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Punchbowl Falls Park Hike

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide

TKO put tools to trail here.png
View to Punchbowl Falls at sunset (Tom Kloster)
Staircase to fish ladder above Punchbowl Falls (bobcat)
Nine-leaf desert parsley (Lomatium triternatum), Punchbowl Falls (bobcat)
Confluence of the West and East Forks Hood Riverl (Tom Kloster)
Dead Point Falls (Tom Kloster)
The trail system in Punchbowl Falls Park (Tom Kloster)
Falling
Poison-Oak

Contents

Hike Description

For more than a century, this spectacular area at the confluence of the east and west forks of the Hood River was private timber land .Through a purchase from Weyerhauser by the Western Rivers Conservancy and a subsequent state grant secured by Thrive! Hood River, the new park came into Hood River County ownership in 2016. The state grant was contingent on developing a trail system in the new park, and from 2016 to 2019 Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) partnered with Thrive! to lead dozens of outings and hundreds of volunteers in building the trail network that exists today. The trail signage was finally added in 2019 as part of a local Eagle Scout project. completing a new system that loops through deep evergreen forests, oak woodlands and wildflower meadows, with the sounds of waterfalls and rivers always at hand. The West Fork Trail follows the west branch of the Hood River past the massive amphitheater holding Punchbowl Falls (not to be confused with the more famous Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek, which is spelled with two words) and a short viewpoint spur to Dead Point Falls before descending to gravel beaches at the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Hood River. From there, a spur trail heads up the East Fork Hood River to a shady riverside overlook. The Dogwood Trail provides a short but leafy return route to the trailhead that is especially beautiful when fall colors arrive in late October.

The trail begins a few yards down an old service road from the main trailhead. Walk around a battered steel gate and pass the main sign for the park. Just beyond the gate, watch for a signed path on your left marked "West Fork Trail". (To the right, a sign marks the "Dogwood Trail", the return part of the loop hike.)

The West Fork Trail leads through the edge of an oak woodland above the basalt-columned lower gorge of the West Fork. You’ll notice a rambling, collapsing wood staircase dropping down the cliff on the opposite side of the gorge. This once provided access to the ungainly concrete fish ladder constructed in 1959 at Punchbowl Falls. Pass along a lush slope, which blooms with grass widow, saxifrage, buttercup, monkey flower and larkspur during the spring, ignoring periodic social paths leading back to the service road and down to Punchbowl Falls. Soon, the West Fork Trail descends to an airy, exposed overlook of the amphitheater holding Punchbowl Falls. Just downstream, 75-foot Dead Point Falls plunges down a steep gully across the gorge. Above Dead Point Falls are the buildings of a former fish hatchery, constructed in 1920 by the state but now in private ownership. Watch kids and dogs here.

From the Punchbowl Falls overlook, a signpost points the way downstream (left) to the East and West Forks Hood River Confluence. This section of trail travels through mixed woods of Vine maple and Douglas-fir, soon reaching the signed, 50-yard spur trail that leads to a cliff edge viewpoint of Dead Point Falls. After enjoying the scene from this perch, return to the main trail and continue left to a signed trail junction with the Dogwood Trail that will be your return route. Continue on the West Fork trail through more open woods before descending into the shady West Fork canyon along a steep, lush wall. Here, the trail briefly descends a set of rounded boulders as steps, then passes through a striking grove of reddish-barked Western yew. Soon, the trail curves to reach another exposed viewpoint, guarded by a gnarled Oregon white oak, which offers an excellent view to the East and West Forks Hood River Confluence, far below. Watch for big yellow blooms of Balsamroot here in spring. From the viewpoint, the trail switchbacks up to another marked trail junction, with a sign pointing right (uphill) to the East Fork Trail. Instead, go straight (downhill) following the sign pointing to the Confluence.Pass more boulder steps, another switchback and a short ramble through lush river bottom to the cobbled beach at the East and West Forks Hood River Confluence. The view here extends up the West Fork gorge, down the main stem of the Hood River, and across the raucous final drop of the silty East Fork where it meets the West Fork. The piles of river rock here have found their way downstream from Mount Hood in one of the many floods that have rushed down this glacial stream over the millennia. In contrast, the West Fork runs clear, as it carries much less glacial runoff from the mountain.

If you would like to explore the East Fork Trail, trace your route back to the trail junction just above the confluence, and follow the East Fork sign pointing uphill. After just a few yards, the East Fork Trail, proper, will appear on your left, just short of the service road. This 0.3 mile route drops down a set of rock steps and follows the rushing East Fork through a lush canyon, passing some century-old pipeline bridge footings on the way to a wooded, streamside overlook that makes for a good lunch spot.

To return to the trailhead follow the West Fork Trail back to the signed junction with the Dogwood Trail. Turn left here, cross the service road and pass another sign marking the Dogwood Trail and pointing to the trailhead. Make a quick switchback, duck under a large Douglas maple, then travel across a Douglas fir forest with several Western dogwood groves. These trees bloom in spring and join with the abundant Vine maple to provide spectacular fall color in the fall. Turn left when you arrive the service road to retrace your final steps to the trailhead.


Maps

Regulations or restrictions, etc

  • Stay on trails

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Curious Gorge by Scott Cook

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Contributors

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Oregon Hikers Field Guide is built as a collaborative effort by its user community. While we make every effort to fact-check, information found here should be considered anecdotal. You should cross-check against other references before planning a hike. Trail routing and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us if you notice errors on this page.

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