Wahclella Falls Hike In The Columbia River Gorge

Today we took a nice easy 2 mile hike in the Columbia River Gorge called Wahclella Falls. According to the hiking guides, The Columbia River Highway splits around exit # 40 that leads to the Bonneville Dam.

Wahclella is at the midpoint of the well maintained trail number 436 loop that forms a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) roundtrip. The falls are divided into upper and lower segments with a combined height of 350 ft (107 m), the upper section is not completely visible while the fully visible lower segment stands 60 feet (18 m) in height as it thunders out of a narrow gorge carved through dark gray basalt.

The plunge pool has a picturesque quality due to the surrounding natural walls that form a semi-circular rotunda extending from the falls to the main vantage point. As with most waterfalls, Wahclella does exhibit some seasonality of water flow. However, because Tanner Creek is sourced primarily by an underground spring, the flow is never dramatically affected by adverse weather.

Wahclella Falls was named after a nearby village of Native Americans by the Mazama mountaineering club in 1915. Although Wahclella Falls is its officially recognized name, the United States Geological Survey still records the waterfall as Tanner Creek Falls.

I could have gone with the obvious "FALLS PHOTO", but there was something about this part of the trail through the dense forest right before you get to the falls that caught my eye. I loved the light, and the forest, and the hint of the falls in the distance! You can see my sister-in-law, Sandra and my husband Bob in the distance.

To see more photos from the hike, visit my FLICKR PAGE! We went to lunch in Hood River after our hike, and I got some cute shots of some children in the coffee shop!