The Oneonta Trail

Welcome to the 2013 Fall Gorge Waterfall Tour! 

Horsetail Falls splash pool

Yes, although temps are beginning to drop, and the leaves are long gone, I'm still playing catch up from November.  In the beginning of this month, I began my annual Gorge waterfall pilgrimage. 

Fall colors frame Horsetail Falls

The Columbia River Gorge is one of my favorite places to hike. Although it's wonderful in all seasons, fall is by far the best time to visit. The colorful leaves, the rushing waterfalls, and still enough green from the ferns and mosses to provide nice accents. To capture all this incredible beauty, I have a tradition of planning autumn hikes on some of the most scenic Gorge trails.

Beautiful rock wall and plaza

First up on the agenda - the Oneonta Trail.  This relatively short loop gives one the most waterfall bang for your buck.  In a mere 2.5 miles you pass four - count 'em - four lovely cascades.

And lovely leaf-covered stairs

The first grand waterfall is located right off the road.  At 176 feet in height, Horsetail Falls displays its frothy grandeur in full view of the Historic Columbia River Highway.  A paved plaza, with picnic table, impressive mossy maple trees, and a grand stone staircase leading to the splash pool, make this a popular stop for tourists.  But most folks never venture beyond the viewing area.  The Oneonta Trail begins here, the pathway to even more wonderful splashy scenes.

On the trail

From Horsetail Falls the trail switchbacks up the Gorge's steep cliffs.  A short distance later, one arrives at a mossy basalt amphitheatre, home of 80-foot high Ponytail Falls.

Ponytail falls

Ponytail Falls is one of those waterfalls that you can walk behind.  The rock wall around this cascade eroded to form a tunnel-like cave.  A trail leads hikers through this cavern, providing a front-row view of the fall's watery fan.  This is one waterfall vantage that folks don't normally get to see.

The view from behind Ponytail falls

Is there anything cooler than hiking behind a waterfall?

Splash pool below the falls

From Ponytail Falls, the trail climbs a little further and tops out at a clifftop viewpoint.  The entire eastern Gorge and Columbia River is spread out before your eyes.  On a clear day, a fabulous view.

Gorge viewpoint

From this viewpoint, the trail winds down steeply to Oneonta Gorge.  This narrow slot-like canyon is so deep it appears bottomless.  A metal footbridge spans this dizzying chasm.  Above the bridge, Oneonta Falls, all 60 feet of its frothing waters, churns down the steep drop-off.

Lovely bright yellow leaves

Sadly the bright sunlight of high noon made too much contrast, and all my Oneonta Falls and Gorge photos didn't turn out.  So you'll just have to trust me that it was spectacular.

Trail junction

After climbing down to Oneonta Falls, the trail then winds steeply back up to the next junction.  Beyond this junction is the final, best waterfall of them all - Triple Falls.

Creek view above Triple Falls

A mile later, I neared the overlook for Triple Falls.  But upon arriving, I discovered a large group of young kids with their adult leaders taking up most of the overlook's limited space.  Not wanting to try and take photos while dodging a bunch of people, I decided to explore the creek farther upriver and wait for them to leave.

Sturdy log bridge spans the creek above Triple Falls

The creek above Triple Falls is truly beautiful.  Although much of the fall colors were past their prime, the fallen leaves and mossy rocks made up for the lack of foliage.  A well-built log footbridge spans the creek, leading hikers to Multnomah Falls and Larch Mountain.  But the other side of the bridge was as far as I'd planned to go today.  Finding a flat rock, I took a quick lunch break amidst the ferns and moss-draped trees.

Triple Falls

Between photographing the creek and eating lunch, I burned at least a half hour.  Thinking the group must have departed by now, I shouldered my backpack and headed back to the Triple Falls viewpoint.  But as the overlook drew near, I saw that the kids were still there.

