Revision as of 04:53, 28 February 2018

Bridal Veil Falls (Steve Hart)

Trillium in forest along the trail (Greg Lief)

• Start point: Bridal Veil Trailhead
• End Point: Bridal Veil Falls
• Trail Log: Trail Log
• Hike Type: In and out plus loop
• Distance: 1.4 miles
• Elevation gain: 205 feet
• High point: 230 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: Yes

Hike Description

This excursion begins from a trailhead right off the Columbia River Highway. It takes you to a majestic waterfall and then to overlooks up and down the Columbia River Gorge. It is a favorite of tourists and families on summer weekends, but is relatively quiet at other times. The two trails here begin east of the parking area near the restrooms. One trail descends to Bridal Veil Creek and then rises to a viewpoint of two-tiered Bridal Veil Falls. You also have the option here to descend the creek and explore a little of the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company's mill site. The second trail is a paved loop that passes along the rim of salt ramparts overlooking the Columbia River.

Make a right at the junction east of the parking lot, and hike through a wood of tall Douglas-firs. Drop down a gravel trail lined by a now deteriorating rock wall that has slipped away in places. Make two switchbacks, passing licorice fern-draped slopes to look down on Bridal Veil Creek. A set of concrete steps leads down to creek level (In winter, you can see rusting pipes from the old mill operation in the undergrowth). Cross a shallowly arched footbridge, and go right at the junction. Ascend along the maple-shaded creek to reach steps leading up to a viewing platform. Bridal Veil Falls plunges under the Old Columbia River Gorge Highway and through a mossy basalt defile in two tiers, a drop of about 120 feet altogether. The creek ran near-dry for decades because the lumber mill below diverted the water. Now the mill is a memory, and Bridal Veil Falls has returned. A massive basalt boulder, detached long ago from somewhere above, lies in the creek below, testament to the dynamic nature of this landscape.

When you return to the footbridge, keep on the east side of the creek, which is buttressed by a retaining wall and dike that separates it from a man-made former pond. Pass around a gate above the pond, noting a decaying wood structure in the depression. This may have supported a log conveyor that led to the old sawmill or mill yard. You'll come to a blackberry-infested area of old foundations and paved expanses, now sometimes a dumping ground for those not inclined to pay for regular garbage service. Circle around to your left, passing into the blackberries, and come to the last remaining structure from the mill days, a corrugated iron shed now decorated with graffiti. According to a former resident of the company town, this was a covered cistern that contained water for fire emergencies. The first operation in this area was a paper mill constructed in the 1880s. Later a sawmill was built here. In the early 20th century, the Bridal Veil Falls Lumbering Company established a base here fro its logging operations on Larch Mountain. Higher up, in fact 1,500 feet higher, was their Palmer Mill operation. The sawmill there rough cut the lumber, and then sent it down the slope in a flume that ended at the resaw building east of the creek. At least one million board feet of timber was moved in this way. The operation shut down in 1937, and thereafter the buildings were taken over by the Bridal Veil Lumber & Box Company, which manufactured wooden boxes here for Kraft Cheese. The Box Company closed in 1960, and the town site was gradually abandoned. In 1991, the Trust for Public Lands purchased the acreage, but for years a petition to declare the area a historic site was pursued. After the petition was denied, the three remaining mill buildings - the resaw building, maintenance shop, and warehouse - were demolished in 2001. The town's church was torn down in 2011. The last building remaining on the property is the Bridal Veil Post Office, near the freeway exit and said to be the second smallest post office in the United States.

Return to the junction near the restrooms, and go right for the short loop. The paved trail heads out from under the fir canopy into a small field of camas. Lilacs are blooming at the first viewpoint, looking east up the river and down to the railway tracks. Then the trail heads under oaks, cottonwoods, and maples to more viewpoints over the river and past more camas meadows. The camas is just going off its bloom. Poison oak lines the trail in places. The first viewpoint looks directly over the river and then two more viewpoints look west up the tracks to the Pillars of Hercules and Sand Island. We head back to parking through leafy woods.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• None

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Bridal Veil Falls

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Bridal Veil Falls

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Take a Walk: Portland by Brian Barker
• Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
• Hiking the Columbia River Gorge by Russ Schneider

More Links

• Bridal Veil Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)

Contributors

• Stevefromdodge (creator)