• Hikes including this location:
  • Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Eagle Creek to High Bridge Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Eagle-Benson Loop Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Tanner-Eagle Traverse Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)

• Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Latitude, Longitude: 45.6249, -121.8956
• Elevation: 490 feet

Description

This is the first obvious rest stop along the Eagle Creek Trail. There is a rather inviting log-bench at a good size clearing about 1.7 miles from the trailhead. This marks the start of a spur trail that leads down to the lower viewpoint for Punch Bowl Falls. (This spur trail is labeled "Lower Punch Bowl Falls Trail #440B" on some Forest Service documents.)

It may not be immediately obvious that this is a trail junction, as the spur disappears down the hill at the far end of the clearing. For Eagle Creek first-timers, it's highly recommended you take this option! You drop about 100 feet in a little under a quarter-mile to a nice rocky shoreline beside Lower Punch Bowl Falls. Your view of Punch Bowl Falls from this location has been the subject of countless postcards and scrapbook photos.

Many thru-hikers will skip this option, being content to enjoy the Punch Bowl Falls from an overhead viewpoint about 1/4 mile uptrail. This too features a clearing that is hard to miss. Eagle Creek Trail continues upstream toward High Bridge and Tunnel Falls.

Just before this junction, the main trail crosses a Sorenson Creek on an easy crossing made of round cement steps. A few yards below the trail, the trail plunges over 125 foot Sorenson Falls.

Contributors

• stevefromdodge (creator)