The Ornament Trail 2025

I love annual traditions.  When the holiday season rolls around, I start looking for a break in the weather so I can plan a trip to the Christmas Ornament trail.

A magical place deep in the forest....

Back in 2014 my friends and I discovered a magical path deep in the woods of the Columbia River Gorge - an enchanting place where colorful Christmas ornaments dangled from tree branches.  It was so much fun to discover this bit of holiday cheer that I decided to make hiking to the Ornament trail a yearly tradition.  However in the fall of 2017 a wildfire swept through the Columbia River Gorge, and this trail was smack dab in the middle of it's path.  This fire area, and the Ornament trail, was closed to hikers for many years, before finally reopening in 2023.  Last December I finally got the chance to return (see post here) and was happy to see that the trail had been restored to its original colorful glory.

Young and Kelly at Multnomah Falls

December 2025 rolled around and it was time for a revisit.  Eyeing the weather forecast, I spied a dry day in the first week of the month.  My hiking friends Young and Kelly were up for a trek and I suggested we check out the Ornament trail.  Young was with me when I'd first discovered the trail, so she knew all about it.  But Kelly had never been there.  As a matter of fact, Kelly didn't know a thing about this magical place.  Well, she was about to find out!

Posing on the Benson Bridge

Early one dry but chilly morning my friends and I gathered at the base of Multnomah Falls, an iconic 620 feet (189 meters) waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge.  After a few photos from the lower viewing platform, we trudged up the steep, paved path that took visitors to the cascade's very top.  

Hiking up the Larch Mtn trail

After a mile of climbing the paved path transitioned into dirt trail.  My friends and I passed the top of Multnomah Falls and continued up the Larch Mountain trail.  This spectacular footpath followed Multnomah Creek as it flowed downhill through the 2017 wildfire area.

Hiking past Wiesendanger Falls

Having hiked this portion of the trail many times before I knew it passed by three more lovely waterfalls.  The first, Dutchman Falls, didn't have much of a drop.  But the second, Wisendanger Falls, was an impressive 50-foot cascade that splashed over a basalt cliff.  The third, Ecola Falls, was also quite tall, but difficult to see from the trail.

Photo op!

Despite being dominated by bare, blackened tree trunks, the trail was surprisingly beautiful.  Bright green moss lined the creekbed and adjacent rocks, and ferns covered the hillsides.  Charming Multnomah Creek wound through the greenery.

Hiking through the burn area

Crossing over the creek on a footbridge, our trail began to rise higher above Multnomah Creek.  Soon my friends and I were walking on a tall shelf suspended above the waterway's canyon.

Crossing Winter Creek

The trail had one crossing of a tributary named Winter Creek.  The previous year, it had been running so full that everyone in my hiking party got wet feet trying to make it across.  Thanks to lower water levels, we found today's crossing to be much easier.

Through the narrow canyon area

Past Winter Creek, the trail dived back downhill until it was again at creek level.  My friends and I came to a junction where our trail split into two paths.  The normal trail continued, following Multnomah Creek through a narrow gorge, while a high water route led hikers uphill around the water.  During times of heavy rainfall, it wasn't recommended (or safe) to hike the lower route.  (After foolishly following this trail and falling into the water during last year's hike, I wholeheartedly recommend using the high water trail when the creek is overflowing!)

So much green!

Thankfully, today the creek was behaving itself, so Young, Kelly, and I opted to follow the low route.  We hiked past a tall, rocky cliff, our trail a narrow path next to the water.  Past the canyon, the surrounding terrain opened up into a lovely, green forest.  After passing by so many blackened trees, it was especially nice to see untouched woods again.

We found the Ornament trail again!

Our trail then emerged onto a dirt road.  From past trips to the Ornament trail, I knew we now needed to follow this road.  So uphill my friends and I trekked.  

Kelly admires an ornament

I remembered that this last leg always took longer than expected.  Even with this knowledge, as my friends and I hiked onward, I began to question my memory.  Had we gone too far?  Surely we should've passed the trail by now?  

These two were pretty!

