Date Hiked: 11/2019
Rating: 9
Distance: About 5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Best Season: Probably year round, but winter could be very wet/icy
The Wahkeena-Multnomah Falls loop is my favorite hike I’ve done in the Columbia Gorge so far, an excellent trek featuring multiple very different waterfalls, finishing up with Oregon’s largest and most famous falls. We went in November and the falls were all flowing nicely, and on the upper regions of the trail we were blessed with fresh snowfall. We did the hike starting on the Wahkeena end and finishing at Multnomah, so the crowds will obviously increase as you near that major tourist attraction.
The first step is the short switchbacking walk up to Wahkeena Falls. Typical of the Columbia Gorge it’s in a lush forest, making the walk pleasurable even aside from the falls and cascades. Wahkeena Falls is a multi-tiered waterfall with a nice stone bridge running right underneath. You can get nice views of it from multiple angles.
Next you’ll continue to switchback further up an extremely pretty section that includes plenty of cascades and even views of the Columbia River below. You’ll eventually hit pretty little Fairy Falls, right along the trail. It’s not huge but it’s extremely picturesque. After that you’ll switchback up a bit more before reaching a junction. You have a choice of two trails that will eventually take you the same place, but we turned left onto the Vista Point trail. And starting around here we had a surprise treat, hiking through freshly fallen snow, which was incredibly pretty in the upland forest.
Along this stretch you’ll again meet a junction with the Wahkeena trail where you’ll go left, and after more traversing through the upland portion you’ll eventually drop down to a creek again. It’s here where the snow tapered off, but that was fine since the waterfalls started appearing again. I hadn’t researched this trail very thoroughly before we hiked it so Ecola Falls and Wiesendanger Falls were nice surprises, though I didn’t know their names.
The next stretch of trail continues to impress, where you walk along the creek passing under a rock overhang called Dutchman Tunnel, and after that Dutchman Falls. And then before dropping steeping back down you’ll get more nice views of the Columbia River and the mountains in Washington beyond.
You will have noticed the crowds increasing over the last stretch, and that will only increase as you drop down the stretch of trail past Multnomah Falls leading to the zoo of humanity at the base. But it’s totally worth it, as the views of the falls are tremendous. There’s an optional side trip over to a viewpoint before the steep drop down. Once you reach the base there’s just a short, relatively flat trek along a trail that parallels the road back to your car.
