Wahclella Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Wahclella Falls Trailhead
- End point Wahclella Falls
- Trail log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 2.4 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: 320 feet
- High point: 335 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Year round
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
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Hike Description
This is one of the must-do easy hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, a sort of mini-Eagle Creek without the distance. The trail reopened in August 2019 after a two-year closure following the Eagle Creek Fire. While vegetation and trees along the route are recovering, frequent slides have turned the hike into an out and back excursion rather than a lollipop loop. The outing is at its most pleasant from fall through spring, but even on hot summer days, the grotto-like amphitheater at Wahclella Falls offers a cool respite where day hikers often tarry for long periods.
From the Wahclella Falls Trailhead, start down Wahclella Falls Trail. The first part of the trail is a leisurely flat walk on a closed access road shaded by cottonwoods, alders, big-leaf maples, and Douglas-firs. At the end on the road is a small dam and fish ladder managed by the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. This is also where you'll see the first burn scars from the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. The trail narrows to a single tread and, just past the dam, there's a blind curve around a bluff as you enter the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. Suddenly, you'll be visually assaulted by Munra Falls. This waterfall might be a sideshow to the bigger falls upstream, but this slide falls is so close that you might get sprayed as you cross the bridge at its base.
Past Munra Falls, the trail climbs quite a bit up the east side of the canyon, transitioning from the older, softer sedimentary deposits of the Eagle Creek Formation to the 15 million-year-old Columbia River Basalts. Two massive Douglas-firs by the side of the trail were scorched by the 2017 fire. There are some steep dropoffs, so keep close watch on your little ones. After a flight of stairs, you'll soon begin to descend. Look down the precipitous slope to burned maples and hazels coming back from their roots. A couple of gabions have been installed to bolster the tread at dangerous slide areas. Come to the former Wahclella Falls Trail Junction. Here trail crews reinforced the area with extensive rock work, but the upper part of the loop remains closed because of ongoing slides and rockfall.
Instead, drop down to the right, taking a couple of switchbacks to the lower bridge. The great creek views start at the bridge. Note the enormous builders that have tumbled from the basalt rim far above. Continue on through a 1973 slide zone. Recross the creek on another footbridge, and clamber around the boulders at the mouth of the cool, cedar-shaded amphitheater to get views of Wahclella Falls.
Wahclella is one of the more interesting falls in the gorge. The most obvious portion is the lower drop, where the water pours 65 feet from a hidden, narrow gorge into a large open amphitheater. Above the lower falls is a semi-hidden upper falls in the main stream. You can see this 50 footer from a higher viewpoint. Most months, there's a second waterfall visible from further back on the lower level trail. This seasonal falls, sometimes called East Fork Falls, is taller than either of the main stream tiers.
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
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Zigzag Ranger District
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Hood National Forest
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Northwest Forest Pass (or America the Beautiful Pass) required at trailhead
- Port-a-potties, picnic table, information kiosk
- Dogs on leash
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Wahclella Falls
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Wahclella Falls
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon by Bonnie Henderson & Zach Urness
- PDX Hiking 365 by Matt Reeder
- Curious Gorge by Scott Cook
- Pokin' Round the Gorge by Scott Cook
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington by William L. Sullivan
- Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon by Adam Sawyer
- Best Outdoor Adventures Near Portland, Oregon by Adam Sawyer
- Day Hikes in the Columbia Gorge by Don J. Scarmuzzi
- Day Hiking: Columbia River Gorge by Craig Romano
- Afoot & Afield: Portland/Vancouver by Douglas Lorain
- Hiking the Columbia River Gorge by Russ Schneider; revised by Jim Yuskavitch
- Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
- Day Hike! Columbia Gorge by Seabury Blair, Jr.
- Columbia Gorge Getaways by Laura O. Foster
- Oregon's Columbia River Gorge: Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
- 70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge by Northwest Hiker
- Best Short Hikes in Northwest Oregon by Rhonda & George Ostertag
- Hiking Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
- Hike America: Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
- 50 Hikes in Oregon by David L. Anderson
- Columbia River Gorge: 42 Scenic Hikes by Don & Roberta Lowe
- 35 Hiking Trails: Columbia River Gorge by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Short Trips and Trails: the Columbia Gorge by Oral Bullard & Don Lowe
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
- Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest by David L. Anderson
- Waterfall Lover's Guide: Pacific Northwest by Gregory A.Plumb
- Best Hikes With Dogs: Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop
- Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
More Links
- Wahclella Falls Trail (#436) (USFS)
- NWHiker.com Wahclella Falls Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- Wahclella Falls Loop (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
- Wahclella Falls (Washington Trails Association)
- Wahclella Falls Hike (Outdoor Project)
- Hike to Wahclella Falls (The Outbound Collective)
- Wahclella Falls (Hikespeak)
- Wahclella Falls - Hiking (Roots Rated)
- "Falling rocks come close to hikers on recently reopened Wahclella Falls gorge trail" (KATU)
- "Wahclella Falls Trail reopened in Columbia Gorge, 2 years after Eagle Creek fire" (Oregon Live)
- "Iconic Wahclella Falls reopens in Columbia Gorge after 2 year closure from Eagle Creek Fire" (Statesman Journal)
- Wahclella Falls (OregonWildflowers.org)
- Wahclella Falls (Wikipedia)
- Wahclella Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Wahclella Falls (Tanner Creek Falls) (World of Waterfalls)
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)
- Jeffstatt