Eagle Creek Trail through "The Potholes" (Jeff Statt)

• Hikes including this location:
  • Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Tanner-Eagle Traverse Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
• Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Latitude, Longitude: 45.58437, -121.85403
• Elevation: 1033 feet
• Height: 65 feet
• Stream: Eagle Creek

Description

One of several dozen "lesser" falls on Eagle Creek, Grand Union Falls might be a destination on its own in many other places in the region, but in Eagle Creek it is upstaged by it's nearby cousin Tunnel Falls. The falls are visible from the Eagle Creek Trail between Blue Grouse Camp and Tunnel Falls in an area sometimes referred to as The Potholes.

The falls are named for the nearby confluence of the East and West Forks of Eagle Creek. Directly upstream from the junction on the East Fork is the aforementioned Tunnel Falls. If topography allowed you to continue right and travel .3 of a mile, you'd reach Twister Falls.

Eagle Creek Trail is known for it's cliffside locations, but the Potholes is a pretty special place all its own. Here, the trail was blasted from the cliff, a common technique in the area. The rock here, however, was columnar basalt and it fractured in odd patterns, sometimes like a bowl that collects rain water dripped from above, sometimes the other way forming a dome shaped protrusion. When you pass through here, you're actually walking on top of columns of basalt, formed when a huge lava flow cooled slowly enough to allow the crystal like structures to form.

Of course,you might be safer stopping while you ponder. The footing here is treacherous at best and deserves all of your attention.

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Eagle Creek

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Eagle Creek

Guidebooks that cover this destination

• Hiking Oregon's Geology, by Ellen Morris Bishop
• Day Hike! Columbia Gorge, by Seabury Blair, Jr.
• 60 Hikes within 60 miles of Portland, by Paul Gerald
• Afoot and Afield Portland/Vancouver, by Douglas Lorain
• 35 Hiking Trails, Columbia River Gorge, by Don & Roberta Lowe
• Columbia River Gorge, 42 Scenic Hikes, by Don & Roberta Lowe
• Hiking the Columbia River Gorge - 1st and 2nd Editions, by Russ Schneider
• 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon - 3rd Edition, by William L Sullivan

More Links

Contributors

• jeffstatt (creator)
• stevefromdodge