An insanely fun waterfall to shoot in the Columbia River Gorge area of Oregon is the Latourell Falls.
About The Hike
A waterfall magnificent enough draw comparison to those of Iceland. Latourell Falls features a hundred plus foot plunge of water enclosed by basalt rock columns and basalt boulders surrounding.
Latourell Falls is on the Columbia River Gorge waterfall circuit and is highly popular with its proximity to the Historic Columbia River Highway. It is also the closest of the falls along the highway to Portland.
The hike can either be done as a quick .2 mile hike to look at the base of the falls or can be done with a longer loop trail that goes from the base around and up to the top and along the creek.
Latourell Falls Trail Loop:
Distance: 3.0 Miles
Type: Loop
Elevation: 689 feet
Ascent: 782 feet
Another waterfall hike I wish I had the time to hike to the top of these falls but decided against so that I could beat the crowds to Multnomah Falls just down the road and hit Bridal Veil on the way.
Needless to say, the .2 option here worked well for this hectic morning of waterfall hopping around the Columbia River Gorge.
Getting There and Important Information
The parking lot is located directly on the Historic Columbia River Highway and only about 30 minutes from downtown Portland. The lot is modestly sized at best and likely to fill up during peak times in which parking may or may not be allowed on the street.
The two best viewpoints of the falls are the short walk uphill to the stone platform and also the .2 AllTrails path that descends next to the highway bridge and ends at the base of the falls.
No camping or overnight parking is allowed here.
©Copyright 2020-2021 Secret Hike
Photography exclusively by Dan Oliver unless otherwise stated and cited. Embedded maps are provided by Embed Google Map (embedgooglemap.net) and map images shown are provided as stated and cited.
DISCLAIMER:
This website is provided for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to serve as an instructional guide, or present itself as an authority for any of the locations written about. The locations mentioned, written, and photographed herein are nothing more than my personal adventure archive. If you are interested in visiting any locations you should not depend on the information in this website to plan any excursions. You should research a wide variety of informational sources, websites, hiking guide books and maps found elsewhere. Many locations are dangerous and potentially illegal to access which can lead to fines, injury or death even when prepared. I do not encourage anyone to trespass or put themselves or others in way of harm. This website, and therefore its’ owner/author, cannot assume any responsibility for anything you may incur while hiking or exploring any of these locations or anywhere on planet earth. Thank you for viewing!