About Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is easily the Columbia River Gorge’s most famous waterfall and could very well be the state of Oregon’s prime natural attraction.
While our visits have constantly shown that it was always busy here (hardly surprising as it’s said to be visited by over 2 million people a year), all of that was forgotten once we stood before this towering 620ft two-tiered column of water with year-round flow.
In fact, we’ve frequently seen this waterfall proclaimed to be the second tallest year-round waterfall in the United States and the fourth tallest in North America.
Whether these claims are true or not, it felt like all the academic trivia didn’t matter so much as we were content to simply enjoy it for what it was – a majestic waterfall!
Thus, we could totally understand its popularity, especially considering it was pretty close to Portland (roughly a half-hour’s drive).
Heck, we enjoyed this waterfall so much that we even felt compelled to put it on our Top 10 List of the best waterfalls in the USA as well as our Top 10 Best Oregon Waterfalls List.
The Heritage of Multnomah Falls
Even though we’ve seen quite a few towering waterfalls of at least this size, what really made this one stand out was that it seemed to have a bit of heritage to go with it.
Case in point, there was an arched bridge spanning across the waterfall’s lower 69ft drop.
Called the Benson Bridge, it was built in 1914 and named after a Norwegian-born lumber baron who deeded this falls as well as a few others to the City of Portland.
I think it was this bridge that really made Multnomah Falls a recognizable icon.
Fronting the falls was the historic Multnomah Falls Lodge, which was built in 1925 and had a classic look about it thanks to designer Albert E. Doyle who designed many recognizable buildings in Portland.
Some of Doyle’s classic-looking buildings include the US National Bank Building and the Multnomah County Public Library.
These days, the lodge was being used as a souvenir shop, visitor center, and restaurant, and it’s not so much a place to stay overnight.
Experiencing Multnomah Falls
As for visiting the falls, it was literally a breeze.
Perhaps the biggest challenge was to find parking despite its massively large combined parking area encompassing an area right in front of the historic lodge as well as a separate lot sandwiched between the opposing lanes of the I-84 (see directions below).
Once we parked the car, we literally just had to walk towards the concrete walkway adjacent to the historic lodge and immediately start cranking our necks to gawk at the towering waterfall.
If the views weren’t enough, it was possible to hike up a paved path towards the Benson Bridge even up to the top of Multnomah Falls or beyond (which I’ll describe later on in this page).
Julie and I have been to the falls on at least four separate trips so far (maybe more as I’ve lost count at this point).
The first time was in the midst of some pretty nasty late Winter storms in late March/early April of 2009.
As you can see from the photo above, the thickness of the Multnomah Falls was quite noticeable under those wet conditions.
As a result, the viewing area at the base was sprayed with mist so it wasn’t easy to take photos from there without waterspots getting on the lens.
The next two times we came here were in August of 2009 and 2017.
While the falls took on a more slender appearance (see the photo at the top of this page), we felt it was just as beautiful (if not more so) than the swollen state of the falls that we saw it in during our rain-drenched Spring 2009 visit.
One thing we hadn’t done was to try to photograph the falls with Autumn colors, which I’m sure would add a whole different character to the scene.
Finally, we got to spend a bit of time at the visitor center – once during bad weather on our first visit here in March 2009 and again in early April 2021 when the global pandemic caused some changes to facilitate social distancing.
Nevertheless, from our visits to the visitor center, we’ve had a chance to learn a bit more about the geology of Multnomah Falls as well as the greater Columbia River Gorge.
In fact, there were pretty cool 3-D models on display, waterfall comparisons between the Multnomah Falls and other famous ones, lots of historical and scientific tidbits, and more.
I guess in the end, there were certainly many ways to linger here and soak in the experience, so to speak.
The Top of Multnomah Falls (Difficulty: 2.5)
While the views from the immediate lookout would be pretty sufficient for viewing and photography purposes, sometimes we felt like we needed to do something more to savor the experience.
That’s where this option to extend the visit by going to the top of Multnomah Falls comes in.
While the vast majority of visitors (some jokingly say 95% of them) would be content to go no further than the Benson Bridge (about a quarter-mile up or a half-mile round trip), I actually managed to go all the way to the top and back.
