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Difference between revisions of "Eagle Creek to High Bridge Hike"

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[[Image:EagleCreek HighBridge.jpg|thumb|400px|High Bridge looms 120 feet over Eagle Creek]]
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[[Category:Northwest Oregon]]
[[Image:HighBridgeView03.jpg|thumb|250px|Kayaker prepares to take the plunge near Loowit Falls on Eagle Creek]]
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[[Category:Columbia River Gorge]]
[[Image:MetlakoFalls.jpg|thumb|250px|Metlako Falls]]
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[[Category:Creek Hikes]]
[[Image:PunchbowlFalls.jpg|thumb|250px|Punchbowl Falls]]
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[[Category:Crowded Hikes]]
[[Image:EagleCreekTrail02.jpg|thumb|250px|Greenery abounds along the Eagle Creek trail]]
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[[Category:Moderate Hikes]]
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[[Category:Exposed Hikes]]
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[[Category:Family Hikes]]
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[[Category:All Season Hikes]]
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[[Category:Old Growth Hikes]]
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[[Category:Waterfall Hikes]]
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[[Category:Wildflower Hikes]]
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[[Category:Hikes]]
  
* Start point: [[Eagle Creek Trailhead]]
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[[Image:View to the High Bridge, Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|260px|Approaching the High Bridge from downstream, Eagle Creek Trail ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:Streambank globemallow (Iliamna rivularis), Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|250px|Streambank globemallow ''(Iliamna rivularis)'', Eagle Creek Trail ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:Punch Bowl Falls, Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|250px|Punch Bowl Falls from the overlook ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:View to the undercut, Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|250px|The Eagle Creek gorge below Loowit Falls ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:EagleCreek HighBridge.jpg|thumb|250px|The cliff approach to the High Bridge before the Eagle Creek Fire ''(Jeff Statt)'']]
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[[Image:Looking to Loowit Falls, Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|160px|Looking to Loowit Falls from the Eagle Creek Trail ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:Upstream of the High Bridge, Eagle Creek Trail.jpg|thumb|160px|Upstream of the High Bridge, Eagle Creek Trail ''(bobcat)'']]
 +
[[Image:HighBridgeMap.JPG|thumb|400px|The Eagle Creek Trail as far as the High Bridge]]
 +
 
 +
{{Start point|Eagle Creek Trailhead}}
 
* End point: [[High Bridge]]
 
* End point: [[High Bridge]]
 
* Trail Log: [[Eagle Creek to High Bridge Hike/Log|Trail Log]]
 
* Trail Log: [[Eagle Creek to High Bridge Hike/Log|Trail Log]]
 
* Hike Type: Out and Back
 
* Hike Type: Out and Back
* Distance: 6.6 miles (round trip)
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{{Distance|6.4 miles}} (round trip)
* Elevation Gain: 480 feet
+
{{Elevation gain|840 feet}}
* Difficulty: Easy to moderate
+
* High point: 640 feet
* Seasons: Year round
+
{{Difficulty|Moderate}}
 +
* Seasons: All year
 
* Backpackable: No
 
* Backpackable: No
** (but there are backpacking options further up trail)
 
 
* Crowded: Yes
 
* Crowded: Yes
* Family Friendly: No (Due to exposure)
+
* Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
 +
{{Hazards|f=y|p=y}}
 +
 
 +
=== **Falling Hazard** ===
 +
Be careful with dogs or small children on the Eagle Creek Trail.  On many sections, there is a steep cliff to one side of the trail.  Maybe this isn't the best trail for dogs or kids.
  
