Portland: Hiking Eagle Creek

We promise we did more than just eat while in Portland! We went shopping, walked around NW Portland, drove through neighborhoods picking out potential dream homes, met new friends and almost got tattoos! (well only Kelly) One of our favorite parts of the trip, however, was our hike in Eagle Creek to Punchbowl Falls and Oneonta Gorge where Amy led us on an American Ninja Warrior obstacle course to get a better glimpse of the gorge. Even though we almost died, it was so fun and incredibly gorgeous. Here are some pictures of that excursion!

We started out with Eagle Creek, about 40 miles east of Portland. Portland Hikers calls it “the quintessential hike in the Columbia River Gorge, boasting dozens of spectacular waterfalls, tall basalt cliffs, and the lush temperate rain forests that so characterize the Pacific Northwest”. Lush is right, it was beautiful! 

We hopped back in the car, ditched a couple of layers of now wet clothes, and headed west for more excitement.. We opted to take the Columbia River Scenic Byway as opposed to the freeway and were greeted with waterfall after waterfall after waterfall! Our next stop was the Oneonta Gorge. From Portland Hikers: “Oneonta Gorge is not accessible by trail. Rather you must walk up the creek bed, over a large and perhaps unstable log jam, through the gorge, and up to your waist (or even torso depending on your height and the time of year) in water until you finally see your prize.”

If only we had read that description before we got there. All of a sudden Amy was just walking across logs, over boulders and looking back like “come on guys, hurry up!” While we definitely didn’t hike up to our waist to get to the falls, it was still an exciting adventure. Stephanie is very proud she was the only one to not fall in and get her feet wet! However if we ever go back in the summer, this full hike would be really fun with warm weather and proper shoes.

I think we both agree that this hike was one the highlights of the trip! It felt good to be active after so much eating and to see the beautiful scenery of Oregon! And Amy, thank you for leading us on this adventure 🙂

~Kelly & Stephanie