This longer hike encompassed the Benson Bridge as well as a surprise waterfall further upstream of the main drops of Multnomah Falls.
The top of the falls was a one-mile hike in each direction or 2 miles round trip.
The paved ramp to ascend beyond the main lookout began behind the Multnomah Falls Lodge.
After passing through a gate (which I’d iamgine would be closed if the there was trail work or if the conditions were too dangerous), the path made a couple of switchbacks before following beneath an overhang.
Cages were set up to prevent large objects from falling onto the trail at this overhanging section.
Under rainy conditions, we also spotted a temporary waterfall that flowed before the overhangs then underneath the trail eventually joining up with Multnomah Creek down below.
After a quarter-mile, I approached the often crowded Benson Bridge, where I could look upstream at the 520ft upper drop of Multnomah Falls or look down at the crowded main lookout where people were already starting to look tiny.
Beyond the bridge, the trail ascended towards one switchback close to the upper waterfall before veering away and going around a bend towards a shaded forested area.
Right around the bend, I was greeted with a sign saying “Switchback 1 of 11” so I treated that as sort of a progress indicator though some of the switchbacks didn’t seem to be counted if they were shorter and in succession.
The path remained sloping and paved as it navigated up the switchbacks, and even though the crowds had considerably thinned out compared to the Benson Bridge and the base of the falls, there were still enough people on the narrow trail slow my progress.
This was especially the case when I had to be opportunistic about passing slower hikers, especially those in groups.
Some parts of the paved trail showed damage from tree roots growing beneath the asphalt while others had rocks strewn across them.
I wonder if it’s perhaps cheaper to have a natural trail instead of a paved one.
Nevertheless, some of the switchbacks revealed partial glimpses of the Multnomah Falls while others revealed parts of the Columbia River.
The climb actually topped out at around switchback 7 or 8, where it had climbed about 895ft up to that point.
Then, the trail started descending for the remaining switchbacks before a signed trail junction took me onto the final spur leading to the overlook above the top of Multnomah Falls.
The continuation of the main trail kept going towards Larch Mountain.
On the final approach to the overlook, I saw plenty of people enjoying the calmer parts of Multnomah Creek as it appeared to be the only place in the immediate vicinity to access the creek (it definitely wasn’t allowed at the bottom).
When I finally got to the overlook platform (about a mile or more from the base of the falls), there was a surprise cascade or waterfall about 15ft tall, which sat a little more set back from the main drop of Multnomah Falls.
With the railings at the overlook, I was able to try my hand at steadying the camera for some long exposure shots.
Anyways, more often than not, I generally think that experiencing the top of waterfalls to not be the most compelling spots to enjoy them.
However, in this instance, the different perspective and that sense of vertigo when I looked down towards the parking lot had definitely made the experience memorable.
While this lookout platform was nowhere near as busy as further below, there were always at least a handful of people around so it was still relatively busy.
Finally, when I had my fill of the top of the Multnomah Falls, I then went back the way I came, which initially climbed the first few switchbacks before descending the rest of the way.
During the descent, I tried to use my momentum to make quick progress and get back down in nearly half the time it took for me to go up.
That said, it took me just under 75 minutes to complete this hike.
Authorities
Multnomah Falls resides in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area near Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
There are actually two different parking lots for Multnomah Falls – one in front of the historic lodge along the Historic Columbia River Highway (or Old Columbia River Highway) and the other sandwiched between both directions of the I-84.
Since parking is typically tight for the lot at the Multnomah Falls Lodge, sometimes there’s bound to be more parking space at dedicated off-ramp right off the I-84.
I’ll describe how to reach both of them.
The Parking Lot in front of the Multnomah Falls Lodge from eastbound I-84
To reach the parking lot in front of the Multnomah Falls Lodge, we accessed the Old Columbia River Highway by taking the Bridal Veil Exit (exit 28) off the eastbound I-84.
At the off-ramp, we then kept left to follow the Old Columbia River Highway to the parking area fronting the lodge in 3 miles.
The exit 28 was about 25 miles (about 30 minutes drive without traffic) east of Portland, where the I-84 freeway began.
For a more scenic route, it’s also possible to drive a longer stretch of the Old Columbia River Highway by accessing the narrow and twisty road from Corbett.
