1.1 hr
Overview
Duncan Creek is one of the hidden marvels of the Washington Gorge, a lush, rushing stream of tumbling cascades and plunging waterfalls which increase in size as you ascend the creek. The hike takes you up the East Fork Duncan Creek on State of Washington, Gifford Pinchot, and Friends of the Gorge Land Trust property to a logging road on Longview Timberlands territory. The trail is rooty and steep in places, not your conventional three-foot wide gently graded standard. However, it is usually easy to follow, and there should be flagging in place as a further aid. To see the lower end of the East Fork Duncan Creek from a different perspective, add the short Nellie Corser Loop Hike as part of the outing. From the turnaround, walk back down the road to cross over the road bridge on Duncan Creek. Walk around the crash barrier on the north side of the bridge, and then walk back towards the creek to pick up an obvious boot path leading up the creek. About 25 yards from the road, you’ll see a side trail branching off to the left and leading up the bluff. Hike a short distance atop the bluff, and then turn right to pass between two large cedars. The route drops down the bluff through a patch of devil’s club to a log with a makeshift plank railing astride the West Fork Duncan Creek. Once across the log, head upstream a short distance, and then angle up the slope to your right through the sword ferns. Reach the ridge crest under tall Douglas-firs and spreading vine maples. Keep rising through an Oregon grape carpet, and then shift eastward to drop to a campsite above the East Fork Duncan Creek. A user trail heads a short distance down the creek from the campsite for views of the Nellie Corser Cascades. Then hike upstream. You can see across the creek the rusting remains of a water intake facility, once powered by a waterwheel, that serviced the Corser homestead in what is now a State Wildlife Area. Continuing upstream, you’ll notice a 2017 clearcut across the creek. The trail has been cleared through a tangle of blowdow
Trail Stats
0.0 km
335 m
0 m
0 m
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Photos
300px-DuncanCreekMap
300px-DuncanCreekMap
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160px-Quad_Falls%2C_East_Fork_Duncan_Creek
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250px-Nellie_Corser_Cascades%2C_East_Fork_Duncan_Creek
250px-Looking_across_the_footbridge%2C_West_Fork_Duncan_Creek
250px-Looking_across_the_footbridge%2C_West_Fork_Duncan_Creek
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400px-Apron_Falls%2C_East_Fork_Duncan_Creek