Columbia Gorge Waterfalls
The Columbia River Gorge is famous for its falls - 77 on the Oregon side alone!
They come in all shapes and sizes. They can be classified into eight forms:
plunge, horesetail, fan, cascade, punchbowl, block, tier, and segmented.
You can see examples of each of these waterfall shapes on a tour of the Historic
Columbia River Highway. Be prepared to do a lot of stopping and starting again
- these spectacular waterfalls are within approximately a 15 mile distance of
each other!
Directions
You can get there from Oregon's I-84. If you're coming from the west, you can
exit at Troutdale (Exit 17), Lewis and Clark State Park (Exit 18), Corbett (Exit
22), Bridal Veil (Exit 28 or Dodson (Exit 35). If you're coming from the east,
you can exit at Dodson [Exit 35], Bridal Veil [Exit 28] or Corbett (Exit 22].
Download a US Forest Service Map of the
Waterfall Area of the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway (PDF).
Parking
& Accessibility
Many
trailheads are now designated Trail Parks. These trails are identified with
this symbol. The Northwest Forest Pass Program requires a permit to park near
designated trailheads. The cost of these permits ranges from 5 dollars for a
day use permit to 30 dollars for a season permit. Revenues from pass sales go
directly to maintaining and improving the trails, land and facilities we all
enjoy. You can obtain a pass by calling 1-800-270-7504, or purchase
online. Motorcycle passes are also available.
Most of the hiking trails that lead to the waterfalls are steep slopes that
are not wheelchair accessible. However, many of the waterfalls can be easily
viewed from the highway, including Horsetail Falls, Multnomah Falls, Shepperds
Dell Falls and Wahkeena Falls. Others may require only a minimal of assistance
to reach a viewing location. Just west of this wealth of waterfalls is the historic
Vista House at Crown Point State Park.
This historic building on the Historic Columbia River Highway provides a gorgeous
panorama.
CRGNSA Campground
Information, plus Local Weather & Gorge Cam
Horsetail
Falls
Horsetail
Falls Trail (FS #438) off the Historic Columbia River Highway is a great place
to start your Gorge Waterfall Tour. Pass through a chamber behind Ponytail Falls,
then continue on Oneonta Gorge Trail to see Oneonta Gorge, Oneonta Falls and
Triple Falls.
Horsetail Falls
Type: horsetail
Height: 176 feet
Access: car or hiking
This classic example of a horsetail formation along Horsetail Creek can be viewed
from a turnout on the Historic Highway, 2.5 miles east of Multnomah Falls.
Triple Falls
Type: segmented
Height: 100-135 feet
Access: hiking
The Triple Falls viewpoint is on Oneonta Trail #424, 1.7 miles from its trailhead.
The trailhead is 0.8 miles past the junction with Horsetail Falls Trail #438.
The Horsetail Falls trailhead is 2.5 miles east of Multnomah Falls on Historic
Highway. Triple Falls plunges along Oneonta Creek. It is of triplet form, not
triple as the name implies.
Oneonta
Gorge
Oneonta
Gorge is a cool mossy canyon with a unique botanical area. The Oneonta Trail
(FS Trail #424) follows this skinny gorge to its falls and beyond, joining other
trails for loop hikes. The waterfall can only be seen from hiking inside the
gorge.
If you choose to hike Oneonta Gorge, do so at your own risk. Storms in the
late 1990's washed fallen trees downstream, creating a large log jam near the
mouth of the gorge. Climbing over the log jam to access the deeper parts of
the gorge should only be done at your own risk, with the understanding that
nature is precarious at best.
Multnomah
Falls
Multnomah
Falls is the most visited natural attraction in Oregon. Over 2.5 million
visitors a year come from every part of the world to view the lush foliage,
tall firs, and towering cliffs that form the spectacular backdrop to the second
highest year-round waterfall in the United States. Multnomah Falls is the highest
waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge with a total drop of 620 feet.
A steep paved trail leads visitors to a platform above the falls. The waterfall
is visually complimented by Benson Bridge, built in 1914 by Italian stone masons,
and Multnomah Falls Lodge built in 1925. Inside the Lodge is a gift shop, restaurant,
and U.S. Forest Service Information Center.
Major improvements were made in 1994 to the lodge, including access for those
with disabilities, enlarging the outdoor dining terrace, improving and relocating
the restrooms and snack bar and adding a fully-appointed interpretive information
Visitor's Center.
Lumber
baron, Simon Benson, an avid philanthropist, donated funds for the land encompassing
Multnomah Falls and for the 1914 construction of the Benson Bridge, which spans
the chasm above the lower falls. Multnomah Falls park was dedicated in 1915.
