Steve C Matthews: Hike - Eagle Creek, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Eagle Creek Trailhead
I had heard the Eagle Creek trail was one of the most spectacular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge and a great hike for seeing waterfalls. Well, that was no lie. The Eagle Creek trail is amazing.
Hobie & me
Unfortunately, it’s also one of the more popular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. Our goal was to hike to Tunnel Falls which is about 12 miles out-and-back. We went on a weekday hoping to avoid the crowds.
Eagle Creek Trail
We arrived at the trailhead around 9:30 am and were happy to see the parking lot wasn’t too crowded. Overall, the trail was moderately difficult but mostly level with a few rough areas. I was a little worried about how our dog would do on a 12-mile hike, but other than making sure he had enough water, was on a leash and stayed on the trail, there were no problems.
Eagle Creek Trail
Large sections of the trail are very narrow and literally carved into the basalt cliff with cable hand grips fastened to the cliff to help hikers stay on the trail. I had heard numerous reports of people or dogs falling off the trail and now I see how easy that would be. At 1 1/2 miles we saw Metlako Falls on the opposite side of Eagle Creek
Metlako Falls
and at 2 miles, we came to Punch Bowl Falls which was accessible from a side trail. Punch Bowl Falls is beautiful and very photogenic but can be a challenge to get a photo without people in it. Luckily that wasn’t a problem this time.
Punch Bowl Falls
At about 3 miles up the trail we came to High Bridge which crossed over the narrow gorge about 150 feet above Eagle Creek and offered a stunning view of the gorge and creek below.
High Bridge
A little further up the trail we passed a sign that described a fire that swept through the area in 1902. According to Wikipedia, it’s thought the fire was started by some boys trying to burn a nest of hornets.

Carol & Hobie on High Bridge

The fire spread and eventually became a part of a fire complex named the Yacolt Burn which burned about 239,000 acres and caused at least 65 deaths. At 5 miles we came to a sign saying we were about to enter the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness in the Mount Hood National Forest and we needed to obtain a permit before entering the wilderness.
Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

After getting our permits we continued for about 2 miles until we reached Tunnel Falls at around 2 pm which meant it took us about 4 hours to reach the falls. At a height of 172 feet, Tunnel Falls was spectacular.
Tunnel Falls
The trail was very narrow with a man-made tunnel that was blasted through the cliff behind the waterfall. There were quite a few people around the falls which made it difficult to pass on the narrow trail. We hung out for about a half hour taking pictures and enjoying the mist coming off the falls. I later found out there was another waterfall not too far up the trail called Twister Falls that I wish we had seen. But I guess that leaves something for the next time.