Multnomah and Other Falls

And now for something a little different - a hike that's not in a town or city.. This 4.3 mile hike is in the Columbia River Gorge, and provides an introduction to the beauties of this scenic area, which stretches from the eastern edge of the Portland Metro Area almost 100 miles to The Dalles and beyond. The route gains and loses more than 1000 feet in elevation and will take you to five tall waterfalls and fabulous scenic viewpoints. Once you've finished this popular hike, go ahead and seek out other hiking opportunities up and down the Columbia River.

The walk starts at the famous Multnomah Falls Lodge, with the iconic view of Multnomah Falls looming above. After taking a peek at the falls (which you will be seeing from a different perspective near the end of the hike), turn west and look for the Return Trail, which will take you toward Wahkeena Falls. It parallels and is slightly uphill from the Historic Columbia River Highway, a marvel of engineering when it was completed in the early 20th century. There is a large parking lot accessible from I-84 where you can park, although on summer weekends it will be full by mid-day. At that time you will need to scrounge a parking spot somewhere along the Historic Highway.

 At the end of the trail that lies above the Old Columbia River Scenic Highway head briefly to the left and you will come to Wahkeena Falls. This cascade is 242 feet high.

From Wahkeena Falls continue up the steep switchbacked trail as it curves its way up the walls of the Columbia Gorge. The scenery becomes more and more breathtaking. Take the short side trail to Lemmon's Point, which provides a panorama of the river and the cliff walls and mountains in Washington State to the north.

The trail now continues up the hill, going inland. Instead of scenic views of lands below you will be following Wahkeena Creek, which tumbles down the hillside toward the Columbia.

Continue up the hill. Eventually you will come to this relatively small waterfall, but beautiful, known appropriately as Fairy Falls.

Soon after Fairy Falls your trail will branch - take the trail to the left. You will be walking through a wooded area, but with peeks to the panorama of the Columbia River Gorge through the trees. You will come to two trail junctions - take a left turn in both instances.

Soon you will be descending toward Multnomah Creek, the source of Multnomah Falls. When you get to a trail junction near the creek take a left turn. But before you get to Multnomah Falls you will come to two beautiful smaller cascades of water. The first of these is Ecola Falls, a 55-foot drop.

Soon after Ecola you will come to Weisendanger Falls, another 50 foot drop. The Falls are named for Albert Weisendanger, a early-20th century USDA forest ranger in this area.

The trail along Multnomah Creek is carved underneath the overhanging cliff. It is known as Dutchman's Tunnel.









Eventually you will come to this bridge over Multnomah Creek. The creek has several small cascades visible from the trail.

Soon after the bridge take a short stub trail to the viewpoint from the top of Multnomah Falls. Don't go this way if you have vertigo! In fact, you may want to skip this entire hike if you suffer from vertigo! You won't get much of a view of the falls, but you'll get a panoramic view of the Columbia River and the cliffs below and across.


After viewing the falls go back to the main trail and head down the switchbacks toward the bottom. The views are, again, spectacular, both of the Gorge below and, when you get far enough down, Multnomah Falls itself.

As you get closer to the bottom the views remain spectacular.

But you will have to deal with crowds, especially on a summer weekend. This view of the bridge above the lower Multnomah Falls shows what to expect on a summer afternoon. But the walk and view view are free of charge, and in a way it is great that so many people can so easily enjoy this stunning masterpiece of natural scenery. Continue down the trail to your starting point at Multnomah Falls Lodge.