 
=== Hike Description ===
 
=== Hike Description ===
Eagle Creek is the quintessential hike in the [[:Category:Columbia River Gorge|Columbia River Gorge]], boasting dozens of spectacular waterfalls, tall basalt cliffs, ubiquitous talus slopes, and the lush temperate rain forests that so characterize the Pacific Northwest. It is considered by many to be one of the most resplendent hiking destinations in the Northwest -- no doubt, essential fare for Portland-area outdoor lovers.
+
The hike to the Eagle Creek Trail's [[High Bridge]] is a popular day-hike option.  At about 6 1/2 miles round trip, and with a mere 840 feet of elevation gain, this outing gives you a great balance of effort vs. reward, and will hopefully whet your appetite for return visits that take you far farther up the gorge. As compared to the shorter excursion to [[Punch Bowl Falls]], you'll get slightly smaller crowds, an additional pretty waterfall, and a lot more dangerous cliff exposure. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burned hot in this section of the gorge, so you will be constantly reminded of that conflagration. In addition, two bridges, the [[Fern Creek Bridge]] and the [[High Bridge]] itself, had to be replaced because of fire damage. The PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) has done a magnificent job in restoring the trail, however, and the tread is in good shape. Bear in mind that it is only above the [[High Bridge]] that overnight camping is permitted on the Eagle Creek Trail.
  
What makes Eagle Creek even more popular is the number of ways one can enjoy it! There are options that can take 3 hours to 3 days depending on how far you go!  In fact, one could literally hike to Mexico starting from the Eagle Creek trailhead, as it eventually intersects with the [[Pacific Crest-Eagle Creek Trail Junction|Pacific Crest Trail]] some 13 miles in. In fact, many PCT thru-hikers will choose to divert their usual course over the [[Benson Plateau]] to take in the splendid beauty of the Eagle Creek gorge.
+
Starting at the trailhead, pass a weir, and then follow the wide well-groomed trail above the creek for a stretch. The steep slopes above you are composed of conglomerates from the Eagle Creek Formation, sedimentary deposits laid down by the ancient Columbia River millions of years before the Columbia River Basalt Flows. In fact, you'll soon pass a large fossil tree stump, now much diminished because of the depredations of decades of souvenir snatchers. Also, you'll notice blackened conifers from the 2017 fire almost immediately, and most of the maples went up in flames but are vigorously sprouting back from their lignotubers. After you pass into a dripping grotto festooned with maidenhair fern, you'll rise above the Eagle Creek Formation and reach cliffs of Columbia River Basalts where the trail was blasted out of the rock. Here there is the first set of handrail cables, one of several along the trail. Penstemon, arnica, and saxifrage cling to the rocky fastness. Looking across the gorge, you can see different layers of basalt entablature separated by narrower bands of colonnade. Many months, the fog hangs low in the canyon, blocking your view of the sheer basalt walls towering above you. In places the trail is narrow, and you need to take care when passing others.
  
Maybe as impressive as the Gorge itself, is the story of how it was built. It was created in the early 1900s as part of an effort to begin preserving parkland areas in the Columbia River Gorge where industry was rapidly encroaching. In some sections, workers used dynamite to blast the trail into the side of the cliffs.  Soon thousands of people could enjoy areas that were impossible to traverse otherwise.  The original trail has remained nearly unchanged to this day.
+
Soon you'll reach your second cliff face, also with a cable handrail. The small oaks on this steep slope were burned but are coming back from their bases. Conifers at the bottom of the canyon survived the fire with a full canopy, but you'll pass through a scorched area where fireweed, thimbleberry, poison oak, and ocean spray flourish. After you walk between two large Douglas-firs, you will see up the narrow gorge to the lower horsetail of 100-foot [[Sorenson Falls]] splashing off the east rim. Then 82-foot [[Metlako Falls]] spouts on Eagle Creek itself, where it makes a tight turn east. This will be your best sighting of [[Metlako Falls]] as the former overlook, on a now abandoned spur trail off the trail ahead, disappeared in a landslide in December 2016. As you turn into a gully, you'll get a glimpse of the top of [[Metlako Falls]] across the gorge and then cross [[Sorenson Creek Crossing|Sorenson Creek]], with its round concrete steps.  
  
