Multnomah Falls in Oregon

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Multnomah Falls in Oregon was arguably the most beautiful waterfall we saw on our whole trip.. .and we saw a lot of waterfalls. We came from the East (we had just got done exploring the Ape Caves on the south side of Mt. St. Helens) and hit up several stops along the Columbia River Gorge area.

Right before Multnomah Falls, we stopped at Horsetail Falls and Ponytail Falls (upper falls). This was also a spectacular waterfall made even more fun by the fact that you could play in the pool of water at the bottom.

As we drove up to Multnomah, my heart started pounding faster and I got so excited. These falls had been on my bucket list for years! They did not disappoint either. There are a lot of trees, so you only see part of the upper falls from the road/parking area. Then as you get closer it opens up to reveal this amazing breathtaking waterfall that you can’t help but just stand and stare at.

Multnomah Falls

There are so many places to take pictures of this beautiful waterfall, so be sure to have your camera ready (I use the Canon EOS 80D) and your phone charged. We took a lot of videos – as I wanted to remember what it sounded like.

Hiking the Larch Mountain Trail to the Multnomah Falls Benson Bridge

Hiking to Benson Bridge

After exploring the lower falls, we headed to the upper falls via the Larch Mountain Trail. The hike up to the Multnomah Falls Benson bridge is about 0.2 miles. It has a pretty good incline, but it is paved and easy to traverse. It is also REALLY busy, so be patient.

If you want you can keep going on to the top of the falls. That is about 1.0 miles from the lower falls. The Wahkeena Trail is about 1.8 miles from the lower falls, and Larch Mountain is 6.8 miles from the lower falls. We only went to the Multnomah Falls Benson Bridge. The trail up to the upper falls is very steep and it would have taken longer than we had time for.

Next time we go there I would like to go all the way to the top of the falls. Just to give you an idea, the lower falls is 69 ft. and the upper falls is 542 ft.

View of the Multnomah lower falls and view area

Don’t skip the Lodge

There is a fantastic Lodge here with a gift shop, so be sure to grab a few souvenirs. They also have several places to eat, grab snacks, drinks, etc. The parking is a little crazy, and you may have to walk for a little bit to get up to the falls, but it is totally worth it!

Multnomah Falls is a year-round waterfall! That means you can visit any time of the year and see this spectacular sight. I personally would love to visit once during each of the four seasons so see how different it looks during each one.

Here are some things you need to know:

It is free to get in.
You might get a little chilly so bring a sweater.
You can bring your dog as long as it’s on a leash.
Only a 30-minute drive from Portland

You can learn more about Multnomah Falls here. There is a lot of great information.

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Are you planning a trip to Oregon soon or want to put this on your list of places to visit? Click on the image below and add it it Pinterest so you can remember.

Be sure to check out our other stops on our trip from Utah into Washington and down Highway 101 :

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