Wahkeena Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Wahkeena Trailhead
- Ending Point: Lemmons Viewpoint
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Out and back
- Distance: 1.4 miles round trip to Lemmons Viewpoint; 0.4 miles round trip to Wahkeena Falls
- Elevation gain: 565 feet
- High point: 645 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
Contents |
Hike Description
Wahkeena Falls is one of the more popular destinations in the gorge and there's a reason for that. Wahkeena Falls has a beauty all its own. It's not a huge, single fall like Multnomah or Latourell and there's no lodge or fancy freeway exit to draw people. Wahkeena Creek falls this way and that, now a plunge, now a horsetail, now a cascade. It's just beautiful.
Wahkeena Trail (#420) is also my favorite beginner trail. Even though there's a lot of climbing here, the surface is good, a lot of it recently paved. One of neat things about the Wahkeena Trail is that there's something cool every few hundred feet. It might be a Columbia River view, or it might be a cascading stream. Lots of rewards make it easier for people to challenge themselves. Every time I'm there, I talk to a new hiker and they tell me how tired they are. I encourage them to climb a bit further. Later in the day, I'm likely to find them 500-1000' higher, still tired, but happy and proud.
Walk up to the viewing plaza just above the parking area on the highway. You can appreciate the tiers of Wahkeena Falls from here, but in spring and summer, the view is partially obscured by mossy big-leaf maples. Head to your right, and cross a footbridge over Wahkeena Creek. Then make a traverse on a paved trail into Douglas-fir/hemlock woods before making a switchback up. The trail traverses to cross the stone bridge, another Simon Benson contribution to the Gorge, in front of Wahkeena Falls. A bench makes a good resting spot, but when the wind is blowing you can get doused with heavy spray!
From here, the trail starts up a steep section, climbing about 600 feet in about half a mile. Continue west to pass the former junction with the closed Perdition Trail at a large Douglas-fir. From here, the pathway, which is still paved, rises in 11 stone-walled switchbacks to a junction. The most alert hikers will find a Lego brick cemented into one of the walls. Take the short spur to the right to reach Lemmons Viewpoint, named after an Oregonian fire fighter who lost his life in a Nevada wildfire. Vistas extend across the Columbia River to Cape Horn, the Prindle Cliffs, Archer Mountain, Hamilton Mountain, and Beacon Rock.
If you're interested in the short but sketchy scramble down to the top tier of Wahkeena Falls, known as The Necktie, walk back from Lemmons Viewpoint. About 15 yards past the junction with the spur to the viewpoint, find a trace of a rough trail leading down to the right. Make three switchbacks on loose scree to the creek. Little Necktie Falls, about 30’ tall, cascades upstream; a head on look would require standing in the creek. Then, follow the faint tread down the east bank of the creek where you'll soon be bounded by a basalt face on one side and a cable and cyclone fence on the creek side. Please don't lean on the fence or trust any section of it. Eventually, after descending steps hacked into the rock, pass along a narrow chasm and find yourself at a dangerous overlook where the fencing is damaged. Look back up the creek to admire The Necktie, where Wahkeena Creek picturesquely crosses over itself. White shooting stars, mist maidens and Mertens’ saxifrage bloom on the dripping rock face here. You can stare down over two larger and lower drops of Wahkeena Falls to see the Simon Benson's stone bridge directly below you.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- None
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Wahkeena Falls
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Wahkeena Falls
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Pokin' Round the Gorge by Scott Cook
More Links
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)
- RSDW
- Jen Thomas