Wahclella Falls (Tanner Creek Falls)

Columbia River Gorge / Bonneville Dam, Oregon, USA

About Wahclella Falls (Tanner Creek Falls)

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Wahclella Falls (also known as Tanner Creek Falls) was one of the relatively lesser known waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge.

Said to be about 125ft in cumulative height, photos did’t quite do this waterfall justice as it seemed to be much bigger and powerful than the photos seemed to suggest.

Columbia_River_Gorge_191_03292009 - Wahclella Falls or Tanner Creek Falls
Wahclella Falls or Tanner Creek Falls

Its upper tier of this two-tiered waterfall only revealed itself from the narrow slot it resided in only if I gazed upon it from the correct angle (see photo above).

We can only imagine the turbulence in that narrow slot because all that water blasted through the chute as the lower tier as it plunged into a very misty and turbulent plunge pool.

Indeed, this was a waterfall to be experienced, which was something the photos we took couldn’t convey.

Hiking to Wahclella Falls

To get to it, we had to do a roughly 2-mile round trip hike that took us a little over an hour, which included photo stops as well as the hiking itself.

Columbia_River_Gorge_160_03292009 - The Wahclella Falls Trail hugged some ledges and went by some ephemeral waterfalls, which reminded me of parts of the Eagle Creek Trail
The Wahclella Falls Trail hugged some ledges and went by some ephemeral waterfalls, which reminded me of parts of the Eagle Creek Trail

The hike was quite muddy in several spots thanks to several days of heavy rains.

The trailhead sat outside what I’m calling “waterfalls row” (a stretch of the Old Columbia River Highway in which there were heaps of waterfalls along the road and further inland; see directions below).

Along the way were a few smaller or thinner waterfalls (each attractive in their own way) on a cliffhugging trail reminiscent of the Eagle Creek trail.

One of the falls (known as Munra Falls according to one of our books) actually tumbled right besides a footbridge on the trail before joining up with Tanner Creek.

Columbia_River_Gorge_155_03292009 - Julie walking before the Munra Falls on the way to the Wahclella Falls
Julie walking before the Munra Falls on the way to the Wahclella Falls

Over the half-way point of the hike, the trail had split into a loop where an upper trail hugged the cliff on its way towards the falls while offering pretty views of the opening in the gorge below.

The lower trail (which we thought was the more scenic of the two) allowed us to walk closer to creek level as well as through an interesting alcove as we got near the bridge before the Wahclella Falls itself.

Given the amount of moisture resulting from the bad weather earlier in the week of our visit, we saw quite a few other waterfalls along this trail.

We weren’t sure if they were legitimate ones or merely ephemeral ones that became significant because of the saturation of water.

Columbia_River_Gorge_178_03292009 - View of Wahclella Falls from the footbridge nearest its plunge pool
View of Wahclella Falls from the footbridge nearest its plunge pool

Either way, this was a pleasant hike and certainly much quieter than other waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge given its relatively obscure location.

Authorities

Wahclella 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.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: wahclella, tanner creek, multnomah, columbia river gorge, bonneville, munra falls, east fork falls, oregon, waterfall, pacific northwest



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.