3.1 hr
Overview
A classic Gorge loop, this is the waterfall hike if you will. The two lovely creeks you'll be hiking along, Oneonta and Multnomah, share eight waterfalls between them, and this hike adds the two spectacular falls on Horsetail Creek. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire did a number on this area, but it is well into recovery, and you'll experience unburned sections of old-growth forest as well as a welcome degree of solitude as you ascend Oneonta Creek and descend Franklin Ridge. Trail conditions in the Gorge fluctuate wildly during winter and spring, but on occasion this hike can be done early in the year. On the other hand, frequent slides during the rainy season can sometimes close sections of trail. The loop begins at one of the most scenic (and crowded) trailheads anywhere, where Horsetail Falls plunges over a basalt cliff. A stone-walled viewing area, constructed in the 1980s from the demolished Rocky Butte Jail, adds to the ambience. The Horsetail Falls Trail #438 begins climbing some easily graded switchbacks with beautiful rock walls. You'll pass your first trail junction here, where the Gorge Trail #400 heads east. After five switchbacks, the trail levels out and heads west high above the bottomlands below. Soon, the trail suddenly turns into the small ravine containing Ponytail Falls. (A rooty user trail here leads steeply up to the Rock of Ages Arch.) The trail passes behind Ponytail Falls in a cavernous overhang at a soft layer between Columbia River Basalt flows. The trail continues west, maintaining a level path along the bluff. Rockfall here supports moss, ferns, and a few large maples. A side trail leads to Oneonta Bluff's clifftop viewpoints over the Oneonta Bottomlands below and then east to Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain. Directly across the Columbia River is the large forested bowl formed by Indian Mary, Duncan, and Woodward creeks, with Archer Mountain just to the west. Take care and don't step too close to the edge: a plaque memorializes a teen that fell to his death near here. The main trail
Trail Stats
0.0 km
929 m
851 m
0 m
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Photos
600px-OneontaMultnomahLoopMap
600px-OneontaMultnomahLoopMap
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250px-Archer_Mountain_from_the_Gorge_Trail
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250px-Wiesendanger_Falls%2C_Larch_Mountain_Trail
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250px-The_andesite_cutting%2C_Larch_Mountain_Trail
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250px-View_to_Nesmith_Point_from_Franklin_Ridge_Trail
250px-Campsite_at_the_Horsetail_Creek_junction%2C_Oneonta_Trail
250px-Campsite_at_the_Horsetail_Creek_junction%2C_Oneonta_Trail
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250px-Violet_cortinarius_%28Cortinarius_violaceus%29%2C_Oneonta_Creek
250px-Behind_Ponytail_Falls%2C_Columbia_Gorge
250px-Behind_Ponytail_Falls%2C_Columbia_Gorge
400px-Middle_Oneonta_Falls%2C_Horsetail_Trail
400px-Middle_Oneonta_Falls%2C_Horsetail_Trail
TKO put tools to trail here.png
TKO put tools to trail here.png