Triple Falls - up close and personal

Oh well - I wanted to get some photographs, and kids or no kids, that's exactly what I planned to do.  The man in charge gave me a hearty "hello" and invited me over.  He told the kids to give me some space.  So I set up my tripod and got to work.

Triple Falls is made up of three identical 120-foot water plumes.  The three cascades make the most amazing waterfall and it's one of my Gorge favorites.  The falls are located in a deep canyon.  The overlook is on the opposite side of this canyon.  It's a small area perched on the side of a very steep cliff.  I was a little nervous about all the kids walking around with such a drop off nearby, but the man and his two assistants seemed to have their group under control. 

More fall colors

The man had a backpacking stove out, and was boiling water for hot chocolate.  He kept the kids busy finding small twigs for fuel.  He offered me some cocoa, but having just drank a thermos of  hot tea, I declined.

After a few good shots of Triple Falls, I packed up and bid the man and his kids goodbye.  Then I headed back down the Oneonta Trail.  

Oneonta Tunnel on old Historic Hwy

Usually when I hike this area, I retrace my steps back to the parking lot.  But coming back to the trail junction, I decided to make this journey into a loop, and followed the Oneonta Trail in the opposite direction.  I followed a ridge, with a few nice peek-a-boo views of the Gorge, until finally switchbacking down to the Historic Highway.

A  half mile trek down the highway's shoulder brought me back to Horsetail Falls and my car.  But not before I passed through the old Oneonta Tunnel, now restored for a hiker/biker trail.  Even the old stone fences from the original highway had been preserved, and their moss-covered posts made great photo subjects.

Moss covered stone fence

A great day to be out in the Gorge!  Although I only covered a measly 4.5 miles, I saw four great waterfalls, some majestic river views, and some late fall colors still hanging on.

Stay tuned for more from my Fall Gorge Waterfall Tour - part two is next!


Sharing with:  Sweet Shot Tuesday and Weekly Top Shot.

Oneonta Trail

Portland finally got a break this weekend from the endless March rain (I was beginning to forget what sunshine looked like!)  My son Cody was home for Easter break, and we both decided to take advantage of the good weather with a hike in the Columbia River Gorge.


Size matters!  Click on any photo to enjoy a larger version.

Mandatory trail sign photo

I haven't been in the Gorge since my New Year's Day waterfall photo junket.  With all the recent rainfall, the sheer amount of water flowing into local streams meant the Gorge cascades would be spectacular.  A waterfall hike was in order!  And I knew just the trail - time to pay a visit to Oneonta Gorge.

Moss-covered rock wall lines the trail

There are many waterfall trails in the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area.  And they are all delightful.  But the Oneonta Trail gives the most bang for the buck.  In a mere two miles one can visit three (count 'em - three!) lovely falls.  Since Cody and I needed to be back in town by mid-afternoon, this short, view-packed hike fit the bill perfectly.

The trail squeezes between forest and a steep cliff

The trail begins at a large parking lot off the Old Columbia River Scenic Highway.  Right across the road is the very first waterfall - Horsetail Falls.  Most visitors only venture far enough to snap a couple photos of this tall, impressive cascade.  But if one treks past the trailhead, rewards are great indeed.

First glimpse of Ponytail Falls

Cody, Bear, and I switchbacked up the first ridge.  Typical of many Gorge trails, the first 0.2 of a mile was lined with several old mossy, stone walls.  Ferns draped over the wall's upper reaches.  Further up, we passed through a couple of rockslides and old gnarled trees, all covered in olive-green moss.  That's what nearly 8 inches of rain in a month will do.

Ponytail Falls and the trail behind

First on our tour - the lovely Ponytail Falls, only 0.4 mile from the trailhead.  This waterfall is especially cool as the trail routes behind the falls.  I'm told the lava flow that created this cascade's slot also buried a layer of soft soil.  The fall's constant flow over time has eroded this soil layer, creating a small cavern.  It's a very fun place to take young kids (even old kids too!)  Who doesn't get a kick out of walking through a cave that's BEHIND a waterfall?

