Two million people a year drive 30 minutes from Portland to see this 620-foot waterfall

Two million people can’t be wrong

Multnomah Falls drops 620 feet over two tiers of ancient basalt in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, and you can get there from downtown Portland in about half an hour.

Underground springs from Larch Mountain keep the water running every single day of the year, though snowmelt and rain crank the flow up hard in winter and spring.

More than two million people show up annually, making it the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest. But the falls are just the start of what this stretch of gorge has going on.

Massive ancient floods carved the whole gorge

The landscape you see today took shape about 15,000 years ago when the Missoula Floods ripped through and carved out the Columbia River Gorge.

Look at the cliff face behind the falls and you can count six volcanic flows of Grande Ronde Basalt, stacked up over more than 400,000 years of geological history.

The harder basalt held firm while softer rock around it wore away, and that difference created the sheer drop. The waterfall sits at the end of a hanging valley the floods left behind.

Stand on Benson Bridge 105 feet above the creek

A concrete arch footbridge spans 45 feet across Multnomah Creek, and when you stand on it, the upper falls tower above you while the lower pool churns below.

Portland lumber baron Simon Benson paid for the bridge in 1914 after engineer Samuel Lancaster pitched the idea. Italian stonemasons did the work, replacing a wooden structure that had been there since the 1880s.

It’s one of the most photographed spots in Oregon, and you’ll understand why the second you step onto it.

A 1925 stone lodge holds every rock in the gorge

Multnomah Falls Lodge went up in 1925, and it sits on the National Register of Historic Places. Portland architect A.E. Doyle designed the Cascadian-style building from native stone and timber.

Inside you’ll find a restaurant, an espresso bar, a gift shop and a U.S. Forest Service visitor center. The walls hold every type of rock found in the Columbia River Gorge.

Simon Benson donated more than 1,400 acres here, including the falls and nearby Wahkeena Falls, to the city of Portland back in 1915.

A two-minute paved walk gets you to the bridge

From the base, a paved 0.2-mile trail with one switchback takes you straight up to the Benson Bridge. A ramp makes the lower viewing area and the path wheelchair accessible, though it gets a bit steep in places.

Most people turn around at the bridge, and that’s fine.

You’ll feel the mist on your face as you cross, and the view of both tiers from there is the one you’ve seen on every postcard. It’s the quickest payoff in the gorge.

Eleven switchbacks climb to a hidden cascade at the top

Keep going past the bridge and a 1.1-mile trail with 11 switchbacks takes you to the top of the falls. You’ll push through forest and cross a talus slope before hitting an observation deck about 785 feet up.

From there, you look straight down over the edge into the Columbia River Gorge. A small cascade called Little Multnomah spills nearby, completely hidden from ground level.

Give yourself two to three hours for the round trip.

Six waterfalls in five miles on one loop trail

The Wahkeena-Multnomah Loop covers about five miles and passes six named waterfalls: Multnomah, Ecola, Weisendanger, Fairy, Wahkeena and Dutchman. Fairy Falls fans out 20 feet wide along Wahkeena Creek.

Wahkeena Falls drops 242 feet in multiple tiers, and its name comes from the Yakama word for “most beautiful.”

The trail winds through forest still recovering from the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, so you’ll see new growth pushing up through charred trunks.

Walk behind a waterfall just down the road

The Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge holds more than 70 waterfalls, and several line up along the Historic Columbia River Highway within a few miles of Multnomah.

Horsetail Falls drops 176 feet about 2.5 miles east, and you can see it from your car. Hike a short trail above it and you’ll reach Ponytail Falls, where the path goes right behind the curtain of water.

Latourell Falls plunges 249 feet over basalt columns, and Bridal Veil Falls is a 160-foot two-tier drop off an easy quarter-mile walk.

Frozen falls in winter, wildflowers in spring

Winter and early spring push the water flow to its peak, and some years the falls partially freeze into columns of ice. Spring fills the trails with wildflowers and sends creeks rushing alongside every path.

Summer brings warm weather and thick greenery but also the heaviest crowds. Come in fall and you’ll see gold and orange light up the gorge against the mossy green forest.

The water never stops, so every season gives you something different to look at.

Moss covers everything the mist can reach

Douglas fir, western red cedar, maple and alder trees close in around the falls on all sides.

Ferns and moss coat nearly every surface along the trails and cliff faces, and the constant mist keeps everything green even when rain hasn’t fallen in weeks.

The main sounds on the trail are birdsong and the roar of water, layered one on top of the other.

Columnar basalt formations show up throughout the area, remnants of lava flows that cooled and cracked into vertical columns.

Drive the first highway built just for the views

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area stretches more than 80 miles between Oregon and Washington. President Ronald Reagan designated it a National Scenic Area in 1986.

The Historic Columbia River Highway, finished in 1917, was the first highway in America designed to show off scenery.

Crown Point Vista House sits 733 feet above the river and gives you a panoramic look at the gorge in every direction. Hiking, cycling and scenic driving all run through this corridor.

A pedestrian tunnel leads straight to the postcard view

You’ll park between the lanes of Interstate 84 at Exit 31 and walk through a pedestrian tunnel to reach the falls. A paved path takes you from the lot to the lodge, the visitor center and the base viewing area.

From there, you get the classic shot of both tiers with the Benson Bridge crossing between them. Leashed dogs can join you on the paved areas and trails.

If you’d rather skip driving, the Columbia Gorge Express bus runs from Portland.

Visit Multnomah Falls in Oregon

You can reach the falls 30 miles east of Portland off I-84 at Exit 31.

From May 22 through Sept. 7, 2026, vehicles using the I-84 lot need a timed-use permit between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., available for $2 per vehicle on the official recreation website.

Free permits are also available in limited supply at the Gateway to the Gorge Visitor Center in Troutdale. No permit is needed if you come in on the Historic Columbia River Highway, though parking there fills fast.

The Columbia Gorge Express bus runs between Portland’s Gateway Transit Center and Hood River with a stop at the falls.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Oregon’s secret 60-mile mountain range has gold mines and waterfalls
• America’s first scenic highway got swallowed by an interstate. Oregon is bringing it back.
• Oregons wildest 12 miles of coast are free, and almost nobody knows