Ten years later Multnomah Falls Lodge, now a National Historic Landmark, was
constructed at a cost of $40,000. The stone and timber "Cascadian"
style building was designed by noted Portland architect Albert Doyle. In 1939
the city of Portland transferred ownership of the park and lodge to the US Government.
The US Forest Service has administered the site since then.
Multnomah Falls Lodge was threatened by a wildfire in the 1990's. You can still
see the nearby husks of burned trees where the blaze came to within feet of
this historic building. Steep cliffs and difficult terrain made the fire hard
to battle, but firefighters, using helicopters with 1000 gallon buckets to dip
water out of the Columbia River, were able to douse the blaze and save the lodge.
Rapid
uplift of this region over the last two million years has forced the Columbia
River to incise the Gorge as seen today. However side streams, like Multnomah
Creek, did not have the erosive power of the Columbia River and were left behind
to plunge off the Gorge's basalt cliffs. Multnomah Falls is a "side-effect"
of the geologic origin of the Gorge.
While the spectacular geology of Multnomah Falls appears timeless, the rockface
is continually being worn away by the force of the waterflow. This fact was
highlighted on Labor Day, September 4, 1995, when a large rock slid from the
face of upper Multnomah Falls due to the natural process of erosion and dropped
into the upper plunge pool. The spot where this 400 ton boulder broke off is
easily identifiable as a flat, tan colored area where the water is splashing
on the rock (during times of low water flow). It fell 225 feet and created a
splash of 70 feet, spewing water and small rocks that flew over the Benson bridge.
A wedding party just happened to be on the bridge for photos when the boulder
fell. 20 people had minor injuries from flying, gravel size rock chips, including
the groom who was struck by flying rock in a particularly delicate part of his
anatomy. His bride reported the next day in The Oregonian that, despite
his injuries, he had still been able to bravely perform his conjugal duties.
Wahkeena
Falls
This
242 falls was once known as Gordon Falls in honor of pioneer land-owner F.E.
Gordon. In 1915, a committee of the Mazamas changed the name of the creek and
falls to Wahkeena - the Yakama Indian word for "most beautiful."
Wahkeena Trail climbs to 900 feet for a spectacular view of the Columbia River,
described by Rudyard Kippling as "penned between gigantic stone walls crowed
with the ruined bastions of Oriental palaces." Traveling among rocks festooned
with deer fern, the trail follows the creek close to its source and enters a
steep forest of moss-hung vine maple, sword fern, and 200-ft Douglas firs to
end at Larch Mountain Trail in 2.8 miles. Wahkeena Trail connects with several
other trails enroute and allows many loop possibilities. Wahkeena Falls Picnic
Area provides a picnic shelter and a stone fireplace.
Wahkeena Creek is isolated and unique. Without a network of tributary streams
flowing from higher elevations, Wahkeena Creek is isolated from adjacent watersheds.
This isolation has created a unique habitat for 8 species of aquatic insects
that are only found in the Columbia River Gorge. No other watershed in the Pacific
Northwest can yet claim this many endemic species. Two of these insects, the
Wahkeena flightless stonefly (Nemoura wahkeena) and Anderson's caddisfly (Neothremma
andersoni) are only found in the Wahkeena watershed.
Wahkeena Falls
Type: tiered
Height: 242 feet
Access: car or hiking
This fall along Wahkeena Creek can be seen from the Wahkeena picnic area across
the Historic Highway. There are parking spaces at the picnic area. It is 0.5
miles west of Multnomah Falls. The Yakama Tribe word "wahkeena" means
"most beautiful."
Fairy Falls
Type: fan
Height: 20-30 feet
Access: hiking
This waterfall along Wahkeena Creek is 1.1 miles up from the trailhead of Wahkeena
Trail #420. You can access this trailhead at Wahkeena Falls, which is 0.5 miles
west of Multnomah Falls on the Historic Highway.
Latourell
Falls
At Latourell Falls you can see entablature jointing. This is a distinctive
jointing pattern found in the Columbia River basalt flows. Stress, produced
when lava cools and contracts, causes joints to form. Columnar joints (colonnades)
are found below the entablature. The were formed perpendicular to the lower
cooling surface and are beautiful prisms and columns. You can also see such
jointing at Shepperds Dell, Crown Point and Multnomah Falls.
Latourell Falls
Type: plunge
Height: 249 feet
Access: car or hike
In Guy W. Talbot State Park, this fall of Latourell Creek is named after Joseph
Latourell, a prominent Columbia River Gorge settler. It is on the Historic Highway,
3.4 miles west of Exit 28 off I-84. It's a short walk to the viewpoint from
the park's picnic area to the viewpoint.
Upper Latourell Falls
Type: plunge
Height: 75-100 feet
Access: hiking
This is 0.8 miles along the trail from Latourell Falls (above). You can get
to both falls from the Historic Highway, 3.4 miles west of Exit 28 off I-84.