The '''Eagle Creek to High Bridge Hike''' is a popular day-hike option. At a little over 6 1/2 miles round trip, and with a mere 480 feet of elevation gain, this option gives you a great balance of effort vs. reward, and will hopefully whet your appetite for return visits that take you far further down the gorge.
+
At the junction with the [[Eagle Creek-Lower Punch Bowl Trail Junction|Lower Punch Bowl Trail #440B]], you can descend 300 feet down into the gorge to see [[Lower Punch Bowl Falls]] and a 2018 landslide that blocked the creek (see the [[Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls Hike]]). Otherwise, stay on the Eagle Creek Trail, and cross a massive crib wall constructed by the PCTA at a spot where the trail slid away. Soon, you'll come to the Punch Bowl Falls overlook, where you can view [[Punch Bowl Falls]] spouting into its circular amphitheater and magnificent deep pool below.  You may recognize this viewpoint from photos and postcards.  Please stay inside the guardrails. Every year, there is a story about someone falling from this spot and injuring themselves.
  
Before you've gone a mile, you'll find yourself high above the creek, which has now opened up to a glorious valley. Many months the fog hangs low in the canyon, blocking your view of the snow-encrusted cliff-sides towering around you. In places the trail is narrow and the drop-off is quite steep. Cable lines were built into the walls in sections to provide some stability.
+
There's another view to [[Punch Bowl Falls]] as you continue along the Eagle Creek Trail, and then you'll cross the [[Tish Creek Bridge]], this version installed in 2017 and miraculously a survivor of the fire later that year. After you cross a scree slope, the valley becomes more V-shaped with the slopes across scorched by a raging crown fire. The trail turns into a gully and passes over the [[Fern Creek Bridge]], one of two bridges on the trail that had to be replaced after the fire. At the next scree slope, you should hear the alarm calls of the resident pikas, who survived the fire huddled in cool crevices below the surface. The trail negotiates its third cable-railed section on a high cliff with views to massive boulders that have tumbled into the creek below. At an exposed cliff viewpoint, you can see across to [[Loowit Falls (Eagle Creek)|Loowit Falls]] splashing in a thin pretty veil down to a pool with a final short drop to Eagle Creek. [[Loowit Falls (Eagle Creek)|Loowit Falls]] is framed by two small drops on Eagle Creek itself.
  
As the trail steadily gains elevation, it begins to divert away from the creek. You'll notice the quiet as you ascend away from the rushing water and deeper into the lush old-growth forests of douglas fir, cedar and hemlock. Dewy ferns, moss-covered rocks, and sometimes poison oak blanket the forest floor. You will be surprised at the beauty and quiet of these sections, which at times are like scenes from a fairy tale.
+
Rounding a corner at a rocky viewpoint, you can see ahead to the [[High Bridge]], which spans a spectacularly narrow, sheer-sided gorge. The fourth cabled section of the trail takes you along a cliff 120 feet above the creek. Little succulent-leaved stonecrop plants bloom here in late spring. Standing on the [[High Bridge]], you can see down the narrow gorge and also up the creek to small cascades. The bridge was damaged in the Eagle Creek Fire, with its floorboards completely burned, so it was replaced in October 2019, with the new version being airlifted in by helicopter. (The Eagle Creek Trail didn't reopen until 2021, however.) If you want to catch one more waterfall, you can hike a little farther upstream to get views, more open since the fire, of 50-foot [[Skoonichuck Falls]], which plunges in two big tiers below a 400-foot cliff.  
  
Along the rest of the hike, you'll cross various side-creeks -- some by rock steps, many by footbridges.  Be sure to look upstream as you pass by -- especially in the wetter months -- as you will be treated to waterfalls and more lush greenery.
+
Longer alternatives include:
 +
* [[Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls Hike]]
 +
* [[Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake Hike]]
  
After you've walked about a mile and a half, watch for an obvious spur trail off to your right.  The path drops down to an overlook with a view of the magnificent 100-foot [[Metlako Falls]], the tallest falls on Eagle Creek proper. Metlako seemingly shoots straight out of a cliffside into a large pool below. 
 
