Rattlesnake Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Rattlesnake Falls Trailhead
- End point: Rattlesnake Canyon Viewpoint
- Trail Log:
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 2.5 miles
- Elevation gain: 525 feet
- High Point: 1960 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Spring through Fall, but the falls can dry up after June
- Family Friendly: Yes, except for cliff areas
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
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Hike Description
Rattlesnake Falls drops in a classic basalt box canyon that itself leads to another waterfall, Lower Rattlesnake Falls, which spouts into a deep plunge pool below a towering cliff face. The variety of wildflowers here in the spring is a second lure. This is a remote area and there are use trails across Washington Department of Natural Resources land, but private land is all around. Stay within the boundary signs, watch out for rattlesnakes, and take care at the cliff edges.
From the parking area, cross over a berm and head down to Rattlesnake Creek. Reach the site of the Rattlesnake Creek Bridge, which was taken out in 2009 to bar access to ORVs. Jog right at the creek and walk along the bank until you reach a fallen ponderosa pine snag that serves as a great footbridge. After crossing the creek, get back to the road and hike along it to a junction (An alternative route is to take a cattle trail that heads across meadows keeping away from the woods to the right). Go right here and keep heading gently up in a ponderosa parkland until the road jogs sharp right and heads down to cross a small creek. In the spring, the soggy ground is dotted with plectritis, buttercup, broomrape, shooting stars and saxifrage. The road track heads down to the lip of a box canyon and a great view of Rattlesnake Falls. There’s also a small falls coming down the opposite cliff. You can cross the creek above the falls hike a little way along the other side of the canyon to get some face on views of the cascade, which only pours quantities of water early in the spring. Brown's peonies form clusters under the trees above Rattlesnake Falls.
Next, head south away from the falls, crossing soggy ground above the canyon and looking back to get good views of the falls. Cattle do come into this area, and you may encounter some. See a Douglas-fir wooded point ahead leading right. Keep to the left of this point and reach the Rattlesnake Canyon Viewpoint on a high cliff. You can walk on state land along the cliff as far as the trees. Big-head clover, balsamroot, and Columbia desert-parsley all bloom here.
For Lower Rattlesnake Falls, go back to the Douglas-fir copse on the point and find a scramble trail that heads steeply down past a rock outcrop to a talus field. The trail switchbacks at a Douglas-fir and then heads diagonally down across the talus. When you reach the edge of the trees, there are two choices. You can head straight down to the lip of Lower Rattlesnake Falls, with its clumps of Barrett's penstemon, and enjoy views down into its plunge pool hemmed in by cliffs. The other option is to go left and head along the rim of the canyon to a couple of viewpoints, whence you can look back and see the full height of the Lower Falls. You can also look east along the canyon to where Mill Creek joins Rattlesnake Creek.
Scramble back up the slope and wander back the way you came.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Regulations or Restrictions, etc.
- Discover Pass required
- $2 toll at the Hood River Bridge
- Stay on state land; there are signs posted at the boundaries.
- Take care at the edge of Rattlesnake Canyon.
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Rattlesnake Falls Hike
- Weekend of whacking our way to Washington waterfalls
- Rattlesnake Falls
- Rattlesnake Falls 3 15
- Rattlesnake Falls
- Rattlesnake Canyon 4/10/09
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Rattlesnake Falls Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Curious Gorge by Scott Cook
More Links
- #73 Rattlesnake Falls (Curious Gorge Blog)
- Rattlesnake Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Lower Rattlesnake Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Waterfall Spotlight: Rattlesnake Falls (The Gorge)
- Rattlesnake Falls (YouTube)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)