TrailsNW
Columbia Gorge

Wahkeena Falls

Length: 4.5 miles
Low Point: 200'
High Point: 1600'
Season: All Year
Scenery: 4/5

Difficulty: 2.25/5

Submitted by: Forrest

Directions

From Portland, take I-84 to exit 28. Take a left on the old highway until you come to Wahkeena Falls. If you are coming from the east, take exit 35, past Multnomah Falls, to the parking lot below Wahkeena Falls.

Trail Description

The trail starts out paved for around the first mile of the hike, switchbacking to the base of Wahkeena Falls and crossing the creek over a scenic bridge. After .4 miles, the perdition trail branches to the left (closed due to storm damage during the trip, Jan 1999) which leads to Multnomah Falls. Ignore this trail, and continue switch-backing up the side of the hill. When you reach the top of the hill, viewpoint trails lead off to the left and right, but continue straight, crossing the creek, and entering a cool, narrow canyon. Soon after leaving the canyon, the trail switchbacks to Fairy Falls, a small but nice waterfall. Shortly after the waterfall, the trail intersects another trail to the left. Ignoring this fork, continue straight to an intersection at 1.6 miles. Take the trail to the right, which soon leads to Wahkeena Spring, a little pool on the right side of the trail. At 3.1 miles, ignore the side trail to Foxglove Way and continue on to a nice campground, complete with a picnic table. You can even follow the creek down the hill for a little ways to another small waterfall. From the campsite, Angels Rest is only another mile. We turned around at Angels Rest and returned the same way we came, but it is possible to hike another 2.2 miles to the intersection of exit 28 and the old highway and just have somebody pick you up.

Comments

Hiked this today. Parked at Multnomah and walked west down the highway to start the trail at Wahkeena Falls. It was more difficult than I anticipated. Quite snowy for the middle of the hike. Very pretty though.
2011-03-06 23:09:05
This is a favorite - I really like Fairy Falls. It's not as high as some falls but has a symmetry that appeals to me, especially in winter.
2009-04-27 15:02:21
Re: the above comment - the Perdition Trail no longer exists. The return part of the loop between Wahkeena and Multnomah is the Return Trail. I'd really recommend doing the loop starting from Multnomah Falls. May or June, with various forest blooms, including larkspur, iris, and corydalis, is an excellent time. A 'secret' path exists going down to the west just before the viewpoint on the vista trail above Wahkeena Falls. This path takes you to Wahkeena Creek, Necktie Falls, and a clifftop view, with abandoned cable railing, from the very top of Wahkeena Falls.
2004-11-15 10:27:15
Terrific hike until we turned towards Multnomah Falls. If you head up the Perdition Trail don't be tempted to head to Multnomah Falls Lodge and do the loop. The trail gets very congested and touristy. Keep to the right and just do the Wahkeena Falls loop, the map will be clear. One more thing, the maps on this trail are very helpful and well placed. You should have no problem navigating your way around.
2004-09-09 08:14:32

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