I'm happy to say my friends and I didn't miss the trail.  After a bit more hiking, I finally spotted a small side path through some tall bushes.  A tiny ornament dangled near it's intersection with the road.  We had arrived!

A thin Santa

The Ornament trail was as wonderful as I'd remembered from last year.  Young, Kelly, and I wandered down the faint track through the woods, marveling at all the pretty decorations we found.

So many hanging from this branch!

I noticed there seemed to be quite a bit more baubles than I'd remembered from last year.  Some ornaments looked shiny new, like they'd recently been placed in the woods.  Others, more weather-worn, appeared that they'd been hanging here for many years.  Although most ornaments dangled from trees and bushes, there were quite a few that had been placed in nooks of nearby tree stumps or recessed areas of fallen logs.  There were all kinds of themes - from angels, Santas, glass balls, bells, nutcrackers, even an Elmo!

A gingerbread ornament

Kelly was absolutely thrilled by the ornament trail.  It's always fun to take people here for their very first visit.  Everyone loves the idea of discovering a little bit of Christmas deep in the mossy woods of the Gorge.

Some without strings were set on a mossy stump

After wandering the Ornament trail for it's full length, oohing and aahing (and sometimes laughing) at the assortment of decorations, my friends and I found seats on a nearby log and enjoyed our lunches.

Lunch time!

Then with our tummies now satisfied, it was time for the final task.  My friends and I needed to hang a few baubles of our own.  I'd stashed some ornaments in my backpack for just this purpose.

After lunch, we hung a few ornaments

This was the best part of all!  Young, Kelly, and I smiled and laughed as we searched for just the right spot to hang our holiday trinkets.

 

Kelly reaching a high branch

"Let's put some here"

After all our ornaments were securely fastened to tree branches, Young, Kelly, and I stepped back and admired our work.

The girls admiring their work

Goal accomplished, it was time to head back to the trailhead.  But we did one final slow walk along the length of the Ornament trail, taking in all the holiday glitter, and spotting our favorite decorations.

A trove of ornaments in a tree trunk

Here's some of our top picks:

Elmo says hi!

Who doesn't love Elmo?

A nutcracker collection

There were a group of nutcrackers nestled in a rotting tree stump.

Admiring our work

One arched, mossy branch had a large number of dangling baubles attached.

One last look at the baubles

Here's a close-up.

Heading back through the ornaments

Mooning Santa is still there!

I was happy to see the mooning Santa from last year was still hanging from it's perch.

More of the trail

So many shiny decorations!  Just walking through the trail was enough to put me in a cheerful, holiday spirit.

A few more shiny things

I try to keep my blog family-friendly.  But the little elf below made us laugh so hard, I just had to share.  Where in the world do people get ornaments like that?

This little elf was our favorite!

All good things must come to an end, and so did our visit to the Ornament trail.  My friends and I retraced our steps back down the old road, and then followed the Larch Mountain trail back along Multnomah Creek.  A bit of fog crept into the forest, and I really liked the atmosphere it created, especially for photographs.

Our return trip along Multnomah Creek

My friends and I agreed it had been a fun hike to a unique place high in the forests of the Columbia River Gorge.  A perfect way to begin the holiday season!

Smile, ladies!

I'd heard that the Ornament trail was created by the local Trails Club who maintain a lodge nearby.  It used to be that the trail's location was kept a secret, and the only way one learned of it's location was to be taken there by someone in the know.  The first time I found this trail, I gleaned clues from other people's online hiking reports.  My research gave me a general idea of where to go, and then I did the legwork, wandering around the trails until stumbling upon it.  Discovery was part of the fun of visiting this place.  That's why I'm not giving away the exact location here in my blog.  

Group selfie

I'd hoped to make a return trip sometime before Christmas, but the weather in mid-December was nothing but rain, and lots of it.  As a matter of fact, the Gorge was so inundated with precipitation, it created scores of landslides.  Sadly, the Larch Mountain trail was one of the casualties.  Access to the Ornament trail is currently blocked by a large slide.  So until the trail gets fixed I'll have to put my plans on hold.  Good thing my friends and I got up there when we did!

I hope this holiday-themed hike recap has put everyone in a Christmas spirit.  Merry Christmas to all of my readers!!