Multnomah Falls

Today I decided that I would wait until later in the summer to visit Mt. St. Helens, and opted to go explore the Columbia River Gorge area. This is a National Scenic Area approximately 30 miles east of downtown Portland, along the Columbia River. There are more than 50 different hiking trails in this area, my first choice was Multnomah Falls. I believe I would call this the tourist trail. It is a completely paved trail that is around 2.5 miles round trip. If you take it to the top of the falls the trail goes up in elevation approx 700ft. In the first half mile, you hike up to and across Benson bridge (see picture). I thought is was a great bridge, because as you crossed you were getting sprayed from the mist of the waterfall. On the way back down, this was very refreshing. At the very top of the falls, the destination of the trail, there is a platform to stand just where the water drops over the side of the cliff and begins its free fall. It is really quite a site, and even though it is not the most naturalistic hike, the views were well worth it. So you know about this water fall, here is a little background. Multnomah Falls is the the second-tallest year-round waterfall in the nation. The water of the Falls drops 620 feet from its origin on Larch Mountain. I look forward to exploring the many other trail in this area in the future.