WATERFALL HIKES NEAR PORTLAND PLUS

You probably know all about this hike, but maybe you’ve only done it in summer. There are still some nice falls in that stretch, but keep an eye on the Forest Service Website for up-to-date info. Note: As of March 21, 2017, Eagle Creek Trail is closed at mile 3.1 due to a landslide.

Length: Anything you want, up to 13 miles roundtrip.Access: Northwest Forest Pass $5 per day or $30 per year.Where: Just past Bonneville Dam on I-84.Check the National Forest website for the latest info.

Eagle Creek Update: As of January 2018, this trail is closed because of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. At the top visit Wahkeena Spring, where the creek pops out of the ground, and maybe put in another couple of miles to the Larch Mountain Trail, where to 50-foot falls await in a gorgeous stretch of trail. After Wahkeena, it gets pretty intense as you climb the paved path, but beyond that you can ascend the creek through a wooded rocky, splash-filled canyon. But if you start at neighboring Wahkeena Falls, you can see that amazing falls with hardly any effort at all. Here’s another one with a closure - in this case, the Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls. Length: 8.2 miles to see it all, but not required.Where: Start at Wahkeena Falls in the Columbia Gorge.Wahkeena Falls is just the start on this hike. Wahkeena Trail Update: As of January 2018, this trail is closed because of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. You’ll also see many amazing rock formations, side creeks, smaller falls, and have a wet-footed crossing of Pup Creek right before a side trip to the falls. Along the way, you’ll pass The Narrows, where the Clackamas passes through a spectacular gouge in ancient lava. Starting this way, you’ll see more falls, anyway, and not have to pay for parking. Length: 6.6 miles roundtrip to Pup Creek Falls.īefore we go on, parts of this trail are currently closed due to storm damage below Pup Creek Falls that’s coming in from the other trailhead at Fish Creek.Where: Start at Indian Henry, 22 miles past Estacada on OR 224.It will have more water and less color now. Fantastic on a warm day! Clackamas River Trail Pup Creek Falls in autumn. Follow another side trail up here to Rodney Falls, aka Pool of the Winds, where wind and water blast out of a nook in the rocks. First you’ll come to a side trail on the right, leading to a viewpoint of Hardy Falls, then the trail arrives at the falls itself. For our purposes, just go a mile up - sometimes steeply - to a little waterfall cove. It’s a tough conditioner with nice views from the top of an 8-mile loop. Hamilton Mountain Trail in Beacon Rock State Park is well-known to spring hikers. Length: 2 miles roundtrip to the falls, 8 to Hamilton Mountain.Access: Washington Discover Pass ($10 for a day, $30 for a year) required and can be bought at the park or online at discoverpass.wa.gov.Where: Seven miles west of Bridge of the Gods on WA 14.Okay, on to the best waterfall hikes! Beacon Rock State Park Hardy Falls is barely a mile up the Hamilton Mountain Trail. That way, you could get a signed copy of 60 Hikes, a signed copy of Breakfast with your name in the Acknowledgements, and other cool perks.

WATERFALL HIKES NEAR PORTLAND PLUS

You can pre-order a signed copy now, or you can get that plus some other cool stuff, by supporting my Indiegogo campaign for Breakfast in Bridgetown. So here are some suggestions for the best waterfall hikes near Portland.Īll of these are featured in the new edition of my book, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Portland, which is coming out in May. But there is still rain, and when it combines with that melting snow, the waterfalls near Portland go berserk. Everybody is rightly excited about Spring and what it means for hiking near Portland: sunshine, wildflowers, and rising snow lines.

Waterfall hikes near portland