Vicinity Location:
About 27 miles east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge.
Directions:
From Portland, OR, take I-84 east past Troutdale to exit 28 or exit 35. The easiest
way to get to the trailhead is to go east from Portland and take exit 28 from
I-84. This is the Bridal Veil exit. Drive about .3 miles to the stop sign and turn left, heading east
on the Columbia River Scenic Highway. After about 2.5 miles from the stop sign turn left into the
parking lot for Wahkeena Falls.
Traveling westbound on I-84 from the Bonneville Dam, take Ainsworth State Park
exit # 35 and follow the Historic Columbia River Highway for 7.1 miles, driving past Multnomah Falls.
No permits are required for parking.
Bathrooms seasonally available at the adjoining Wahkeena Picnic Area. The next closest restrooms are .6 miles east at Multnomah Falls.
Be aware parking fills up fast all along the Columbia River Scenic Highway on weekends.
Length and Elevation:
8.2 miles total, Total elevation gain 2,430 feet. High point on the trail is 2,415 feet.
Trail:
Wahkeena Falls Trail #420, Vista Point Trail #419C, Devil’s Rest Trail #420C, Upper Foxglove Way, and Foxglove Way. Connects to Trail #400.
There is at least one geocache along this trail at: N 45° 34.102 W 122° 07.404Info at Geocaching.com
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, National Forest Service Map, Download Garmin .gpx file
Review: January 11, 2010, April 9, 2012
The trail past Wahkeena Falls and up along the creek is a well maintained trail that is heavily used. The trail begins next to the Columbia River Scenic Highway. Cross over the wood bridge to the west bank of the creek and follow the trail .3 mile through the woods to a stone bridge at the base of Wahkeena Falls. Along the way you will pass the junction to the now closed Perdition Trail, when a cliffside section slid away in 1996.
When the water flows strongly at Wahkeena Falls, expect to be misted by the stream as it crashes into the rocks at the base of the falls. This part of the trail quickly ices over when temperatures are below freezing and can be quite beautiful encased in ice. The paved trail from the falls is less heavily traveled and switchbacks up the basalt rocks to a junction to Lemmon’s Viewpoint, .75 mile from the trailhead.
Turn right and walk out to the viewpoint for nice views along the Gorge. At the viewpoint is a plaque commemorating a firefighter who died in 1983 fighting a fire that was in the area.
Follow the trail back to the junction and continue uphill along Wahkeena Creek. From the viewpoint, the trail begins a fairly steep ascent along Wahkeena Creek. Just uphill from the junction to the viewpoint are a couple of user trails on the downhill side. The first user trail, about 100 feet from the junction, is an old unused trail that leads to an overlook of Bowtie fills. This trail is fairly dangerous and not safe for pets and children. The second user trail just goes down to a view of the Wahkeena Creek. Please consider that anytime these are used, erosion increases on the main trail. Consider not using these trails to preserve the tread of the main trail.
Lees than .25 mile later, the trail crosses the creek on a wood bridge and the trail gets considerably steeper as the trail follows the rushing creek up a narrow valley and crosses another wood bridge as it climbs up the rocky trail to Fairy Falls. There is a bench just below Fairy Falls where you can take a break and enjoy the cascading water. Bring something to sit on as the bench is often wet.
At the falls, cross the creek on a single-plank bridge and continue switchbacking along the trail for about 500 feet to the junction with Trail 419C. Take the left junction and immediately cross over Wahkeena Creek. Soon the trail levels out a bit and there is a junction to a brushy viewpoint on the left. Continue up a switchback and follow a forested ridge up to the junction of the Wahkeena Trail, #420. This is about 1.75 miles from the trailhead. Go left just about 50 feet and take Trail 420C, which climbs away to the right.
The first couple of switchbacks on the Devil’s Rest Trail switchback at a nice stream rushing down out of the mountains. From here the trail continues to switchback up a green valley with the sounds of the stream not far away.
After about .5 mile the trail leaves the stream and comes out to the top of a steep northwest facing slope with nice views of the Gorge and Southwest Washington interspersed in the trees. The trail climbs along the edge of the slope and drops down and crosses a wet area and a small stream. From there the trail passes a couple of access to viewpoints of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.
A bit farther up the trail look for a user trail that winds for about 100 yards to a large rock at the top of a very steep slope. The viewpoint provides an unobstructed view to the north and east.
From here the trail turns away from the Gorge and climbs to a junction just before Devil’s Rest. 1.6 miles from the Wahkeena Trail, take an obvious right for the short ascent to Devil’s Rest.
Devil’s Rest is pretty much a pile of moss covered rocks, but it is the top of something. Walk up to the top, satisfy that urge to reach a summit, take some pictures, and decide which way to return to the trailhead. Turn right at the trail junction just below Devil’s Rest for the longer way towards Angel’s Rest and loop back or turn left and head back down the trail to the Wahkeena Trail junction.
To return the short way, retrace your steps, dropping back down and turn right at the Wahkeena Trail junction.
For the longer loop option, turn right at the trail junction just below Devil’s Rest and follow Upper Foxglove Way. Upper Foxglove Way is also a well maintained trail. You can see that Upper Foxglove Way is an abandoned logging road. It makes a very pleasant hiking trail as it drops through the forest with small clearings to let the sunlight through.
In about .5 mile is the junction to Foxglove Way. Turn right and take Foxglove Way down to trail 415. Foxglove Way doesn’t receive much maintenance. Turn right onto Trail 415, which is fairly level and goes above Wahkeena Creek to Wahkeena Springs. This is a great place to fill up with water if you’re low on water. This is one of the rare places where the creek bursts right out of the rocks. Enjoy the sound of the torrent of water rushing down the mountain as it heads towards the Columbia River.
Listen to the sounds of the stream as it slowly recedes the farther you get from it. Look back and you can see the whitewater splashing down the hillside. From the spring, follow the trail about 200 feet to a junction with Trail 420. Follow this trail along the creek back down to the junction with Trail 419C, and continue down the trail back to the trailhead.
The trail is safe for small children as long as you keep them away from the cliffs at Lemmon’s Viewpoint and other viewpoints.
Enjoy the photos!!
Gallery Pics
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