  
Walk back up the spur trail to the main drag and continue Southward, winding high away from the gorge with the creek well out of view. In just over a half-mile, you'll be at an obvious junction and resting spot near [[Punchbowl Falls]]. Many will take the optional spur trail down to the creek bed which is to your right. This is a recommended diversion for newcomers! Otherwise, you can still see Punchbowl Falls from a [[Punchbowl Falls Overlook|viewpoint]] about a quarter mile uptrail.
+
=== Maps ===
 +
{{hikemaps|latitude=45.6089|longitude=-121.8842}}
 +
* Green Trails Maps: ''Bonneville Dam, OR #429''
 +
* Green Trails Maps: ''Columbia River Gorge - West #428S''
 +
* Geo-Graphics: ''Trails of the Columbia Gorge''
 +
* U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management: ''Columbia River Gorge''
 +
* National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: ''Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area''
  
Continuing onward, you'll again swinging away from the gorge for a spell, crossing more footbridges on your way past toward High Bridge.  You'll reemerge from the forest very high above the creek bed.  At this point watch for the necktie-shaped [[Loowit Falls (Eagle Creek)|Loowit Falls]] on the opposite side. It drops from side creek seemingly from nowhere into a uniquely-shaped pool below before spilling over into Eagle Creek.
+
=== Regulations, fees, etc ===
 +
* Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required; fee kiosk at the trailhead
 +
* Restrooms, picnic tables, information kiosk, nearby campground
 +
* Dogs on leash
 +
* Limited parking; if lot is full, go back to the [[Eagle Creek Day Use Trailhead]]
  
Turn the next corner and you approach the homestretch.  The trail leading up to [[High Bridge]] -- although wide, well groomed and oft-traveled -- is rocky and can be slippery in places. The path is carved into the cliffside 120 feet up!  A cable-line is affixed in the rock to your left, providing some security, but on a busy day you will encounter two way traffic through this short, but vertigo-inducing stretch! Pass with care. ''As a courtesy to other hikers hold your dogs close to you through this stretch.''
+
{{TripReports|Eagle Creek High Bridge}}
  
You should see High Bridge amid the trees ahead of you to the right. 
+
{{RelatedDiscussions|Eagle Creek High Bridge}}
 
+
The name ''high bridge'' is well-earned! It dramatically spans a very narrow channel 120 feet high. It's hard not to gawk as you cross to the other side. 
+
 
+
This is your turn-around spot.  Should you choose to rest and fuel-up before heading back, you can sit at one of the (often crowded) scenic viewpoints near the bridge or walk the trail another hundred yards to [[Tenas Camp]] and find a quiet spot to sit.
+
 
+
Return to the way you came.
+
 
+
''Should you still have energy and want to continue on, there is a lot more to see, including [[Four and a Half Mile Bridge]] and [[Tunnel Falls]].''
+
 
+
See these other hike alternatives:
+
* [[Eagle Creek to Punchbowl Falls Hike]] (shorter)
+
* [[Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls Hike]] (longer)
+
* [[Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake Hike]] (backpack option)
+
 
+
=== Maps ===
+
[[Image:HighBridgeMap.JPG|thumb|300px|Map, GPS track in jpeg format]]
+
* See clickable image to the right
+
{{hikemaps|latitude=45.6316|longitude=-121.90693}}
+
 
+
=== Trip Reports ===
+
* [http://portlandhikers.com/forums/thread/7233.aspx Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls 9/23/06 - 9/24/06]
+
* [http://portlandhikers.com/forums/post/3297.aspx Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake, and Chinidere Mt 7/12/06 - 7/14/06]
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(Click [http://portlandhikers.com/forums/AddPost.aspx?ForumID=8 here] to add your own)
+
 
