of the largest old growth forest in the entire Mt Hood National Forest. Perched on steep, wet and rocky slopes, hundreds of acres of old growth has evolved without a major fire disturbance for centuries. Under a classic climax overstory of fir, hemlock and cedar is a rare and spectacular well-developed understory of four hundred-year-old yews.

Memaloose Creek also sports some of the deepest, thickest moss and the most heavily colonized nurse logs in the Clackamas Watershed. Eight-foot diameter snags provide habitat for raptors, bats, and woodpeckers. These textbook ancient forest characteristics indicate that this ecosystem is stable, diverse, and highly evolved.

Memaloose Creek is a wild, cascading creek with many moss covered boulders, indicating the absence of recent scouring events associated with upstream ground disturbances, such as logging or road building. The stream channel parts around several islands, colonized by majestic old growth cedar and maple, dripping with thick layers of moss and lichens. In the streamside forests, a diverse array of mushrooms sprout from a catwalk of massive logs and forest duff.

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