Lovely Columbia River view

After a brief photo session at Ponytail Falls, it was time to move on.  The next highlight on the trail is a Gorge viewpoint jutting out over a cliff edge.  The vistas up and down the Columbia River are most excellent.  The clear sky meant one could see forever up and down the Gorge.  I caught glimpses of Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain to the east.

Close up of riverside pond

And from my perch, I really noticed the high river levels of the Columbia.  Water spilled over into the adjacent low-lying plains, flooding trees and creating small ponds.  One little pond had the most beautiful blue cast to its water.  I tried capturing the color with my camera, but the above photo doesn't do it justice.

First trillium of the year!

As we left the viewpoint to continue our trek, Cody spotted a small cluster of trilliums beside the trail.  Of course that was occasion for me to whip my camera back out!  (Which elicited a groan from Cody)  The sighting of these delicate, white flowers signals that spring is here to stay.

Mossy "weeping wall"

More interesting sights awaited.  Cody and I passed by a moss-covered rock wall that was dripping with narrow rivulets of water.  We paused and watched tiny streams cascade down the steep cliff face, forming small wet explosions as they hit clumps of moss.  It was mesmerizing.

The trail switchbacks down to Oneonta Gorge

Beyond the weeping wall, our trail switchbacked dramatically down to a footbridge crossing Oneonta Gorge, losing quite a bit of elevation in a very short distance.  It was an interesting viewpoint standing at the top of the ridge looking down over the sinuous path to the creek below.  Oneonta Gorge itself is another amazing sight.  It's a very narrow crack in the adjacent rock cliffs through which a creek flows.  I tried to capture a photo of this phenomenon, but due to lousy light, it wasn't worth sharing here.  There are waterfalls above and below the bridge, and I did capture a semi-decent pic of Oneonta Falls on my return trip (you'll see the photo later on in this post - I promise!)

Bear resting in the sunshine

After a trail junction, Cody and Bear (with me straggling along in the rear) climbed up to the next waterfall viewpoint.  This one was the best of all - Triple Falls.  One waterfall is great, but three for the price of one?  There was a huge group at the overlook as we walked by, so Cody and I elected to continue up the trail for a short distance, and chose a lunch spot by the roaring creek above Triple Falls.  It was a beautiful spot, complete with mossy boulders, small cascades, tall Doug Fir trees, and a nice sunny spot for Bear to relax (when he wasn't begging for a piece of my sandwich).

Triple Falls

We hit Triple Falls on our way back.  By this time, the large group had cleared out, but there was still another small party perched on the overlook.  No matter, the light wasn't great for photos, so I only made a couple image attempts before we packed up and moved on.   Triple Falls is really a neat waterfall and my intent was to produce a photo that did it true justice.  But alas, this sad image is the best that I could do (but aren't these falls cool?).

Oneonta Falls

Cody and I traveled back down to Oneonta Gorge.  This time the light was a little bit better, and I was able to get a semi-decent shot of Oneonta Falls.  By this time, it was early afternoon, and there was now a steady stream of people tromping down the switchbacks and across the bridge.  Sunny dry days bring hikers to the Gorge in droves!

My son and I

Cody's not fond of being in photos, especially when his mom is running the camera.  I tried to refrain from including him in my shots, but really wanted at least one image of my son and I to remember this great day.  Cody, being the good son that he is, decided to humor his mother.   Thanks to my tripod and timer, we posed on the Oneonta Gorge bridge and made this photo happen. 

After a busy winter of skiing, it was great to lace up my hiking boots again.  And there's nothing better than a waterfall hike in the Gorge on a sunny spring day (well.....except maybe a sunny powder day on the mountain).

(Oh - And I just realized I can't count.  There are actually FOUR waterfalls on this hike.  I forgot about Horsetail Falls at the parking lot).    :)