+
=== Related Discussions / Q&A ===
+
* (Click [http://portlandhikers.com/forums/AddPost.aspx?ForumID=141 here] to ask a question or start a conversation)
+
  
 
=== Guidebooks that cover this hike ===
 
=== Guidebooks that cover this hike ===
* ''Day Hike! Columbia Gorge'', by Seabury Blair, Jr.
+
* ''Day Hikes in the Columbia Gorge'' by Don J. Scarmuzzi
* ''60 Hikes within 60 miles of Portland'', by Paul Gerald
+
* ''Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge'' by Craig Romano
* ''Afoot and Afield Portland/Vancouver'', by Douglas Lorain
+
*'' I Heart Oregon (& Washington)'' by Lisa D. Holmes
* ''35 Hiking Trails, Columbia River Gorge'', by Don & Roberta Lowe
+
* ''100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington'' by William L. Sullivan
* ''Columbia River Gorge, 42 Scenic Hikes'', by Don & Roberta Lowe
+
* ''Trips & Trails: Oregon'' by William L. Sullivan
* ''Hiking the Columbia River Gorge'' - 1st and 2nd Editions, by Russ Schneider
+
* ''Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver'' by Douglas Lorain
* ''100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon'' - 3rd Edition, by William L Sullivan
+
* ''Best Hikes Near Portland, Oregon'' by Fred Barstad
 +
* ''Day Hike! Columbia Gorge'' by Seabury Blair, Jr.
 +
* ''Take a Hike: Portland'' by Barbara I. Bond
 +
* ''Hiking Oregon’s Geology'' by Ellen Morris Bishop
 +
* ''PDX Hiking 365'' by Matt Reeder
 +
* ''Curious Gorge'' by Scott Cook
 +
* ''Pokin’ Round the Gorge'' by Scott Cook
 +
* ''60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland'' by Paul Gerald
 +
* ''Hiking the Columbia River Gorge'' by Russ Schneider; revised by Jim Yuskavich
 +
* ''Best Short Hikes in Northwest Oregon'' by Rhonda & George Ostertag
 +
* ''Columbia Gorge Getaways'' by Laura O. Foster
 +
* ''Oregon Hiking'' by Sean Patrick Hill
 +
* ''Pacific Northwest Hiking'' by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
 +
* ''Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon'' by Adam Sawyer
 +
* ''Best Outdoor Adventures Near Portland, Oregon'' by Adam Sawyer
 +
* ''50 Hikes in Oregon'' by David L. Anderson
 +
* ''Hiking Oregon'' by Lizann Dunegan
 +
* ''Hike America: Oregon'' by Lizann Dunegan
 +
* ''Portland Hikes'' by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
 +
* ''Oregon’s Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region'' by George Wuerthner
 +
* ''Oregon’s Wilderness Areas'' by George Wuerthner
 +
* ''35 Hiking Trails: Columbia River Gorge'' by Don & Roberta Lowe
 +
* ''42 Scenic Hikes: Columbia River Gorge'' by Don & Roberta Lowe
 +
* ''70 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades'' by Don & Roberta Lowe
 +
* ''100 Oregon Hiking Trails'' by Don & Roberta Lowe
 +
* ''Short Trips & Trails: The Columbia Gorge'' by Oral Bullard & Don Lowe
 +
* ''70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge'' by Northwest Hiker
 +
* ''Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking'' by Tom Steinstra & Sean Patrick Hill
 +
* ''Trail Running: Oregon'' by Lizann Dunegan
 +
* ''Best Dog Hikes: Oregon'' by Adam Sawyer
 +
* ''Canine Oregon'' by Lizann Dunegan
 +
* ''Fire, Faults, and Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin'' by Marge & Ted Mueller
 +
* ''Waterfall Lover’s Guide: Pacific Northwest'' by Gregory A. Plumb
 +
* ''Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest'' by David L. Anderson
  
