Wahclella Falls

Area	Columbia Gorge (west - OR) (Mount Hood National Forest)
Best time to visit	April and May
Blooming Now	Unknown
Elevation	75-300 feet
Trail Info	2.0 miles round-trip, 360 feet elevation gain
	WILDFLOWER SEARCH
	ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
	Hike information - Oregon Hikers Field Guide
Dogs	Allowed, but must be kept on leash AT ALL TIMES.
	*Northwest Forest Pass required!*

NOTE: The blue marker indicates the trailhead.

Description

This family-friendly hike is best known for Wahclella Falls, which tumbles 120 feet in two stages into a narrow slot. However, it is also a wonderful place to see early spring wildflowers.

Look for Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and Scouler's Corydalis (Corydalis scouleri) on the first section of the trail, before the old dam. After you cross the footbridge at Munra Falls just beyond the dam, the wildflowers become more diverse, including: Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum), Hooker's Fairy Bells (Disporum hookeri), Western Meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale), Western Saxifrage (Saxifraga rufidula), and Colt'sfoot (Petasites frigidus).

When you get to the waterfall, look on the boulders next to the footbridge for a profusion of purple Columbia Kittentails (Synthyris missurica ssp. stellata). These flowers love the spray from the waterfall. As you follow the trail to downstream from the footbridge, also look for a patch of Glacier Lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) on one of the boulders in the creek.

Directions

Take Interstate 84 to Exit #40 ("Bonneville Dam"). If you are driving eastbound from Portland, turn right at the stop sign, and then immediately turn right again into the parking area.

If you are driving west from Hood River, turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp, go under the freeway and proceed to the T-junction. Turn right into the parking area.

The Wahclella Falls trail starts on the south end of the parking area and follows the creek.

Trip Reports

Date	Submitted by
Reports from previous years
04/02/2022	Josh
03/27/2016	Greg Lief
03/07/2016	Greg Lief
05/04/2014	Ivan Phillipsen
05/14/2009	Jim Conrad
04/24/2008	Victor von Salza
04/13/2008	Greg Lief
04/07/2007	Greg Lief

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Photo Gallery

Columbia Kittentail at Wahclella Falls

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'Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.' -- Ralph Waldo Emerson