Punchbowl Falls Park Hike

Overview

For more than a century, this spectacular area at the confluence of the east and west forks of the Hood River was private timber land .Through a purchase from Weyerhauser by the Western Rivers Conservancy and a subsequent state grant secured by Thrive! Hood River, the new park came into Hood River County ownership in 2016. The state grant was contingent on developing a trail system in the new park, and from 2016 to 2019 Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) partnered with Thrive! to lead dozens of outings and hundreds of volunteers in building the trail network that exists today. The trail signage was finally added in 2019 as part of a local Eagle Scout project. completing a new system that loops through deep evergreen forests, oak woodlands and wildflower meadows, with the sounds of waterfalls and rivers always at hand. The West Fork Trail follows the west branch of the Hood River past the massive amphitheater holding Punchbowl Falls (not to be confused with the more famous Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek, which is spelled with two words) and a short viewpoint spur to Dead Point Falls before descending to gravel beaches at the confluence of the East and West Forks of the Hood River. From there, a spur trail heads up the East Fork Hood River to a shady riverside overlook. The Dogwood Trail provides a short but leafy return route to the trailhead that is especially beautiful when fall colors arrive in late October. The trail begins a few yards down an old service road from the main trailhead. Walk around a battered steel gate and pass the main sign for the park. Just beyond the gate, watch for a signed path on your left marked "West Fork Trail". (To the right, a sign marks the "Dogwood Trail", the return part of the loop hike.) The West Fork Trail leads through the edge of an oak woodland above the basalt-columned lower gorge of the West Fork. You’ll notice a rambling, collapsing wood staircase dropping down the cliff on the opposite side of the gorge. This once provided access to the ungainly concrete fish ladder con

Trail Stats

Photos

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500px-2019PunchbowlTrailMap

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400px-Dead_Point_Falls_%26_West_Fork_Hood_River

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300px-Hood_River_Confluence

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250px-Nine-leaf_desert_parsley_%28Lomatium_triternatum%29%2C_Punchbowl_Falls

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250px-Staircase_to_fish_ladder%2C_above_Punchbowl_Falls

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400px-PunchbowlSunset

TKO put tools to trail here.png

TKO put tools to trail here.png

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