Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GORGE WATERFALLS
Without a doubt, the waterfalls that thunder, cascade, and splash their way down the cliffs beside the Historic Columbia River Highway are the
highlight of the drive. The high concentration of falls in the area only makes sense given the geography of the area. With an amazingly active
watershed springing up from nearby Mount Hood's glaciers and springs, and a steep embankment of volcanic rock standing between these tribu-
taries and the mighty Columbia, there's only one way for the water to reach its final destination, and that is down, down, down. Lucky for us that
it happens in such a dramatic fashion.
The following falls are the most easily accessible along the route, viewable from pull-out areas or short jaunts of under a mile roundtrip. These
offer the best sights for the least amount of effort—it's the type of tour you'd feel comfortable taking granny along for. The first stop you'll come
across will be a few miles past Corbett, for the faucetlike
Latourell Falls,
which plunges directly down over a columnar basaltic cliff. You can
snap plenty of pictures directly from the parking lot or take a 15-minute stroll along a trail from there to get right up to the splash pool.
A bit further down the highway,
Bridal Veil Falls
is a little harder to reach, but worth the 0.6-mile round-trip trek. The only falls that tumble
down below the highway, this 118-foot set of tiered horsetail falls is surrounded by mossy cliffs and its own veil of green leaves that make for a
pretty snapshot from the viewing platform built across from the bottom tier's splash pool. Parking is ample here and the trail down to the falls is
well maintained, but it is not accessible to those with wheelchairs.
But that's OK, because the next few falls offer plenty of ooos and ahhs directly from pavement. Just east of the Bridal Veil parking lot, the
lot for
Wahkeena Falls
offers a great look at the cascading gush that gets its name for the Yakama tribe's word for “most beautiful.” A short
0.4-mile roundtrip walk to a bridge near the falls will get you close enough to feel the mist coming off of this gushing wonder. And immediately
after that on the highway comes the crown jewel of the Gorge's waterfalls,
Multnomah Falls.
Towering almost three times the average height of
most of the notable falls in the Gorge area, Multnomah is the second-highest year-round falls in the entire country. With a huge parking lot, a nice
restaurant and gift shop on site, and plenty of benches scattered around the paved paths that lead to viewpoints, Multnomah makes for a wonderful
afternoon stopover.
The historic highway continues on for another four miles or so east until it joins back up with I-84. Don't be tempted to consider yourself all
waterfalled out before heading off the highway—about halfway between Multnomah and the freeway junction, pretty
Horsetail Falls
fans itself
over the cliffs just off the highway. Do yourself a favor and at least stop off for a quick peak and a few pics.
Sports and Recreation
WATERFALL HIKES
If you're willing to get out of the car for a while and strap on some sturdy shoes, there are lots of additional waterfall views to be earned by hiking
the Forest Service trail system that can be accessed at numerous points along the highway. Many of these trails can be linked together into grati-
fying loop hikes. For example, on the west end of the waterfall district, the
Latourell Falls
loop hike is a 2.15-mile loop from the falls parking lot
that will take you to an overlook above the main lower falls and past a set of upper falls higher up the creek. The 480-feet of elevation gained by
the trail may not seem much on paper but it all comes at once through a steep initial climb on either direction of the route.
Latourell Falls
Starting from the
Wahkeena Falls
trailhead, a two-mile out-and-back route will take you past numerous upper falls along Wahkeena Creek to
the final destination of
Fairy Falls,
a fan-shaped waterfall that can be enjoyed from a hewn log bench at its foot. Along the route, don't miss the
very short spur trail to
Lemmon's Viewpoint,
which even surpasses many of those roadside overlooks you thought unbeatable. If you've got the
endurance, you can continue past Fairy Falls for a 5.5 mile loop that'll hook east at the Trail 420 junction and back north at the Trail 441 junction
past a pair of out-of-the-way waterfalls,
Ecola Falls
and
Weisendanger Falls,
before taking you down past
Multnomah Falls
and the nearby
lodge. A 0.2-mile spur to a great overlook on Multnomah makes for a worthy add-on before continuing down.
From the
Horsetail Falls
parking lot you can set out on a 2.5-mile loop up past its horsetail cousins,
Ponytail Falls
and
Middle Oneonta Falls.
The hike ends with about a half-mile walk along the highway shoulder.
