Waterfall Tour in the Columbia River Gorge
Top of Multnomah Falls (end of the hike)
One weekend in the beginning of May we took my parents on a tour through the Columbia River Gorge on the hunt for waterfalls! In total we did three hikes back to back along I-84 between Portland and Hood River. Our first stop was a visit to Vista House (very appropriately named), where we saw nearly 360 degree views along the Columbia. The usual brief morning rain was moving through so it was a bit moody up there early in the morning!
Next up we drove down to Bridal Veil falls which was about 3/4 of a mile round trip down to the falls. The tricky part of this hike is it goes down first so the hard part is coming back! There is a neat deck for overlooking the base of the falls but you can also hike down right to the bottom along the rocky path. Be careful! This daytrip I wanted to try some long exposures since that is the bread and butter for waterfall shots. Despite not having a tripod, my handheld long exposures came out pretty well when it was a bit darker already.
Our next stop was Oregon’s icon: Multnomah Falls! We expected the parking lot to be completely full on Mother’s Day but at about 9am it was just starting to get busy. If you go much later than that don’t expect to be able to park! Believe it or not this was our first visit to the falls despite living in the area for nearly a year! There is a reason this is a hot spot for tourists, Oregon’s tallest waterfall is breathtaking!
After taking a quick snack break we started the hike to the top of the falls. At first glance the 2.5 mile round trip seems easy enough but be prepared for switchbacks the whole way to the top. There are even signs counting each one letting you know how many you have left! The walk to the bridge is all paved and very easy to access, but past the bridge is where the continuous uphill hike starts. Once at the top there is a little deck where you can look over the top of the 620 foot falls. From the other side you can see the quaint little falls before they plummet off the cliff.
Base of Multnomah Falls feat. a mossy rock
Once back to the bottom we took another snack break and drove further into the gorge to Wahclella Falls. This was our second time hiking to Wahclella, but the first for my parents. After the constant ups from Multnomah our legs were a bit tired. Luckily Wahclella Falls is an easy 2 mile hike without too much incline. It was interesting seeing it a little bit later in the morning than our first trip! You can see more about that hike in that blog post: Wahclella Falls - Columbia River Gorge.
We skipped a few waterfalls along this route but I don’t think it’s possible to do them all in one day! It was a great morning for some waterfall hikes and we finished our day eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches under some apple trees at The Gorge White House in Hood River. Of course with a view of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams!
