Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Eagle Creek Trailhead
- End point: Punchbowl Falls
- Distance: 4 miles (round trip)
- Elevation Gain: 400 feet
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate
- Seasons: Year round
- Backpackable: No
- (but there are backpacking options further up trail)
- Crowded: Yes
- Family Friendly: Yes
- (onyl children 10 and up due to cliffy sections of trail)
Hike Description
Eagle Creek is the quintessential hike in the 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.
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 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.
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.
The Eagle Creek to Punchbowl Falls hike is one of the shorter options, certainly leaving you wanting more!
Starting at the trailhead, you take the wide well-groomed trail along the creek for a stretch, then alternating in and out of a young dicidious forest before beginning to take on elevation.
Before you've gone a mile you'll find yourself high above the creek, which has opened up to a glorious valley. Many months the fog hangs low in the canyon, blocking your view of the snow-encrusted sides of the cliff towering around you. In places the trail is narrow and the drop-off is quite steep -- some with cable lines built into the walls to provide some stability.
As the trail gains elevation it begins to get further from the creek and deeper into the moss-covered old-growth forest. Your companions will be the thousands of ferns, blackberry bushes, and sometimes poison oak that are so characteristic of this region. You will be surprised at the beauty of these forests, which at times are like scenes from a fairy tail.
There are various side-creeks that you'll cross -- some by rock steps, many by footbridges. Be sure to look upstream as you cross these - especially in the wetter months -- as you will be treated to waterfalls and more lush greenery.
After you've walked about a mile and a half, watch for an obvious spur trail off to your right. This unmarked trail drops down to an overlook with a view of the magnificent 100 foot Metlako Falls. The tallest falls on Eagle Creek, Metlako seemingly shoots straight out of a cliffside into a large pool below.
Walk back up the spur trail to the main trail and continue Southward. In just over a half-mile you'll be at an obvious junction and resting spot. You are near your destination, Punchbowl Falls.
You can choose to take a spur trail down and to your right, or continue forward about 1/4 mile to the Punchbowl Falls overlook. The spur trail which takes you down about 300 feet in a 1/4 mile to a wide open rocky shoreline about 100 yards from the falls. In the summer months this can be a crowded swimming hole for children, but given the right weekday in the off season, this quaint setting can provide you some enchanted solitude as you admire the gushes of water blasting its way out the gorge above.
Should you choose to continue on, the overlook gives you a great vantage point of the falls looking straight down to the gushing waters and glorious blue pool below. You may recognize this viewpoint from photos of the area. Please stay inside the guardrails. Every year there is some story about someone falling from this spot and injuring themselves.
From this point you can turn around and head back the way you came. Should you still have energy and want to continue on, there is a lot more to see, including Loowit Falls (Eagle Creek), High Bridge and Tunnel Falls.
See these other hikes that give you longer alternatives:
Maps
- See clickable image to the right
Trip Reports
- Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls 9/23/06 - 9/24/06
- Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake, and Chinidere Mt 7/12/06 - 7/14/06
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Related Discussions / Q&A
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Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Washington - 2nd Edition, by William Sullivan
More Links
- Information, history and photos of Eagle Creek at Splintercat.org
- Punchbowls Falls from Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest
- NWHiker.com Hike #55