State: Oregon
Location: Portland
Length, One-Way: 13.2 miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Minimum Elevation: 110 feet
Maximum Elevation: 3360 feet
Best Season: Year-Round
Difficulty: Moderate
Usage: Heavy
Parking: Northwest Forest Pass is required at trailheads.
Trail Information
The Eagle Creek Trail is the second most popular trail in the Columbia River Gorge. Second only to the paved path to Multnomah Falls, the Eagle Creek Trail provides access to more waterfalls than any other in the Columbia River Gorge.
The Eagle Creek Trail follows Eagle Creek through the dense forest up to Watum Lake. The trail has many viewpoints offering excellent views of many waterfalls and the creek below. A hike up the Eagle Creek Trail is fairly easy with those spectacular views of many waterfalls. The top part of the trail can be incorporated into several different loops to some secluded campsites for overnight trips.
The main draw of the Eagle Creek Trail is the waterfalls. The first waterfall you will come to is Metlako Falls, after only 1.5 miles of hiking. Metlako Falls is the highest waterfall you will see along Eagle Creek Trail. There is a short spur trail to take you to a viewpoint of the falls. At mile 2.1 is Lower Punchbowl Falls, there is another short spur trail leading down to creek. This spur gives you a close up view of Lower Punchbowl Falls. Just a few steps further (at mile 2.2) is the viewpoint for Punchbowl Falls. This fall is named because Eagle Creek seems to “punch” through the canyon into a large bowl. At mile 3.2, there is a cross-canyon view of Loowit Falls, where the Loowit Creek drops into the Eagle Creek Gorge.
Over the next few miles of the hike, you will encounter several smaller falls. But the next big fall you will reach is Tunnel Falls at mile 6.1. There is a tunnel blasted through the rock behind the waterfall. The Eagle Creek Trail continues through this tunnel. It is exhilarating to feel the power of the water falling so close to you. There is a steep bank you can walk down to reach the bottom of the waterfall. This is a great place to have lunch and enjoy the water falling off the cliff far above you. The next falls up the trail is the Eagle Creek Falls at mile 6.3.
About seven miles from the trailhead is CrissCross Falls, which is the last of the major falls along the trail. This fall is spectacular during the spring when the run off is high. The shape of the rocks at the top of the falls causes two separate chutes of water which cross over the another.
The lower portion of the Eagle Creek Trail is open year-round. You can enjoy the higher portion of trail from June to November. On many parts of this trail there are sheer cliffs with no guard rails so this hike may not be suitable for children.
Directions
From Interstate 84 East:
Take Exit 41.
There is no Westbound exit at Eagle Creek exit at Bonneville Dam and backtrack on Interstate 84 to Exit 41.