It is possible to walk behind the falling water.
Shepperds
Dell
The
view from the top of the trail descending into Sheppers Dell is positively dizzying.
This trail, nestled into the crevices and crags of the Columbia Gorge, is a
narrow pathway.
Sheppards
Dell Falls
Type: tiered
Height: upper falls 35-50 feet; lower falls 40-60 feet
Access: car or hiking
The two tiers of this falls can be seen from the bridge crossing at Sheppards
Dell State Park, two miles west on the Historic Highway from Exit 28 off I-84.
The lower falls is a horsetail formation and the upper falls is a plunge formation.
Bridal
Veil Falls
The parking lot for Bridal Veil Falls is directly across from the Bridal Veil
Lodge, a bed and breakfast for weary waterfall watchers. Bridal Veil Falls can
be seen from Interstate 84, but if you want to see it while on your Historic
Highway Waterfall Tour, you'll have to park the car and walk the 2.2 miles round
trip.
Bridal Veil Falls
Type: tiered
Height: upper falls: 60-100 feet; lower falls 40-60 feet
Access: car or hiking
Bridal Veil Creek abruptly drops twice. The parking area for this falls is about
one mile west of Exit 28 off I-84. A short trail winds down to the base of the
lower tier. Along the pathway, look across the Columbia River towards views
of seasonal falls on the Washington side of the Gorge.
Tanner
Creek and Eagle Creek Area
Wahclella Falls
Type: tiered
Height: upper 15-25 feet; lower 50-70 feet
Access: hiking
This thunderous waterfall is in the Tanner Creek area. To get there, turn off
I-84 at Bonneville Dam (Exit 40) and proceed south several hundred yards to
the Tanner Creek Trail parking area. Start at the trailhead and hike 0.5 mile
to the trail's end at the falls. East Fork Falls can also be seen streaming
above the descent from a vantage on the west side of Tanner Creek.
Metlako Falls
Type: plunge
Height: 100-150 feet
Access: hiking
The viewpoint is 1.5 miles from the trailhead of Eagle Creek Trail #440 on Eagle
Creek Park. If you're coming from the west on I-84, take Exit 41. If you're
coming from the east, you'll make a U-turn: take I-84 west, exit at Exit 40,
go on I-84 East and take Exit 41. The waterfall was named in 1915 after the
legendary Indian goddess of salmon.
Punch Bowl Falls
Type: punch bowl
Height: 10-15 feet
Access: hiking
Punch Bowl Falls may sound short but it is exquisite and is a classic example
of a punchbowl formation. Like Metlako Falls, it is also at Eagle Creek Park.
If you're coming from the west on I-84, take Exit 41. If you're coming from
the east, you'll make a U-turn: take I-84 west, exit at Exit 40, go on I-84
East and take Exit 41. Hike 2.1 miles from the trailhead of Eagle Creek Trail
#440 (0.6 mile past Metlako Falls viewpoint) to a short side trial leading to
the falls.
Washington
Side:
Most waterfalls are limited to the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge
because landslides modify the steepness on the Washington side. The entire region's
bedrock material is tilted slightly southward. When it is water saturated, the
upper basaltic layers on the north side of the river slide into the Gorge. Thus,
waterfalls on the Washington side are fewer and smaller.
But mentioned here is a fall complemented by 600-foot geologic projection, Beacon
Rock.
Beacon Rock is adjacent to State Route 14, Washington State's main highway along
the Columbia River. To get to the Beacon Rock area from I-84, take Exit 44 Cascade
Locks and cross Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River to Washington State.
Take S.R. 14 westward for 7 miles until you are greeted by the impressive Beacon
Rock.
Hardy Falls
Type: horsetail
Height: 80-120 feet
Access: hiking
Turn north off S.R. 14 onto the spur road across from Beacon Rock. Drive 0.3
miles to the picnic area and the trailhead of Hamilton Mountain Trial. After
a moderate climb of about 1.25 miles, reach two short spur paths. The upper
path to the far right leads to a viewpoint overlooking the drop along Hardy
Creek.
For additional photos visit:
Randy Craig's Northwest
Hikers' Resource and Photo Gallery
Don
Bain's Virtual Guidebook to Oregon (Multnomah Falls Area)
US Forest Service Columbia Gorge
National Scenic Area
Source:
Gorge Vistas: A visitor's guide to National Forest recreation opportunities
in the Columbia River Gorge, Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region and US
Dept. of Agriculture.
Friends of Multnomah Falls Membership Brochure, PO Box 426, Troutdale, OR
97060, 503-253-0590.
US Forest Service Columbia Gorge
Scenic Highway
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/waterfalls.htm
Photos by Susan Buce, © 2003.
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This page was last updated on
June 1, 2003
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2003 |
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