Eagle Creek Trail is a 40.7 kilometer heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Cascade Locks, Oregon that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
An amazing gorge hike with several beautiful waterfalls, including one you can walk behind. This trail begins at Eagle Creek Campground and ends at Wahtum Lake. This is a nice out and back hike with great scenery of waterfalls, ferns, and rocky outcroppings. It's quite popular with easy vehicle access at the trailhead, so plan to see a lot of other hikers and is part of the Pacific Crest Trail. This hike is not far from Portland and is best in the spring or early summer to really appreciate the beautiful waterfalls.
There is parking available all the way from the trailhead back to Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery. Parking fills up quickly during hot days as many people visit to go swimming in the lower-punchbowl falls area. For overnight backpacking up Eagle Creek Trail, it is highly recommended you park in the large parking lot near Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery, and hike the extra 1/4 mile to the trailhead, as break-ins are frequent.
Bring your raincoat. Watch your step as you're hiking, the rocks on the trail are slippery and losing your footing or stumbling is not a good idea on a narrow trail with a long drop to the creek bed.
On Oregon I-84 Eastbound, take exit 41 toward Fish Hatchery/Eagle Creek/Rec. Area. Immediately off the exit at the stop sign, take a right and continue down Eagle Creek Lane past the Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery, keeping right down Eagle Creek Loop which ends at the trailhead.
January 23, 2021It’s still closed:/
January 17, 2021Exit to recreation area is closed due to slide. Also the trail has numerous slides on it so may be awhile before it opens back up.
January 16, 2021Road is blocked off due to the storm:( maybe some other time
January 16, 20211/13/21: Exit blocked by landslide- can confirm! To keep up with the trail opening: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/recarea/?recid=29910
January 14, 2021Trail is closed 1/14/21
January 12, 2021great trail! narrow in spots, some of which would be sketchy to pass at. we started in the afternoon and I think we missed most of the morning traffic. most people stopped at punchbowl falls (3miles in). turned around at twister falls, it was muddy, but there were no deep water crossings. there were two you used logs or rocks for, but nothing serious
January 12, 2021Beautiful. A bit muddy but still a great hike.
January 12, 2021January 11, 2021Super muddy. Not too many people early Monday morning but saw a ton of people on the way back around noon. Lots were full all the way to the freeway entrance when we were leaving. But the trail itself in good shape. Thank you to all the volunteers and crew who made this possible after a devastating tragedy
January 11, 2021Beautiful hike today! Got to parking lot at 7:30am and lot was filling up fast. Trail is in great shape although the first 2 or so miles before lower punchbowl was super muddy. Crowd seemed to thin out after high bridge a bit. So glad this trail is open again!
January 10, 2021My partner and I hadn’t hiked this area since ~2015 due to moving out of state and then the Eagle Creek Fire, so it was definitely a special reunion with one of our favorite spots. Punchbowl Falls was running super strong, so you get a great views of the “bowl” at the crown of the waterfall this time of year. Views were just amazing all the way through, with the canyon at the High Bridge being a personal favorite. The trail was MUDDY and shopping mall crowded the first two miles, but after that, pretty standard weekend warrior usage. PLEASE bring a mask to wear, as you cannot social distance on this trail when passing. We hiked about 6.5mi in, turning around at the second creek crossing (which is by logjam and I wasn’t feeling super confident about) but that distance was what we had planned for. There is a nice creek side spot for a break at about mile 6. We are looking forward to backpacking up to Wahtum this summer! One very sad note (and why I left only four stars): there was more than a little disrespect for Leave No Trace. I saw dog poop bags, orange peels, and a goddamn apple core on the trail. Come on, people - if you can bring it in, you can pack it out. This is fragile, post fire salmon habitat, not some back alley! Please show respect for the land, the ongoing restoration efforts and your fellow hikers. Use of this beautiful trail is a gift not promised to us.
January 9, 2021January 9, 2021trail quite muddy but in good shape. water crossings not bad, finished with dry feet.... awesome waterfalls
January 9, 2021Gorgeous trail. One of those few trails where you are rewarded with views the entire time. Some muddy spots but overall the trail is in great condition. Streams were easy to pass with a little caution. Trailhead parking was completely full at 8:00 am. As with most trails once you get to the first viewpoint/couple miles the herd starts to thin. If you are extremely covid conscious this probably isn’t the hike for you. Nearly impossible to leave 6 ft of distance for most of the trail and saw a group of over 25 people. Also, there are definitely some sketchy spots towards tunnel/twister falls and not sure I would trust children in these areas. Can’t wait to backpack this when the weather gets a little nicer.
January 9, 2021There's some muddy spots from the trailhead to Punchbowl Falls, but the trail is in great condition. further up to High Bridge there are a couple of downed trees and one landslide spot that is not too hard to scramble over. Beautiful day and trail.
January 8, 2021muddy most of the way, but oh so gorgeous! worth the mud, bring your good boots
January 8, 2021So elated that this trail has reopened! I think it’s more beautiful than ever. Some of the burn has really opened up the views and I’m happy to see some regrowth and healing. The trail was extremely muddy. The first river crossing has an easy log to cross and the second, deeper river crossing has a log dam that is easy to navigate with trekking poles or a stick. We went to tunnel falls and turned around. The trail was busy, but it’s long and folks were pretty well spaced out and wearing masks, for the most part. Definitely recommend getting there early. The parking lot was full before 9am on a weekday. Enjoy!
January 7, 2021I’ve lived here in the PNW my whole life and this hike is one I come back to do all the time. You will need to pay for parking or have a NW Forest Pass. Since this just opened back up on 12/28 it’s a mad house no matter how early you get there. We got to the trail today 01/07 a little before 8am and the first parking lot was already full and the second was quickly filling up with a line of cars coming in behind me. It was super muddy from the recent rainfall but the waterfalls were in full force. The fire damage was heartbreaking to look at but seeing the new growth already growing around it was beautiful. Everyone was very considerate and had their masks on as we made our way back down from High Bridge. The first river crossing was pretty easy but we never made it to the second, where we heard the water was thigh deep. 10/10 would hike this every week if I could but might wait for the excitement of it being open again to slow down. There were just way too many people on the trail today.