 
=== More Links ===
 
=== More Links ===
* Information, history and photos of Eagle Creek at [http://www.splintercat.org/EagleCreek/EagleMainPage.html Splintercat.org]  
+
* [https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=29912  Eagle Creek Trailhead & Trail (#440) (USFS)]
* [http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=1561&p=0 Punchbowl Falls] from Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest
+
* [https://gorgefriends.org/hike-the-gorge/eagle-creek-to-high-bridge.html  Eagle Creek to High Bridge (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)]
* [http://nwhiker.com/CGNSAHike55.html NWHiker.com Hike #55]
+
* [https://paulgerald.com/portland-hikes/classic-columbia-gorge-hikes-eagle-creek-to-high-bridge/  Classic Columbia Gorge Hikes: Eagle Creek to High Bridge (Author Paul Gerald)]
 +
* [https://www.oregon.com/recreation/hike-eagle-creek  Hike Eagle Creek (Oregon.com)]
 +
* [https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2019/10/new-bridges-installed-on-eagle-creek-trail-but-hiking-remains-off-limits.html "New bridges installed on Eagle Creek Trail, but hiking remains off-limits" (Oregon Live)]
 +
* [https://www.pcta.org/2019/rock-slide-eagle-creek-trail-64850/  "A massive rock slide and the effort to reopen the Eagle Creek Trail" (Pacific Crest Trail Association)]
 +
* [https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Sorenson-Falls-3895  Sorenson Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)]
 +
* [https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Metlako-Falls-3896  Metlako Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)]
 +
* [https://wyeastblog.org/2017/01/31/metlako-landslide/  Metlako Landslide! (WyEast Blog)]
 +
* [https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Punch-Bowl-Falls-3881  Punch Bowl Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)]
 +
* [https://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/waterfalls/pacific-northwest-punch-bowl-falls/  Punch Bowl Falls (World of Waterfalls)]
 +
* [https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Loowit-Falls-3894  Loowit Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)]
 +
* [https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Skoonichuk-Falls-3892  Skoonichuck Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)]
 +
* [http://oregonwildflowers.org/viewlocation.php?ID=34  Eagle Creek (OregonWildflowers.org)]
 +
* [https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2016/07/now_100_years_old_eagle_creek.html "Now 100 years old, Eagle Creek helped revolutionize camping in the 20th century" (Oregon Live)]
 +
* [http://www.splintercat.org/EagleCreek/EagleHistory.html  Eagle Creek History (Splintercat)]
 +
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Creek_Fire  Eagle Creek Fire (Wikipedia)]
 +
 
  
 
=== Contributors ===
 
=== Contributors ===
 
* [[User:jeffstatt|jeffstatt]]
 
* [[User:jeffstatt|jeffstatt]]

Revision as of 23:00, 1 August 2021

Approaching the High Bridge from downstream, Eagle Creek Trail (bobcat)
Streambank globemallow (Iliamna rivularis), Eagle Creek Trail (bobcat)
Punch Bowl Falls from the overlook (bobcat)
The Eagle Creek gorge below Loowit Falls (bobcat)
The cliff approach to the High Bridge before the Eagle Creek Fire (Jeff Statt)
Looking to Loowit Falls from the Eagle Creek Trail (bobcat)
Upstream of the High Bridge, Eagle Creek Trail (bobcat)
The Eagle Creek Trail as far as the High Bridge
  • Start point: Eagle Creek TrailheadRoad.JPG
  • End point: High Bridge
  • Trail Log: Trail Log
  • Hike Type: Out and Back
  • Distance: 6.4 miles (round trip)
  • Elevation gain: 840 feet
  • High point: 640 feet
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Seasons: All year
  • Backpackable: No
  • Crowded: Yes
  • Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
Falling
Poison-Oak

Contents

**Falling Hazard**

Be careful with dogs or small children on the Eagle Creek Trail. On many sections, there is a steep cliff to one side of the trail. Maybe this isn't the best trail for dogs or kids.