The Parking Lot in front of the Multnomah Falls Lodge from westbound I-84
Going in the other direction, we took exit 35 (Ainsworth State Park) off the westbound I-84.
Then, we followed the NE Frontage Road for about 4.3 miles to the parking lot for Multnomah Falls on mostly the right side of the road.
This exit was about 9 miles (15 minutes drive) west of Cascade Locks.
The “Freeway Island” on the eastbound I-84
To access the “freeway island” parking lot from the west, take the eastbound I-84 to the exit 31 (the off-ramp is on the left).
That leads straight into the parking lot.
This exit was about 3.4 miles past the Bridal Veil Exit (exit 28) on the eastbound I-84, or about 29 miles east of Portland, where the I-84 started.
The “Freeway Island” on the westbound I-84
To access the “freeway island” parking lot from the east, take the westbound I-84 to the exit 31 (again, the off-ramp is on the left).
That leads straight into the same direct-access parking lot mentioned above for the eastbound I-84 directions.
This exit was about 4 miles west of the Ainsworth State Park Exit (exit 35) on the westbound I-84, or about 12 miles west of Cascade Locks.
For some geographical context, Portland was about 49 miles (over an hour drive) west of Cascade Locks, 75 miles (90 minutes drive) west of Hood River, 80 miles (1.5 hours drive) east of Cannon Beach, 112 miles (under 2 hours drive) north of Eugene, 274 miles (over 4 hours drive) north of Medford, 173 miles (about 2.5 hours drive) south of Seattle, Washington, 440 miles (7 hours drive) west of Boise, Idaho, and 423 miles (6.5 hours drive) north of Redding, California.
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Bottom up and back down sweep of Multnomah Falls from an elevated viewing position
Bottom up and back down sweep of Multnomah Falls from its base as well as with noise from people around me
Top down sweep of the falls with lots of random chatter behind me
Checking out the brink of the falls and the overlook context
Sweep from bottom to top in late afternoon with some rare sunlight shining on the cliffs
Looking down from the concrete bridge towards the base of the falls before sweeping upwards towards the other end of the Columbia River Gorge
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Visitor Comments:
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Above Multnomah Falls May 8, 2021 10:29 am - If you continue on the trail above the falls you _really_ lose the crowds--as well as the pavement. ;) You pass another couple of waterfalls on Multnomah Creek: first Weisendanger, and then Ecola. After a bit more than half a mile from the top at Multnomah a branch trail heads west, which you can take… ...Read More
Top of Multnomah Falls July 31, 2014 5:29 pm - Love this place. I'll make this short but sweet. I've been to the falls twice my self. The first time it was a typical Portland day,slight drizzle,mid spring when I ventured to the top of Multnomah Falls. Not difficult but not easy either. Basically a 5/10 on scale. The view on the other hand from… ...Read More Multnomah Falls September 6, 2008 5:45 am - I haven't been to many falls, but one of my favorites is Multnomah Falls in Oregon. It is on the Columbia River in the Columbia River Gorge area, which is about 40 to 50 minutes east of Portland. There are also several other waterfalls along that area that are very nice to see and hike… ...Read MoreVisitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
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Multnomah Falls February 27, 2023 8:05 pm - Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge was first on my list of waterfalls in this excursion to see as I'd considered painting it, but years before that when I was much younger my father had sent me a postcard of it, as he did on many of his travels including us children who were… ...Read More
Multnomah Falls (Oregon) October 11, 2021 5:27 am - One of Oregon's best waterfalls. Oregon is such a beautiful state with many different places to visit. Don't forget to go up and down the Oregon coast and visit many lighthouses, Cannon Rock and Thor's Well. Crater Lake National Park is an awesome view also. Painted Hills is incredible. ...Read More Above Multnomah Falls May 8, 2021 10:29 am - If you continue on the trail above the falls you _really_ lose the crowds--as well as the pavement. ;) You pass another couple of waterfalls on Multnomah Creek: first Weisendanger, and then Ecola. After a bit more than half a mile from the top at Multnomah a branch trail heads west, which you can take… ...Read More
Multnomah Falls 2004, Oregon, USA July 10, 2013 5:18 am - I lived near this waterfall for a few years and never got tired of visiting it ...Read MoreNearest Waterfalls
