In today’s video I’m excited to share the 5 best Columbia River Gorge hikes. With massive waterfalls, fields of wildflowers, and dramatic viewpoints, the Columbia River Gorge has some of the top hiking near Portland, Oregon.
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Links to videos on each of the top 5 Columbia River Gorge hikes:
1. Eagle Creek: [ Ссылка ]
2. Hamilton Mountain: [ Ссылка ]
3. Multnomah - Wahkeena Falls Loop: [ Ссылка ]
4. Dog Mountain: [ Ссылка ]
5. Wahclella Falls: [ Ссылка ]
Number one is the Eagle Creek trail. This trail travels along a cliff ledge above a canyon filled with waterfalls. It can get a bit narrow and scary in places. This is often considered the headliner hike of the Columbia River Gorge. You can hike in as far as you’d like, as it’s a really long trail. I think the best day hike is Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls, a 12-mile roundtrip.
Eagle Creek is best in spring or fall when the waterfalls are full. In summer it gets a bit dried out, but if you go in summer, I’d recommend hiking down into the canyon on the Punch Bowl Falls side trail. Even in August, you’ll find dripping cliffs and ferns low in the canyon.
Our number 2 hiking recommendation is Hamilton Mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia River. This 6.4-mile hike takes you to high meadows, where the vastness of the Columbia River Gorge appears before you.
Before opening onto the meadows, the trail travels through a lush forest that was unaffected by the 2017 fire that scorched many favorite hikes on the Oregon side. The waterfalls on this first part of the Hamilton Mountain hike are stunning in their own right.
Number three includes Oregon’s most famous waterfall, Multnomah Falls. Most people stay in the parking lot, but if you take the uphill trail past the falls, you’ll be in for a 5-mile hike that takes in 6 waterfalls altogether!
For our number four hike, Dog Mountain, we’ll journey back into the hills on the Washington side. This 6 1/2-mile hike is very steep, but after a climb through the trees, you’ll emerge onto meadows of balsamroot and lupine wildflowers in the late spring.
Our number five recommendation heads back into the canyons on the Oregon sides for the hike to Wahclella Falls. This short, 2-mile hike travels along a mossy canyon before arriving at the dramatic Wahclella Falls itself.
All three of the top Columbia River Gorge hikes on the Oregon side were affected by the 2017 Eagle Creek fire, but the footage in this video was taken after the fire and they’re still fabulous hikes in my book.
Thanks for joining us for the five best Columbia River Gorge hikes! Let us know in the comments if you have other favorites, and remember to give this a thumbs-up, and subscribe to our channel, and we’ll see you next time.