Hike Description

The hike to the Eagle Creek Trail's High Bridge is a popular day-hike option. At about 6 1/2 miles round trip, and with a mere 840 feet of elevation gain, this outing gives you a great balance of effort vs. reward, and will hopefully whet your appetite for return visits that take you far farther up the gorge. As compared to the shorter excursion to Punch Bowl Falls, you'll get slightly smaller crowds, an additional pretty waterfall, and a lot more dangerous cliff exposure. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burned hot in this section of the gorge, so you will be constantly reminded of that conflagration. In addition, two bridges, the Fern Creek Bridge and the High Bridge itself, had to be replaced because of fire damage. The PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) has done a magnificent job in restoring the trail, however, and the tread is in good shape. Bear in mind that it is only above the High Bridge that overnight camping is permitted on the Eagle Creek Trail.

Starting at the trailhead, pass a weir, and then follow the wide well-groomed trail above the creek for a stretch. The steep slopes above you are composed of conglomerates from the Eagle Creek Formation, sedimentary deposits laid down by the ancient Columbia River millions of years before the Columbia River Basalt Flows. In fact, you'll soon pass a large fossil tree stump, now much diminished because of the depredations of decades of souvenir snatchers. Also, you'll notice blackened conifers from the 2017 fire almost immediately, and most of the maples went up in flames but are vigorously sprouting back from their lignotubers. After you pass into a dripping grotto festooned with maidenhair fern, you'll rise above the Eagle Creek Formation and reach cliffs of Columbia River Basalts where the trail was blasted out of the rock. Here there is the first set of handrail cables, one of several along the trail. Penstemon, arnica, and saxifrage cling to the rocky fastness. Looking across the gorge, you can see different layers of basalt entablature separated by narrower bands of colonnade. Many months, the fog hangs low in the canyon, blocking your view of the sheer basalt walls towering above you. In places the trail is narrow, and you need to take care when passing others.

Soon you'll reach your second cliff face, also with a cable handrail. The small oaks on this steep slope were burned but are coming back from their bases. Conifers at the bottom of the canyon survived the fire with a full canopy, but you'll pass through a scorched area where fireweed, thimbleberry, poison oak, and ocean spray flourish. After you walk between two large Douglas-firs, you will see up the narrow gorge to the lower horsetail of 100-foot Sorenson Falls splashing off the east rim. Then 82-foot Metlako Falls spouts on Eagle Creek itself, where it makes a tight turn east. This will be your best sighting of Metlako Falls as the former overlook, on a now abandoned spur trail off the trail ahead, disappeared in a landslide in December 2016. As you turn into a gully, you'll get a glimpse of the top of Metlako Falls across the gorge and then cross Sorenson Creek, with its round concrete steps.

At the junction with the Lower Punch Bowl Trail #440B, you can descend 300 feet down into the gorge to see Lower Punch Bowl Falls and a 2018 landslide that blocked the creek (see the Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls Hike). Otherwise, stay on the Eagle Creek Trail, and cross a massive crib wall constructed by the PCTA at a spot where the trail slid away. Soon, you'll come to the Punch Bowl Falls overlook, where you can view Punch Bowl Falls spouting into its circular amphitheater and magnificent deep pool below. You may recognize this viewpoint from photos and postcards. Please stay inside the guardrails. Every year, there is a story about someone falling from this spot and injuring themselves.

There's another view to Punch Bowl Falls as you continue along the Eagle Creek Trail, and then you'll cross the Tish Creek Bridge, this version installed in 2017 and miraculously a survivor of the fire later that year. After you cross a scree slope, the valley becomes more V-shaped with the slopes across scorched by a raging crown fire. The trail turns into a gully and passes over the Fern Creek Bridge, one of two bridges on the trail that had to be replaced after the fire. At the next scree slope, you should hear the alarm calls of the resident pikas, who survived the fire huddled in cool crevices below the surface. The trail negotiates its third cable-railed section on a high cliff with views to massive boulders that have tumbled into the creek below. At an exposed cliff viewpoint, you can see across to Loowit Falls splashing in a thin pretty veil down to a pool with a final short drop to Eagle Creek. Loowit Falls is framed by two small drops on Eagle Creek itself.

