A Banquet of Oregon Waterfalls

Before we get to the good stuff, I am going to test your pronunciation. How do you say Oregon?   Do you call it Or-eeee-gone?   If so, you must not be from the West.   You must be from the East.  Or somewhere else.  Because if you are from there, you will call it by it's proper name,  Or-a-gun.   Like, if I want to protect myself, should I carry a knife,  OR A GUN?  Slight emphasis on the Or.

Now that I have educated some of you, I can get on with my favorite part of that state, which is known for it's gorgeous coastline.  But here is a most excellent day trip easily do-able from Portland, a lovely city at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers.  (And by the way, it's not Willam-ETTE, it's Will-AM-ette.)  I like this day trip even more than going to the Coast.  

Check to make sure it is a sunny day which would typically be a pretty good possibility between May and September, and often during the other months too, but you might not want to count on November through February.   Head east on I-84, otherwise known as the Banfield Freeway, and exit at Troutdale.

Troutdale is a cluster of darling little shops and restaurants, and the ladies in your party will probably want to stop for "just a little while."  Ha!  We've heard that before!  (And I've said it before too.)  Drive through the town, which is proclaimed by a sign that spans the road  to be the Gateway to the Columbia Gorge.  You are still parallel to the Columbia,  and you will cross the Sandy River. You are now on the historic and beautiful Columbia River Highway, completed in 1916.

Even the beginning of the highway, out of view of the river,  is gorgeous as it winds uphill through the mini- villages of Springdale and Corbett.   Shortly after, you will come to the Vista House at Crown Point which gives you splendid views east and west along the river and is itself  a restored gem of an early 20th century building.  During my trip Memorial Day weekend, I spent only about 10 minutes because the weather was as below:  (and I have been there any number of times in the past).

Although I said go in May,  I did not mean May of 2011.  You see the hills of southern Washington across the way and on a clear day during this trip you may at times see some of the snowclad peaks of the area.

Next, on to the dazzling array of waterfalls just a short drive away.  What enchants us so much as a high ribbon of water falling off a cliff in the woods?  For your banquet's  appetizer,  the first fall you will come to is Latourell.  Park in the lot and take the short walk uphill just a few hundred feet for your first and perhaps best view:

You can stop here and sit for awhile or continue along the trail to get some splendid side views of the falls.  None of these waterfalls require an actual hike, which I will define as "a long way and you would need a water bottle and that sort of thing".  But some of the paths have some relatively steep sections so be ready to take your time.

Pop back into the car and your next course in the banquet is one of my favorites.  Bridal Veil Falls.  There is a nice park here, with clean restrooms, and a short and flat paved loop that gives you superlative views of the Columbia River below.  The other trail, to the falls, has it's ups and downs (pun intended) but you will see some truly spectacular scenery.

Here you are on a bridge approaching from the bottom.  This is where the falls become a stream tumbling happily, I like to think, toward the Columbia River,  after its freefall from the ridge above.  You will now take an uphill path to a viewing platform where you can get great photos of the two-tiered waterfall.

 

As you came into the parking lot, you will have noticed an enticing building across the street.  This is the Bridal Veil Lodge B&B and although I have never visited it,  this is the only place within what I call the "waterfall zone" along this historic highway.   If you are all about hiking, rather than short walks,  this would be a good place from which to start.  Drive from Portland the evening before, stop at Tad's Chicken 'n Dumplins along the Sandy River just outside of Troutdale for dinner, then spend the night here.  After you climb out of your B in the morning you can have a hearty B (get it?) before you set off on a day of hikes.

Just east of Bridal Veil Falls, you will arrive at Wahkeena Falls, another one that can be seen from the base of the parking lot but is worth the walk up.  Like Multnomah Falls, the most famous,  this one has a stone 1920s footbridge in front of the base of the falls so you can be close enough to enjoy the spray on a hot day.

Speaking of Multnomah Falls,  you will most likely stop here next, the heart of your banquet.  This is one of the most iconic images of Oregon that you will find.   The ample parking, easy paths, and lovely day lodge with both casual and sit-down dining make it a popular  afternoon trip for Portlanders, or a nice stop if you are heading to eastern Oregon on I-84. You'll probably see license plates from several states in the parking lot.

One thing that they didn't get right:  the sign in front of the falls proudly claims that this is the second highest year-round fall in the US.  Unfortunately, there are about 100 falls that will disagree.  There are 30 alone across the river in Washington (in the North Cascades) and a good portion of the highest falls are in Hawaii,  also home to about 30 of the top 100.  Some are not sure it is even the highest in Oregon.  California's Yosemite Falls, typically touted as the highest, is only about #15.    And, there are many very, very remote falls in such mountainous areas as Alaska that haven't ever been measured.

Still, this is accessible, quite lovely, and photogenic.  Learn about the sad but beautiful native legend of the beautiful maiden (of course!) who caused the falls, and other stories explaining creation.

The next falls I love are Oneonta Falls, which is a real challenge to reach, and only accessible for part of the year.  This is the falls you will want to visit when it is oh, say, 100 degrees out.  You will walk in along a stream that belies what comes next.  Your first challenge is a logjam which you must navigate very carefully. You approach a very narrow gorge and you must either wade through (or sometimes the water is so deep you will swim), or climb on the steep rocks, but not very high.  Then the gorge turns a slight corner and you come into one of the most beautiful visions you will EVER see, honestly.  The falls, the gorge, the greenery, the coolness on a hot day.  It's almost like Mother Nature made it just hard enough to get into that she decided to reward you with a breathtaking scene for your efforts.  However, this day in late May the stream was raging and over it's typical bank, so I could only gaze longingly at the logjam.  I will just have to link you to a photo or two:  a great Gorge shot, (click on the little camera where it says Oneonta Gorge and then click again to enlarge--there are two pix here, one of the gorge and one of the falls) and an exceptional view of the falls.  If you haven't guessed yet, this is the dessert of your banquet.

Afterward, continue east along the historic road, past Horsetail Falls (literally at the road's edge) and you can then either pick up I-84 west back to Portland, or continue on to Bonneville Dam for a tour.  You can also see the huge and ugly sturgeon in their pond.   (Tens of thousands of them live in the river, and earlier this year it was discovered that something over 60,000 of them had clustered in a huge ball at the base of the dam.  The army thought they were debris that had detached from the dam.)  We then went on to Cascade Locks and the Bridge of the Gods (of course there is a legend based in truth here), crossed to Washington, and continued on home.  Or, you can swing back onto I-84 if you are staying in Portland.

I truly cannot think of a better way to spend a hot day, and I've been in hot weather all over the world, including the Greek Isles,  the South Pacific,  and beach resorts galore.  (Winter can be gorgeous too, but you'll be sticking closer to the car and the paths and trails may not be as safe.)