Notice: 9/24/2019 – This trail and many others in the Columbia River Gorge are closed until further notice, sometime in 2020 or later, due to the Eagle Creek Fire.
Vicinity Location:
29 miles east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River National Scenic Area.
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 3 miles from the stop sign, you pass Multnomah Falls. Follow this road for about 2.5 more miles to any of the parking areas near Oneonta Creek. Oneonta Creek is 5.2 miles from the stop sign.
If you take exit 35, then head west on the Columbia River Scenic Highway back towards Portland for about 1.5 miles and look for parking. Oneonta Creek is 1.8 miles from exit 35.
To return to Portland, drive east and cross underneath the freeway in about 1.3 miles, then follow the road as it loops around and merges onto the westbound I-84 back to Portland.
From Hood River, OR, take I-84 west to exit 35. Cross underneath the freeway and drive west on the Columbia River Scenic Highway for about 1 mile.
To return to Hood River, drive east for about 1 mile and bear right to merge onto I-84 east to Hood River.
No restroom facilities or drinking water is available at the trailhead. The closest water and bathrooms are at Ainsworth State Park, 1 mile east of Oneonta Creek. Look for a water fountain along the road near the day use area.
No parking permits are needed.
Be aware parking fills up fast all along the Columbia River Scenic Highway on weekends.
The trail may be closed due to hazardous conditions. Check the Forest Service website or call (541) 308-1700.
Length and Elevation:
1.3 miles roundtrip, Elevation gain and loss totals 100 Feet
Trail:
Oneonta Creek
Trail Maps:
Topo Map
Review: September 9, 2008
It is best to avoid this trip on a drizzly or wet day because of all the logs that have to be crossed. This is a fun and challenging walk where you will get wet and the water isn’t very warm. Before August, you may have to wade through chest deep water, The deepest water is about crotch deep on a 5 to 6 foot person until the fall rains begin.
Make your way to the west side of the bridge across Oneonta Creek and look on the uphill side and find a narrow stairway down to the creek bed. There is a sign near the beginning of the trail warning of a logjam upstream. There was a flood in 1996 that brought all these logs into the stream.
Follow the trail along the edge of the stream or just walk up the stream, you’re going to get wet anyways. The main logjam is a few hundred feet upstream and is about six foot high all across the canyon. The easiest way to approach the logjam is to go to the left between the big rocks and the canyon wall. Carefully negotiate past the uneven stream bottom around the base of the boulder, climb up it, and jump from one boulder to the next. From here it is fairly east to pick a course across the logjam.
Enjoy the photos!!
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