Rounding a corner at a rocky viewpoint, you can see ahead to the High Bridge, which spans a spectacularly narrow, sheer-sided gorge. The fourth cabled section of the trail takes you along a cliff 120 feet above the creek. Little succulent-leaved stonecrop plants bloom here in late spring. Standing on the High Bridge, you can see down the narrow gorge and also up the creek to small cascades. The bridge was damaged in the Eagle Creek Fire, with its floorboards completely burned, so it was replaced in October 2019, with the new version being airlifted in by helicopter. (The Eagle Creek Trail didn't reopen until 2021, however.) If you want to catch one more waterfall, you can hike a little farther upstream to get views, more open since the fire, of 50-foot Skoonichuck Falls, which plunges in two big tiers below a 400-foot cliff.

Longer alternatives include:


Maps

  • Maps: Hike Finder
  • Green Trails Maps: Bonneville Dam, OR #429
  • Green Trails Maps: Columbia River Gorge - West #428S
  • Geo-Graphics: Trails of the Columbia Gorge
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management: Columbia River Gorge
  • National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Regulations, fees, etc

  • Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required; fee kiosk at the trailhead
  • Restrooms, picnic tables, information kiosk, nearby campground
  • Dogs on leash
  • Limited parking; if lot is full, go back to the Eagle Creek Day Use Trailhead

Trip Reports

Related Discussions / Q&A

Guidebooks that cover this hike

  • Day Hikes in the Columbia Gorge by Don J. Scarmuzzi
  • Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
  • I Heart Oregon (& Washington) by Lisa D. Holmes
  • 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington by William L. Sullivan
  • Trips & Trails: Oregon by William L. Sullivan
  • Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
  • Best Hikes Near Portland, Oregon by Fred Barstad
  • Day Hike! Columbia Gorge by Seabury Blair, Jr.
  • Take a Hike: Portland by Barbara I. Bond
  • Hiking Oregon’s Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
  • PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
  • Curious Gorge by Scott Cook
  • Pokin’ Round the Gorge by Scott Cook
  • 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland by Paul Gerald
  • Hiking the Columbia River Gorge by Russ Schneider; revised by Jim Yuskavich
  • Best Short Hikes in Northwest Oregon by Rhonda & George Ostertag
  • Columbia Gorge Getaways by Laura O. Foster
  • Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
  • Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
  • Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon by Adam Sawyer
  • Best Outdoor Adventures Near Portland, Oregon by Adam Sawyer
  • 50 Hikes in Oregon by David L. Anderson
  • Hiking Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
  • Hike America: Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
  • Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
  • Oregon’s Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region by George Wuerthner
  • Oregon’s Wilderness Areas by George Wuerthner
  • 35 Hiking Trails: Columbia River Gorge by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • 42 Scenic Hikes: Columbia River Gorge by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • 70 Hiking Trails: Northern Oregon Cascades by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • 100 Oregon Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe
  • Short Trips & Trails: The Columbia Gorge by Oral Bullard & Don Lowe
  • 70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge by Northwest Hiker
  • Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Steinstra & Sean Patrick Hill
  • Trail Running: Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
  • Best Dog Hikes: Oregon by Adam Sawyer
  • Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
  • Fire, Faults, and Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin by Marge & Ted Mueller
  • Waterfall Lover’s Guide: Pacific Northwest by Gregory A. Plumb
  • Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest by David L. Anderson

More Links


Contributors

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.

Hiking is a potentially risky activity, and the entire risk for users of this field guide is assumed by the user, and in no event shall Trailkeepers of Oregon be liable for any injury or damages suffered as a result of relying on content in this field guide. All content posted on the field guide becomes the property of Trailkeepers of Oregon, and may not be used without permission.